Open shelving has become a popular kitchen design trend in recent years. If you are in the process of remodeling your kitchen, you may be thinking about eliminating your upper cabinets and going with open shelving instead.

While this approach might work for some homeowners, many homeowners may find that investing in custom upper cabinets for their kitchen is a better option instead.

1. Cleanliness

The last thing you want is a kitchen that looks cluttered. Upper cabinets can significantly reduce the appearance of clutter by keeping all of your stored items hidden from view. If you only have open shelving available, your kitchen can begin to look messy very quickly.

Open shelving also allows all items stored to be exposed to the environment. This means that dust can collect on your dishware and food products faster than it would if those items were stored in closed upper cabinets.

If you value the cleanliness of your kitchen, upper cabinets can maximize the cleanliness and tidiness of your remodeled kitchen space.

2. Protection

Many of the items that are stored in a kitchen can be classified as fragile. You may have a set of china or a collection of shot glasses from your travels in your kitchen. These types of items need to be stored in a secure location so that they don't sustain any damage.

Open shelving cannot offer the same type of protection as upper cabinets. A heavy door slam or a hard knock against the wall could be enough to dislodge these fragile items from an open shelf. Custom upper cabinets will keep your fragile items safe. For example, you can opt to incorporate glass doors on some of the upper cabinets in your kitchen if you want to enjoy the visibility open shelving offers without sacrificing the safety of your treasured items.

3. Function

It's hard to customize open shelving. You can change the color, placement, and width of the shelving, but you can't add any drawers or slides to make accessing the items on open shelving more convenient. However, upper cabinets can maximize the function of your kitchen. These custom cabinets can be fitted with a variety of inserts that will allow you to conveniently store all kinds of dishware, kitchen appliances, and other gadgets.

Custom cabinet inserts help ensure that everything stored in your upper cabinets remains fully accessible at all times. Contact a custom kitchen cabinet company for more information.