You’re so welcome! Before I had open shelving, I always wondered the same thing too. Of course, I think it makes a difference about homes too. I think some older homes without modern ventilation, etc., might get dustier? If you’re curious, try adding one open shelf somewhere in your kitchen and put something you use often on it and test it out. You can always take it down and replace it with art if you find it’s too dusty :).

That’s a really good point. I love being able to see tchotchkes, but always wondered about keeping it relatively clean. I never cook anything greasy either… would just have to make sure my stuff got used and rotated regularly. Thanks for answering my question so thoroughly! 🙂

Sweet! Thanks for the link, I wish I still had an IKEA where I live! Just note that the IKEA shelf seems to be a single and the one I bought is a two-pack. Plus the shipping was free for mine and it came with all of the hardware (even a screwdriver!), which IKEA doesn’t include, so I’m not 100% sure IKEA would have saved me $$$ in the end. It would need to be shipped really cheaply and to where I live, it’s never cheap shipping. But if you have an IKEA in your city, then it’s a good option to check out. It’s also about an inch deeper, I think? Just something to think about – I chose mine because it fits the jars perfectly.

That’s such a good use of those acrylic ledges!

And thanks for your kind words about my kitchen! I actually find that my books and tops of pictures get dustier than the kitchen, I think because I’m constantly using stuff in the kitchen. What rests, dusts, lol. So for cleaning it, if I’m dusting the rest of the house with a swiffer duster, I’ll do the kitchen too. Or if all of the plates are in the dishwasher, I’ll quickly wipe down the shelf. Here and there I clean it – haven’t done it in weeks and weeks though (#summer). A few times a year I take it all down and give it a good wash, but I’m always surprised at how little dust. BUT I am a lazy cook. I do a lot of “toss it in the oven” and go kind of cooking. I even cook bacon in the oven! So I don’t do a lot of pan frying and stuff that would make a kitchen greasier. So I think it depends on that: how often the open shelving is used and how someone cooks.