I bit the bullet and just did it so my (very tiny) kitchen could be a lot more functional and less "closed in" with upper cabinets. Best decision ever. It forced me to purge a lot of unnecessary items and keep things relatively neat. It's not difficult keeping things stacked neatly - plus, now that I have fewer items on the shelves (enough for a family of 4, plus guests) we rotate through plates, bowls, glasses, etc. much more frequently to keep things dust/grease-free. Occasionally, I have to wash a seldom used item (soup tureen anyone?), but I'm already thinking about how much I *really* need to have that tureen as a unitasker...

I'll mention that open shelving at below the counter level is a bad idea if you have pets. Their hair gets everywhere.

It seems like a bad idea in places where there are a lot of earthquakes.

I love the concept of open shelving but at this point in time I know it is just not for us! But I am hoping that within the next year it will become reality as we change our eating habits more and we rework the shelving in our lower cabinets. I mean who ever heard of a shelf only being half the depth of the lower cabinets? That being said we have made the transition in half of our upper cabinets and I LOVE it! Well really all we did was take of the doors at this point but it has worked splendidly, even if I do have to wash platters before they get used... I don't mind it one bit!!

If you live in California which is prone to earthquakes you probably want to skip this idea.

I hate open shelving. I think it's much more classy to display dishes you love in a glass front cabinet. It keeps them clean and you can even light them for drama. But, to each their own...

Had it in my previous apartment and it was a nightmare. The kitchen always looked cluttered and dirty. If all of your dishes aren't completely matchy-matchy it looks like a dog's breakfast. Now that I've got children and lots of those brightly colored plates and cups I couldn't imagine it.

I have a tiny kitchen and open shelving. The wood that they're made with is exotic and was made by a woodworker who mixed and matched. Without anything on my shelves, it already looks cluttered and way too busy. There is also open shelving below the counter, so my pots and pans always have to be neatly stacked. I have covered up part of the bottom shelving with a cute little drape to give it a more seamless look, and am ready to paint some of the wordwork so maybe it will look less busy. I have lived with this look for 3 years and want to go back to cupboards.

If you've ever been through a major earthquake in California, you know that a closed cupboard door stops nothing. Everything opens and shuts, bangs and sways. Nothing is sacred to shifting tectonic plates. There are parts of California, however, that are very dusty (central valley), and it's impossible to keep the film of agricultural "stuff" and dust off everything. I love the open look, but more than that I love lower cabinet drawers. Everything is visible and accsessible with big drawers. I'll go with glass upper doors, too.

I've had open shelving in the kitchen for about 7 years now and love it. I don't have matchy-matchy dishes and it still looks great. In my case, it really helped me to identify what i use on a daily / weekly basis. That's what is on the shelves!
You can see mine here: http://tinyurl.com/7o5jzgr

I have one open shelf unit in my kitchen that I use for my nice-looking everyday dishes. It looks great but the biggest problem is DUST - whatever dishes I haven't used within the last couple of days need to be washed before using. And I have to take all the dishes off once a week and wipe down the shelves because it grosses me out to put clean dishes on dusty shelves! If you live in a dusty area (or live in a great old leaky house like we do) you might want to rethink the idea.

I love the look of open shelving, but everything has to be pretty and well organized, and that's just not how I live. The beauty of closed cabinets is that you can hide the mess.

Love love loved the open shelving in our last kitchen. As suggested, our cupboards were neatly kept, our items on display were pretty, the open shelving made our kitchen feel MUCH more spacious, and we don't live in a place that has earthquakes. I guess we were perfect candidates.

We also had a hood vent that helped cut down on grease, and our items were frequently used, cutting back on having to dust constantly.

We have a few open shelves in our tight little space. They look wonderful and as Cashew said, make our small kitchen feel, well, less small. We were very tight on cabinet space and adding the open shelves (they were a new addition as opposed to removing cabinet doors) created more CLOSED space to hide pantry items, which are much less appealing to look at each day.

@ SusieB

LOVE that teal!

I'm renting a place with open shelves, and my multicolored Fiesta Ware dishes look amazing on them. I live in earthquake country, and I'm not terribly worried about the dishes. Fiesta is sturdy, and a closed cabinet won't contain them in a real shaker anyway.

@HERAHERE Good point about the earthquakes and how the doors stop nothing. I just moved to SF and would love to put open shelves on a giant blank wall in our kitchen, but the thought of an big earthquake was stopping me. I just might do it now, after researching how to install into our old plaster walls!

