The Dilemma of Cabinets or Shelves

​When designing your kitchen’s storage areas, a common debate is the one of kitchen cabinets vs
shelves. Either option can be viable to give you your ideal personalized kitchen space. It all depends
on how you wish your kitchen to look and your preferred accessibility of items. In most houses, you
will find a combination of the two to allow you the freedom of choice on where to put your items.
So, what are the pros and cons of having either shelves or cabinets in your kitchen?

Advantages of Shelves

• ​Accessibility - Generally, it is easier to access and retrieve items stored in shelves as

opposed to those stored in cabinets. This is because shelves lack doors which isnt the case with
cabinets. Also, shelves are preferred for commonly used items because of their ease of
accessibility.

• Spacious Look – Shelves, unlike kitchen cabinets, give your kitchen a unique spacious look.

This is due to their lack of doors.

• Simple installation – the simple structural design of shelves means that you can install one

yourself.

• Cheap – it is far cheaper to install a shelf than a cabinet in your kitchen for two reasons. The

first one is that it requires far fewer materials to construct. Often, your kitchen wall will
double-up as the hind wall to your shelf. As such, you only need the frames to complete it.
The other reason why shelves are cheaper is because they do not require expert skills to
install.

Disadvantages of Shelves

• ​High risk of breakages - The downside of shelves is that you run a greater risk of breakages.

Naturally, fragile and easily-breakable items are stored in cabinets, leaving the shelves for
other items.

• Lack privacy – Anything stored in a kitchen shelf is in full view of anyone who enters your

cooking area. This lack of privacy is why some people prefer cabinets as opposed to shelves
in their kitchens.

Advantages of Kitchen Cabinets

• ​Prevents exposure to vermin and other pests – items stored in kitchen cabinets are kept

safe from pests and vermin that may be found in the kitchen. This is particularly the case
with modern custom cabinets which are often compact and inaccessible except through the
open doors.

• Lower risk of breakages – thanks to the doors and drawers installed in all compartments of

kitchen cabinets, it is a lot harder to break objects during storage or retrieval.

• Stylish look in your kitchen – There is something about well-designed kitchen cabinets that

give your kitchen a stylish look that you don’t find with shelves.

•  Private – A kitchen cabinet will accord you much more privacy with regards to what you

choose to store in them unlike shelves.

Disadvantages of Kitchen Cabinets

costly to install – due to the materials and expertise required to install a fully-functional
kitchen cabinet, their cost is significantly higher than that of installing shelves.
If you are stuck in deciding which storage method to use in the kitchen cabinets vs shelves debate,
use the pros and cons listed to help you make up your mind. Alternatively, you can seek expert
opinions from us if you are situated in the New Braunfels area or nearby.