Open shelving: glasses up or down?

[MountainMomma]

Yep; it's fun to have an antique kitchen. I'm really enjoying the challenge of thinking through what I can do to look retro without compromising modern conveniences. As I was noodling the pots and pans issue, I was remembering those wooden ladders that people use as pot racks in some rustic kitchens, hence my above question. I totally take Andy's point, so I'm thinking of putting my pots/pans in lower (closed) cabinets, but I'm now conceiving of mounting the ladder on the ceiling to hang drying herbs from it. I think it will be both practical and evoke the old world charm.

Meanwhile, I'm planning out my upper cabinets. We had to replace every window in the farmhouse for energy reasons, and I now have about 60 window sashes that are each about 29" X 28". I have 9 spots where these could be mounted to fixed shelves to form DEEP doors that would let me see what's there, but keep them a bit shielded from the dirt of the kitchen. This is now my plan for the kitchen... I think!

If you want to see what I'm dealing with here in pictures, you can go here: The Clanstead | Renovating, Homesteading, and Decorating

[CharlieD]

Down.

[Bigjim68]

I have my pots hung over an island cooktop. They gather some grease, but a quick cleaning gets them ready for the stove. Those I use daily do not need the cleaning.

If you can get below the range top with a vent pipe, you can install a downdraft popup vent. I did that and it works very well. It is about 2" wide and is hidden when not in use.
It will save a lot of cleaning in your cleaning.

[MountainMomma]

Originally Posted by Bigjim68

If you can get below the range top with a vent pipe, you can install a downdraft popup vent. I did that and it works very well. It is about 2" wide and is hidden when not in use.
It will save a lot of cleaning in your cleaning.

With a wood/electric cookstove like this one?

[Aunt Bea]

Down

I think the open kitchen storage idea is a good one if you have an honest working kitchen where things are used on a regular basis and they are out for a reason.

If it is only a "look" then I think it would drive me nuts because of the grease and grime on the staged items.

[FrankZ]

We alternate them.. so they all fit.

[Zhizara]

Originally Posted by Aunt Bea

Down

I think the open kitchen storage idea is a good one if you have an honest working kitchen where things are used on a regular basis and they are out for a reason.

If it is only a "look" then I think it would drive me nuts because of the grease and grime on the staged items.

I agree with you about open shelving. Not so much because of getting dirty, but because it just looks unfinished.

[Alix]

Down here too.

[Dawgluver]

Down with glasses. Up with bowls!

[PattY1]

I like the open look.