Anyone have some resources for open shelving? Looking for something in stainless steel and somewhat modular to obtain the correct lengths.

I LOVE the look of open shelving. Unfortunately, my boyfriend has the complete opposite opinion. He gets annoyed if I have ANYTHING on the counter space for too long! Luckily we are renting right now so it's not a huge deal (since we can't rip out the cabinets). Does any one have a kitchen that is a hybrid? Some open but mostly closed?

http://deelightfulstudios.blogspot.com/

I have lived in Southern California and I've been through a few dozen quakes in my time, some big. But I've never actually had anything break in my kitchen. Pictures falling off the walls? Yes. But strangely, no glasses or plates broken or flying off the shelves.

I suppose it's smart to prepare for anything, but if the Big One hits, I don't think doors or shelves are going to really matter, so I'd say go with what you love most. It might all fall down a crack in the earth's crust some day, regardless.

As for the aesthetics of open vs closed shelving, I tend to like open only when there are not too many things and they are all in the same color family, otherwise it looks messy to me.

MOST? I think it's time for a poll. Nyet is my vote.

Open shelving never feels open, airy, peaceful and calm like great kitchens with open shelving as you suggest it might. For me it's just eye clutter. I'm not a neat freak but even with the barest most minimal dish and glass ware it's too visually distracting. But that's just me.

My brother and his family have open shelving. Looks nice but grosses me out that their cat sits its bare bottom on the dishes. Also, not great for homes with little kids, even if they're up high, kids throw stuff.

When I redid my kitchen, I put in one long open shelf along the backsplash, and the rest of the shelving is closed. I think a combination works well. I wouldn't want all open storage but I think the one open shelf is very function and great-looking.

I saw a photo of Ina Gartner's NYC apartment kitchen and she had open shelving, which surprised me. I think I recall all her china being matching white restaurant-type china.

I like the look, but I know I'd never be able to execute it myself. I'm too drawn to eclectic china which I don't think looks quite as good as matched sets for open shelving.

A couple apartments ago, I had a TINY kitchen and hardly any counter/cabinet space so we got a kitchen island which had open shelving and were forced to store a lot of stuff there. Not pretty.

Thinking about open shelving to replace some funky corner cabinets that aren't super functional, but worry that this is just a trend everyone will hate 10 years from now. And then I won't have cabinets that match the others. Not ready to jump yet.

I had open shelving in my first home, before we renovated the kitchen and replaced them with glass front cabinets. I have always had all white dishes so matching wasn't an issue, and I have always kept my cupboards neat so that wasn't an issue either. What was an issue was dust. And since the shelves were flanking my stove, it was sticky dust. Items used every day, like dinner and salad plates and drinking glasses weren't as much of an issue. But other things like mixing bowls or maybe pasta bowls would get a sticky dusty film on them that I'd have to wash off every time before use. Super annoying.
If you want the look, I'd suggest glass front cabinets with maybe one section as open shelving, in a corner looks nice. Otherwise I think it's too much hassle.

Just did this last week....LOVE IT!

I could never do this. I find cabinet DOORS a little cluttery! (OK, exaggerating for effect!) But having stuff on display all the time? Nope. I do think this system is fine for those who love it and live minimalistic lives with small amounts of pretty dinnerware. Me, I'm thrilled that I was able to find a toaster oven that actually makes decent toast so I only need to have one appliance out all the time. The less that's visible, the happier I am. (But I don't want to get RID of the things I have and use, either.)

I've seen a lot of really beautiful open shelving kitchens on this website, but I have to say I would never do it myself. Since I am blessed with a large and open kitchen I will stick with traditional cabinets that keep dust and pet hair out.

No open shelving for me. NYC is too dusty of a city, plus I'm a renter so I can't really change the shelving out anyways. Another renter's problem, a crappy hood/vent, so the combo of dust and grease would make me have to wash all my dishes every other day. Open shelving is pretty for magazine shoots, but not for busy city living...

in order to increase storage space my husband built open shelves across one wall of our kitchen. it has worked really well for us. now all the hodge-podge food jars and boxes are behind closed cabinet doors and the simple plates and dishes are on view.

I bake a lot so I do have to remove flour dust from my low open shelving -- but I still like few open shelves -- for the function. It's very handy and nice looking.

