IMO the worst place possible for open shelves unless you really just LOVE cleaning stuff all the time IMO you need a counter depth fridge a stainless hood no cabinet hood since they get gross and also often cahnge color from the heat. If you think the cabinets will fee top heavy do some glass doors and make thos bottom cabinets all drawers I assume there is a sink on this wall too.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting the sink will actually be in the island (not pictured)

I think a vent rather than a cabinet hood would serve you better. Definitely get a counter depth refrigerator and have as many drawers as possible, even in the pantry.

Not a fan of open shelves by the stove... Maybe regroup that wall and do something interesting like separating the cabinets so you see wall in between them

Even break it up with glass doors or some other sort of insert - chalkboard, leather, stained glass...

Good luck!

I don't think those open shelves lighten up the space at all. They look awkward because they are too narrow. I think having the cabinet style hood makes things look more closed off. Leave the shelves off and put in a chimney style hood. Try it in your mock up and see how you like it.

@vinmarks @Debbi Washburn OK, this is so helpful!

I was picturing something like this, but 2 shelves instead of 3. This doesn't look nice?

I am sorry, but my practical side has issues with that photo. First, those are high ceilings that it does not appear that you have, so the proportion is completely different from yours. Second, open shelves can gather dust enough just on their own, but placed on either side of the cooktop will be a dust and grease magnet so you will always need to clean the shelves themselves, as well as each and every item placed on them. And really, tell the truth, how often are you going to be climbing a stepstool to do that cleaning? Also, that pic shows doodads on the shelves (and those poor plants not getting any light). That's fine for display elsewhere, but in such a central spot in the kitchen, those shelves should have utility. People often put their spices, oils and non-refrigerated condiments in cabinets there.

To lighten the space, I think Patricia Colwell's suggestion of glass-front cabinets instead would be good. Don't get mullions in the glass; the interior shelves will be lines enough, and glass doors without mullions are easy to clean with a spritz and a wipe.

"My concern, though, is that it will feel closed off if it's just a big block of cabinets. I definitely want the vent hood in a cabinet style"

I think you will be better off with a stainless steel hood, as mentioned earlier. Less expensive than a cabinet surround, and you don't need to buy separate parts of hood liner and blower, and it's much easier to wipe down a stainless steel hood than a cabinet hood. A stainless steel hood will be a more effective visual to break up a big block of cabinets than leaving the big block of cabinet hood surround. Also, it is often quite expensive to get a cabinet hood surround that is deep enough - typically they're only 20" deep, and it is a custom upcharge to get them to the needed 24" deep, and then find a liner in that depth as well.

@M Miller I appreciate this advice so much, thank you!

Hey Olivia,

I can so appreciate you wanting to have your hood in a cabinet style. So many people do. If your kitchen is white as pictured I can confirm Patricia's comment about your cabinets changing colour with heat etc. I always suggest that clients either use stained wood for their hood fan or at the very least do a wood band around the bottom.

I do agree that the open shelves are too narrow and would look odd in your kitchen. If you are able to centre the stove between the fridge and the wall that would allow you to make them wider which I think would help and you could make the open shelves the same wood as a band around the bottom.

Charles McCall 1927 Spanish Mediterranean in Piedmont · More Info

I know this isn't the style you are looking at but it shows the wood at the bottom of the hood

I actually quite like that photo. It's not really floating shelves - it is just an open cabinet with different color shelves.

I don't mind a cabinet as a hood but it MUST be wider than the cooking surface ( I would go up to something like a 42" wide cabinet over a 30" cooktop. Make sure it is deep enough ( 21" min ) and I would get a remote blower if possible. They are strong and quiet.

You must also use it. Turn the exhaust on before cooking begins and it will really help control all that happens while cooking.

Wouldn't put open shelves in a small kitchen, especially anywhere near a stove top.

Simply put, cooking any item with any 'grease" creates a "film" of that grease that ends up on surfaces in the kitchen and it is likely you really will not want to be cleaning a bunch of little items or even single large items regularly and having to work to make them look good day after day after day will get old fast once the novelty wears off.