Kitchen design options without upper cabinets
The most important thing in a kitchen set is a sufficient number of work surfaces and storage spaces. If everything you need in the kitchen fits in cabinets, the presence of hanging cabinets is not mandatory. Why overload the work area with heavy and crushing furniture if there is no special need for it? Just because it's the way it is? It's time to say goodbye to boring stereotypes. Remember: furniture is for the kitchen, not the kitchen is for furniture.
Ready-made standard solutions go into oblivion. Creating custom-made kitchen projects, designers take into account the peculiarities of the housing layout and the personal preferences of the owners. If you don't want top cabinets, get rid of them. But first, be sure to weigh all the pros and cons of this decision. Think about where and how you will store dishes, utensils, supplies.
Kitchen without upper cabinets: pros and cons
pros
1. Lots of light. The working area really becomes lighter, which makes the cooking process more comfortable.
2. Space. A kitchen without bulky hanging cabinets seems much taller and slightly wider.
3. Cleanliness. Upper cabinets located next to the stove get dirty quickly. Washing them is not so easy, because aggressive cleaning can harm the appearance of facades and furniture frames. If only the hood and the “apron” remain above the stove, the process of maintaining cleanliness is simplified. Washing a moisture-resistant wall surface lined with ceramics or covered with glass is much easier than furniture.
4. Savings. Why overpay for frames, facades, glass inserts and fittings for upper cabinets if they are hardly used? A kitchen consisting of only the bottom row is much cheaper.
5. Safety. Rarely, but, unfortunately, it happens that hanging cabinets, weighed down with dishes, fall.
It is worth saying that the upper cabinets are not always convenient - people of short stature have to stretch or use a stool. Cabinets with deep drawers are suitable for everyone.
Minuses
1. Less storage space. Their shortage is felt much more often than excess. The top modules are actually very practical. When the length and width are small, you have to use the height. Rejecting hanging cabinets in a small kitchen, the owners may face serious inconvenience.
2. Everything in plain sight. The top row of furniture obscures the bottom row. This makes imperfections less noticeable. If the kitchen is left without hinged modules, any flaws, minor dirt, streaks and fingerprints on glossy and glass surfaces will be evident.
3. Dust on open shelves. Many, choosing a single-row plan for their kitchen, mount shelves above the work area. They look much lighter and do not overload the space. However, everything that is stored on them quickly gathers dust.
If the kitchen is small (less than 10 sq. M.), Refusing the top row of the headset is hardly advisable. At least a couple of hanging cabinets should be included in the project.
Kitchen without upper cabinets: how to put everything?
In hanging cabinets most often store dishes. If the kitchen-dining room has a place for stand-alone buffet, you can do without the upper furniture row. The color and style of the sideboard does not have to match the kitchen set.
In a large kitchen can be arranged pantry, which will fit not only utensils, but also numerous stocks. Under the built-in pantry, one of the corners is usually taken away.
One of the sides of the kitchen set, which has an angular or parallel shape, can be made in the form deaf cabinets-columns with built-in oven, microwave and refrigerator. At the same time, the side in which the working area with the stove and sink is located remains as open and light as possible.
Another option is to insulate balcony or loggia if there are any in the kitchen. This additional area will become a capacious storage for kitchen utensils, which will allow you to painlessly abandon the top row of furniture.
If the kitchen area is large, set in the center Island. Equipped with shelves and drawers, the island is able to replace a cupboard for storing dishes.
What to place above kitchen furniture without upper cabinets?
If the furniture row is not too long, you can leave the wall above the work area empty. Do not hang anything other than a hood. Ideal for a minimalist kitchen.
If the work area without hanging cabinets seems empty, you can decorate it with low pendant lights.
They hang rails for kitchen utensils, posters under glass, large wall clocks with a washable case, and metal signs with cute, funny or motivating inscriptions. Sometimes a bright apron is enough to make the work area look full.