When I lived elsewhere, and went through some earthquakes, dishes on open shelves went flying, and while some cupboard doors did open & close several times, those cupboards were on a wall that shook hard but stayed standing. All of the dishes in the cupboards were fine. (but the kitchen windows shattered and the frames were completely wonky) After the first quake, I stopped using open shelves and stopped putting breakables up high.

and we're renters too... we have no qualms about changing the shelving in our NYC apartment. when we leave we'll just spackle.

Having weathered a couple of earthquakes where the cabinet doors opened and closed, I installed earthquake latches on the door - problem solved!

my low open shelving is still above the counter. I wouldn't consider it below the countertop.

we moved into a rental that had NO kitchen cabinets (only the metal cabinet beneath the sink, where it was moldy and rusty). we opted for installed open shelving instead of upper cabinets simply because money and because we could get a custom length without paying a lot of money to do so... best decision ever! we love them, and we like the raw-ness (is that a word?) of them... simple brackets and bare lumber from home depot...

check out the budget-friendly rental reno here:
http://twopeasteenypod.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-24-shelves-above-sink.html

though we don't have nice dinnerware to show, it's so nice to NOT be limited by the walls of upper cabinets when trying to store big things like our dutch oven.

I HATE the look of open shelving, and I cannot understand why anyone would want it. But to each their own, I guess.

i like the look of our kitchen stuff, it's all organized, etc...but we have three cats and their hair gets everywhere, so no. no open shelving for me. that is why we have glass doors on two cabinets. i get the open and airy look, our nice stuff is on display...but it's protected from dust/cat hair and the ugly stuff is hidden. best of both worlds.

I approached question #4 from the opposite end - I found dishware I adored and couldn't stand to have it put away, so I moved it onto an antique hutch in the dining room (at that time used as a bar) in a setup similar to picture #5, moved the cookbooks to the glass-doored upper cabinet in the breakfast room where the dishes had been, and moved the liquor to the counter below the cookbooks. I love it.

The kitchen itself has all enclosed cabinets, and there are enclosed cabinets below the "bar" counter, so plenty of cover-up storage, and just the right amount of open or behind-glass storage for the things I want to show off.

our kitchen doesn't have alot of storage and as i'd kept almost every kitchen item i'd had since moving out of home, last year realising i spent more time looking for things than cooking, i spent a whole afternoon getting rid of what i didn't use, need or liked anymore. what i was left with fitted perfectly in the kitchen. i even found my coffee machine which i now use everyday. our open shelves (built-in display cabinet) shows off only white wares - looks much cleaner and no problem with dust as we use them everyday.

Seems like everything would get too dusty.

@Susie B

The before and after of your kitchen is STUNNING.

i'm down for it. my cabinets are okay being a one-person pad. but every time i go to my family's, everything is just shoved in and nothing has it's lid. i think open shelves and a pegboard wall would keep you honest. dishes don't have to match. just arrange them in an orderly fashion. that will bring visual calm, which is all the pretty you need.

I love the idea of open shelving. We actually have this currently, but not through choice - more by chance. We are renting and have a teeny tiny kitchen with almost no above counter storage, so we had to use a bookcase in the kitchen, and this has become our open shelving. It's a good way to test it out without really committing ourselves. Our dishes are non-matchy, but because they are consistent colours (either white, blue, or blue and white) they work. We have small kids but we did away with all the colourful plastic, and they use real plates, bowls and glasses. They seem to quite enjoy using "grown up" things. Our bookshelf is timber, and I think white would look much better (will paint it some day), which is helpful to know when we plan our 'dream kitchen'.

When we get our own place, I'm definitely open to having (white) open shelving, but nothing below the benchtop....that is where all any 'ugly' stuff goes, and I just find it easier not to have to contend with extra dust at knee-level.

The glass doors in photo 3 are so dumb! The shelves are exposed on the right, left, top and bottom, so what exactly are the doors there for? Just decorative? Ugh.

I love our open shelves. They go up to the (high) ceiling, and are positioned in such a way that they are not visible from the open plan living area, so no need to worry about what's on display.

For those who can't understand open shelving, ours is positioned right opposite the dishwashers, so items go straight from machines to shelves without having to open cupboards/drawers. We do a lot of cooking for large numbers, and the open shelves make things that bit easier.

