Why does every home renovation show insist on open shelving in kitchens

I swear, every time I flip on a renovation show, they're ripping out perfectly good upper cabinets and putting in these little floating shelves. As someone who paints kitchens for a living, I see these things in real homes six months later. They're covered in a layer of grease dust, and the homeowner is constantly wiping down every single plate and glass before using them. My crew and I had to repaint a whole kitchen after the client tried to clean her open shelving with too much vinegar and it ate through the finish. I've seen three jobs this year alone where people paid to have them removed and replaced with actual cabinets. It looks great in a photo or on TV, but in a real house with real cooking and real dust, it's a nightmare. Am I the only one who thinks this trend needs to die already? Has anyone else had to fix the mess after someone watched too many episodes of those shows?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_sullivan9710d ago

Yeah I used to think open shelving looked clean and modern, but after seeing what happens to them in actual use I'm completely on your side now. Nothing makes you hate a look faster than scraping grease off plates.

elizabeth_bailey2610d ago

Wow, three jobs just this year of people ripping them out? That's a lot of wasted money. I always figured the grease and dust would be a problem but hearing it ate through the paint is wild. How much do people usually pay to undo that whole mess?