No Pantry? No Problem! This Open Storage Solution Is Perfect for Grains, Spices, and More 

If you’ve ever lived in a home with a small kitchen — especially if you like to cook — you know how difficult it can be to find adequate storage for pantry items, utensils, dishware, cookware, and more. Often, the cabinets will be bursting at the seams, and you’ll quickly run out of closed storage for all the everyday items that you want to fit in a kitchen.

A popular solution for this problem has been a topic of hot debate for some years: open shelving offers a design-friendly solution, but it also means that infrequently-used items are likely to collect dust or cooking residue. On the other hand, those on “team open shelving” often use it in spaces low on closed storage to begin with and truly might not mind the dusting and organization it requires.

The open shelving in Noor Hasan’s East London home is a perfect example of functional open shelving done right. Along with her partner, Hasan decided to install open shelving throughout the kitchen and connected living space to add more storage, as the home was lacking in that department.

The kitchen, in particular, had a limited number of traditional built-in cabinets, so open shelving on the walls was the perfect way to add space for dry pantry goods like spices, grains, and pasta. The coordinating jars she stored items in make the shelves feel cohesive, and pops of color from the cabinets, art, and plants balance out the more utilitarian use of the shelves. Across the way in the kitchen, matching shelves hold plates, bowls, and glassware. The same shelving system extends out into the living space for a more decorative display, blending the rooms into one cohesive space.