Before I remodeled our kitchen, I attached some temporary open shelves to the wall, to live with them for a while. They're right next to the window in our very narrow galley kitchen. Because they're floating shelves, they block very little light from the window. I use my range hood religiously, and don't have a problem with dust. The shelf is also above the DW, so it's convenient for putting things away. Someday I'll get around to posting some pictures of the before and after.

Dee_Huest you can always try a sliding door on top of the shelves. Think three sliding doors so you can alter what is hidden vs what's exposed. Or hide all three on those messy days.

@Yonella

It looks as if the glass doors in #3 might slide across the top rail rather than being permanently positioned where they're shown. Although that may not change your opinion, it could be some explanation for the design. (Open shelving is something I like more in concept than in practice for my kitchen and the way I live.)

I'm a huge fan of pot-racks, and they seem much more functional than open-shelving (plus I like the look).

I would love to have a mix of open and closed cabinets.
I think all the earthquake comments are a bit much. I've lived 95% of my life in California and am no stranger to earthquakes but still, I can't even recall any that knocked anything over so I'm not too worried. Just install a small bracer or something at the foot of the shelves so things don't go flying if there is a big one.

I really do love the look of open shelves - in photos. But I am realistic, with a messy husband and 2 cats, I would be constantly washing and arranging things. No thanks.

Realistically, for us, we'd need a mixture of both. I love displaying our jars of grains and beans, the dishes that actually MATCH, and other kitchen wares, but I definitely need somewhere to put all our food and extra stuff. We have very limited storage space so it's hard enough as it is to find places to put things.

I like everything in my cabinets, but I can't imagine living with open shelving. I would spend my life dusting, vacuuming, and washing things that I just washed last week . . . impractical, for many reasons.

I love open shelving, but it's not realistic for me. Two words: shedding dog.

My glass front cabinets are the next best thing.

Have open shelving in our kitchen. Best. Idea. Ever.

If you think you want open shelving, start by putting one open shelf up in your kitchen. Then see how often you have to dust it. Then imagine dusting a 6 ft. long, 2-tiered shelf, or whatever you plan to have. I could never do it. I have a collection of tea pots on open shelves and cannot believe dusty it gets so fast, and I am by no means a neat-nick. Also, I can't imagine anyone with kids ever doing it. Parents, you definitely do NOT want to spend your precious, limited free time dusting, plus with kids you inherently have a lot more kids dishes, various sippy cups, etc. This style is for neat-nicks with time (and no kids!) on their hands, although I do like the look when it's neat and simply done.

I have had open shelving for 10 years. I love it BUT the most important thing to remember...dust, grime. Unless you are using the items on the shelves frequently, dust collects, My top shelves have items I use the least but those shelves have to be cleaned the most. I won't give them up so I put up with a little extra dust.

With big earthquakes (over 6s like here in Canterbury New Zealand) all your cupboard doors fly open and everything falls out anyway, even the fridge (if it hasn't fallen over) so I say go for it. If you want them open, have them. All the supermakets here have got little fronts on the shelves now for the expensive stock like wine, either perspex or wires and strainers. These may help. More importantly good insurance or use blue tack/ museum wax for the heirlooms.

I have open shelving in my kitchen.My counter and sink area are 7ft with a window,so there is very little there that isn't used continuously.I do wipe them daily as routine kitchen cleaning.It's not major for me.We have a island and that provides hidden storage.The entire wall across from my work area is shelving.I keep many items in bright plastic containers.Cans and packaged items disappear as used or are transferred to containers.Keeps them fresh longer.I have numerous appliances and I use vinyl covers for them.That said...when entering the kitchen you can't see any of the shelving until your in it.That helps!We also clean as we go around here.

Shelving was a budget consideration,not a style preference and inadvertently, it has made us more organized and tidier.I like the ease of finding things without having to dig into cabinets.I have a teenager and a senior citizen living in my house.Most of the design here accommodates them.One is physically challenged by age and the other is a hurricane through the house.Their lifestyle needs, day to day ,annoys me on occasion when decorating.The open shelving hasn't had any effect on the 'frat house party in a retirement home' atmosphere around my house.If we had cabinets...one would be complaining that she couldn't get to and find stuff easily enough and the other would dumps stuff any where as she used it to begin with.having wall and pantry cabinets wouldn't be here or there for me at this point.

Susie B, great pics of your kitchen! I love it!
I love open cabinets but fear the dog hair and the dust from the circulating fan would make everything yucky quickly. We would only have open cabinets higher up. Anyone have any experience with this?

