You know that Pinterest-perfect kitchen?
The one with the floating wooden shelves, the perfectly stacked dishes, a casually-placed olive branch in a handmade ceramic vase?

Yeah. That’s the one I deeply side-eye.

Open shelving may look dreamy on Instagram, but in real life — where people actually cook, spill things, and own mismatched mugs — it’s not always the hero it's made out to be. And today, I’m finally saying it:
I’m just not a fan.

Here’s why:

Dust, Grime & Grease – Oh My!

Unless you live in a house that cleans itself (in which case, please adopt me), open shelves are basically dust magnets. Now add cooking oil into the mix.

Now imagine that film of grime settling on your plates. Yum?

Closed cabinets exist for a reason: to keep your everyday essentials from becoming part of your home’s dust ecosystem.

It’s Not Storage. It’s a Stage.

The thing about open shelving is — it’s not really for storing things.
It’s for curating things.

You can’t just throw your kids’ plastic water bottles, your chipped mugs from college, or your stack of paper plates up there. Oh no. You need aesthetic bowls, matching cups, and ideally, a cookbook you’ve never read but has a nice spine.

It’s a decor project disguised as functionality.

Pressure to Be Pretty

If you don’t style it right, open shelving quickly becomes “Why does this look like a garage sale?”
You’re constantly thinking about visual balance, color harmony, and how many white dishes are too many white dishes.

At some point, it stops being about convenience and starts being about performance. And honestly? I have enough pressure keeping my plants alive.

Minimalism Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Some people thrive with a minimalist lifestyle — they own four plates, two cups, and one wooden spoon. And that’s great.

But if you have a family, host dinners, or just like the occasional impulse-buy at HomeGoods, open shelving can make you feel like you’re doing something wrong for just owning stuff.

Minimalism should be about peace — not pressure.

Final Thoughts

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. You do You! Until next Friday :)

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