It's funny, I approached #1 from the opposite angle, much like a previous poster with #4. If I have closed cabinets, I feel no compunction to keep the insides tidy. If I can't see it, I don't worry about it. I transitioned to open shelving because I love seeing my dishes, but also because if I see it, I have to keep it organized. My kitchen shelves are much better organized with open shelving, though it's still a different story with the jars, appliances, et al. beneath the counters.

@SUZEH

I have four *5 lbs greyhounds.No problems.My shelving on the open wall starts approximately counter height and goes to the ceiling.Believe me ...the dogs are easier to accommodate around the house,including the kitchen, than the senior or the teenager.

I meant FOUR 85 lbs greyhounds.LOL!That's alotta dogs!Many more than most people have.Maybe I'm some kinda cleaning machine,but I doubt that very much.I don't tend to notice others housekeeping.so I'll assume it's because I'm not OCD clean.LOL!

See old lady and the teen make me so nervous I couldn't type. hehehe.

I love the idea of it, but practically I don't think I could ever do it. I think the constant battle against dust and pollen (in the spring) would drive me nuts. Ideally I'd like to have mostly glass front cabinets, with a few regular cabinets to hide the less than pretty stuff.

larsie;

we have two rowdy boys and open shelving is great for us because of frequent use. my cupboard doors would fall off from the many times our eldest goes into them. i know from experience that 'collections' should be behind glass-front doors..... every weekend i had to dust (sometimes wash) my mother's dusty collectables of knick-knacks and she had 3 cabinets full. as an adult i loathe these kinds of things! our collectables of good china are in a glass cabinet used for bigger gatherings, of course locked up from our 20-month old Agent Chaos.

SuzieB, I love the colours of your kitchen and your crockery.

I love SuzieB's kitchen (and want an official tour), and her very neat open shelving. But the look of open cupboard that had their doors removed - that is a decision I think many will regret. And for me? Even if I had good professional looking shelves, I know I couldn't keep it clean.

@Hello123: Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to try open shelves.

You couldn't pay me enough to live in a house with open shelving. I much prefer an uncluttered aesthetic. I few rippled glass fronted cabinets for my collection of Japanese ware is as far as I go.

I put in open shelving when I remodeled my kitchen and I love it - everything is right at hand.I l don't really stress too much about it looking "display perfect" either... I've got a pretty casual aesthetic generally. As far as things getting dusty, the stuff that gets used frequently doesn't, and the stuff that is only used occasionally isn't a big deal to rinse off first. :-)

You can see the before and after shots here:

http://pinterest.com/bingobranding/for-the-home/

Open shelving = high maintenance! I keep things tidy, but whenever I reach for a plate or a I often first need to rinse it before I can use it. This can be really inconvenient when you offer a guest a coffee cup or glass. I live alone and try as I might, I can't keep all the dinnerware in constant rotation. I'm going back to closed cupboards so I can spontaneously set a nice table at a moment's notice

I like the open shelving look very much, but agree you have to have a lifestyle that allows for it. I have a few open shelves where we store all the coffee and tea making things and the butter dish, bowls of lemons and garlic, and a few ceramics. They do get dusty and eventually greasy. Not an issue for the daily use stuff, but the shelves and the ceramics need a thorough soaking scrub once a month.

Personally, I dislike glass front shelving. It reminds me of some kind of granny china display that just doesn't feel modern and relaxed the way I want my space to feel. If it isn't in regular use, I don't want to see it. Fine china, bar ware and rarely used things like waffle irons are stored away out of sight unless they are needed.

I live in a Chicago rental with both cabinets and open shelving, and we use the open shelving for all of our dishes because we really don't have a choice. We also have two cats. Moved in about 4 months ago.

That said, dust/cat hair hasn't been an issue, maybe because we only store a small amount of dishes on the shelves (my roommate and I both had 12-piece dish sets, and we keep about 6 of each set out, the rest are stored in a closet). Our kitchen is super small and I've really enjoyed how the shelves make it feel less closed in, as well as getting to see the mix and match of our dishes.

I live in a rental devoid of just about any character and that I'm not allowed to paint or make any changes to. Taking off the cabinet doors to one of my upper cabinets was the best thing I ever did for my super boring kitchen. I love it! http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourjuliet/6281909342/in/set-72157626452540991/ It seems much more "me" now that I can wake up every morning and see all my nice dishes on display.
Not to mention, one of my main reasons I did this was because that cabinet it near impossible to reach and get at without the doors off. So it was win-win.

Open shelving or not - if the earthquake is strong enough, it can be a real mess. During the Norhridge quake, my cupboards and kitchen drawers opened just to catch the flying dishes from the other side! No exaggeration! My biggest concern about open shelving would be the dust factor.

We recently renovated and went with open shelving in the kitchen. It helps that we also put in a large floor to ceiling cupboard to store the less attractive items. We put everyday items on the open shelves and everything else in the cupboard. Dust has not been an issue; I think in part because everything on the shelves is used, washed, and dried frequently instead of just sitting looking pretty (and collecting said dust).

I want to be able to get to things without so much effort. My kitchen seems determined to put me off cooking, and makes every effort doubly hard as I try to keep counter space clear whilst preparing a dish, or try to find that thing I need. Open shelves would give me extra storage space and I could display my favourite dishes and actually start using them instead of thinking of how hard they are to get to. It's a low cost solution to a common problem renters face - minimal storage space. And I think it can look fantastic too. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

What about hygiene? Do you people so eager to adopt the latest fad realize that your dishes will always be dusty and/or dirty? You prep, cook and eat your food in those dishes, for crying out loud! Yeah, I know, I can rinse or wash pieces as I pick them for use, but is that really a way to live, to be constantly cleaning something you have already cleaned?

And if the above argument is not enough, please consider that a kitchen that is all open cabinets looks like you are poor and can't afford even the basic furniture. What do you think storage furniture like cabinets was invented for? If you thought it was to make a home stylish, think again. The purpose of cabinets is to be able to put away things neatly and in a way that makes your life easier, to hide clutter and to keep things clean. Kitchen cabinets are all about functionality.

What's next? Hanging your clothes on pegs on a wall instead of keeping them in the closet, with the excuse that demolishing the closet will make your room look more comfy?

Some people don't have as dusty houses. It really seems to depend on your local climate.

I've lived in a few different places in the country, and the dust levels are incredibly different. Right now I unfortunately live fairly close to a major road, and the amount of ambient dust it seems to produce is amazing! If I leave the windows open, within a week or two one wipe on the window sill comes away with a black covered rag.

This definitely wouldn't be the place for open shelving.

I've been considering open shelving for the following reasons:

1 - Our house is somewhat dated (1960s) and I think taking off the upper cabinet doors and painting them something punchy would give us a fresh look. To wood-purists out there, the cabinets have been painted a zillion times with varying shades of white and cream and look awful.
2 - I'm considering removing the (same style) cabinet doors in our laundry room first, painting and organizing those and then seeing how I like that look before taking the big kitchen plunge.
3 - Obvs with all the other posters in that we have a dog and I would want to keep lower cabinets closed to avoid grimyness.
4 - Husband is the kind that hates getting rid of stuff, while I think our kitchen oddball drinking glasses collection and utensils could be edited. A kitchen reorg for the sake of opening shelving would give me license to do that.
5 - We inherited the most bland, vanilla kitchen ever. Seriously. The walls are beige, the counters are white, tile is white, fridge is white, and the icky cabinets are dingy white. It needs something.
6 - Kitchen needs a major redo. We have original 1966 double ovens. Beige. I think opening the shelves and getting a different look for a couple of years would be nice while we save up the $ to do the big work. And if I don't end up liking the openness, I can always opt for nice, closed cabinets when we remodel.

Now just to get some time to complete the project. I will keep lurking on every "check out these open shelves" links I can find.

@kpaukpau: For me, the appeal of open shelves is their functionality. If you do a lot of cooking for large numbers, they are a must (as in pro kitchens). Open shelves happen to fit a particular aesthetic popular with AT readers, but if you then have to worry about what goes on them, keeping them 'viewer-ready', and dusting because your dishes are not used regularly, then that seems to defeat the purpose somewhat. So I would think carefully about your reasons for wanting them before diving in.

I made the switch to open shelving a couple of years ago. I love it, and I use my dishes often enough that dust isn't a problem. I do wipe down any shelf whenever I have a bunch of dishes in the dishwasher. Also I made the switch over to all white dishes to cut down on visual clutter.

Part of my open shelving is part of my pantry. That took me awhile to get used to and figure out how to organize. It always looks nice and organized now but it was a challenge I'm the beginning.