I don't have pictures, but my last kitchen I did a glass cabinet over the corner sink--it was sort of nice since it wasn't looking out a window.

Because all the kitchens you like have glass, well yeah you ought to do some glass! I don't believe you HAVE to stack to get the top bits in glass--depends on how custom your custom cabinets are (my guy would probably get uncomfortable).

Yes. You must have glass. Because you want it!

Katie I love the look of stacked cabinets with glass in just the upper cabinets, I just didn't have tall enough ceilings to do that but I've coveted them for a very long time!

Here is a link to a cabinetmaker that I looked at a lot when designing my own kitchen. If you scroll through the different galleries you'll see various kitchens using glass and some without. HTH.

Kat :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Cook & Cook Cabinetry

Check the Finished Kitchens Blog (http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/), there are a lot of pics with kitchens with glass fronted cabinets...both top only of stacked, "regular" cabinets, as well as corner cabinets.

There's even a "Glass Doors" link under the "Special Features" category.

To get to the categories, click the "FKB Categories" link on the navigation panel on the right side of the any finished kitchen or the FKB homepage. Then, scroll down to the bottom for the "Special Features" category and look for the "Glass Doors" link. When you click on the link, you will see a list of the kitchens w/glass doors. (There are 188 as of right now.) Click on the username of the person owning the kitchen (e.g., "gam51's Kitchen")

HTH!

We did glass in the top parts of our uppers because we couldn't commit to all glass in the 42 inch cabinet. The glass part is not functional though and we only use it to display something. We love it! Here's a pic:

Agree on the glass for the stacked uppers. Scroll down at this link to see Mrs. Limestone's kitchen (a classic!).

Here is a link that might be useful: Brooklyn Limestone Kitchen

I had hoped to have stacked cabinets with glass in the uppers, but alas, our ceilings are not tall enough. So we decided on having two cabinets flanking the cooktop with glass at the very top. These were just installed over the last two days.

I've been reading up here because we are in a similar boat...I really want that look!!

innanarbor- what size are your cabinets? I'd love to know - it's just what I'm looking for! Thanks!

Innanarbor -- I love your photo, really nice style. Two questions for you:

1) What lighting are you using, both in the upper cabs and the under cab lighting?

2) What is your backsplash tile?

do a search for mairin....her kitchen is dark wood with glass uppers and it's amazing. i have a white kitchen and only put one glass cabinet in for my wine glasses above our wine fridge but for the same reason us said..i didn't just want a wall of whiteness!!! i do like the look of it somewhere if you can incorporate it in....a corner cabinet would be nice and look like a built in....

nhbaskets, I LOVE your cabinets! I hope you'll post more pics when everything else is installed.

My photos are pretty awful, but we have stacked cabinets with glass uppers. There are lights in the upper cabinets that are not on in this photo. I love the look, and for us because we have very high ceilings (12 feet), we needed to break up the monotony. You can get the same look with a long door with glass on the top. We couldn't have done that as tall as we wanted, so we did stacked, even though it was more expensive:

Here you can see the whole cabinet, and the lights are on:

We did glass uppers on the side, and full glass in the middle in our butler's pantry:

katieob,
Here are on pics of our kitchen. We put glass in the corner and the two end to try to break up the tall stacked cabs. Sorry about the picture quality. Some day I will get around to taking some good pics of my kitchen.

Jeannie I love your kitchen and is that Emma Bridgewater I spy in the last picture?! I have a lot of her stuff too! gglks I've always loved your basketweave BS I wish I could have done something similar!

inannarbor and nhbaskets, you need to post more pics of your kitchens...very pretty! My inlaws are U of M grads...what the heck do they put in the water out there anyway?! Their whole house is blue and maize!

And who is Mrs. Limestone and why isn't she my friend? I love her kitchen and want to be invited to tea at her house!

Kat ;)

Thanks, lesmis. And yes that is Emma Bridgewater, which I absolutely adore. I recently saw a kitchen in a magazine or somewhere that had an entire china cabinet filled with Emma Bridgewater, and it looked great.

GGLKS-

Love your space!! We are in the middle of doing something very similar! What are your cabinets?

katieob: My kitchen (or soon to be :-) is not white, but we did glass uppers to avoid dust, lighten up the visual bank of cabs since they are so dark, and because when coming down my staircase you would be able to see the top of the cabs a little!!! I would highly recommend it, but keep in mind it is pricey (why is glass so darn expensive??) and it helps to do some kind of lighting inside.

gglks - you are too kind! but the compliment gave me that much needed lift. I've been in packing chaos - we move on thursday (Aaaahhhh!!!!), and I just got a call from the GC that they didn't have enough of the onyx moulding tiles (screaming explitives) that took 2 weeks to get here. It's my fault, I did the ordering and measuring, was trying to avoid wasting $$ on extra tiles since they run (gasp) $50 each!!!!

don't mind the missing cabinet doors - they needed to be re-made!

mairin------darn...i was really hoping to see your backsplash soon!!!!!

sfcitydweller----thanks! my cabinets are omega/dynasty. we don't have ANY custom cabinets. dynasty is their "non- custom" line. the door style is called wyatt and the color is called pearl. the island is also wyatt door style but in alder wood with a chestnut stain. hope this helps....post pics of your kitchen soon!

Hi.

Wow-just checked in and am so impressed with the responses, pics, and links. Thanks so much. Now I know-I will definitely be using glass! You've all inspired me. I love all your upper stacks with glass. I just have to figure out if it will work with my somewhat busy hood (Modern aire PS 26)....If not, definitely a corner glass cabinet.

fori~I like your style: I want it, I should get it. I'll give you my dh's cell number...

lesmis~That website is fab. Great browsing.

buehl~The glass doors section of the FKB was great.

inannarbor~I love how high and regal your cabinets seem.

ella socal~Mrs. Limestone's blog is pure design porn. I love her kitchen.

nhbaskets and jeannie kitchen~If I do stacked glass, I will go with the 4 square pane. Love. Emma Brigewater toast & marmalade is so perfect in a glass cab!

grendal fly and gglks~That is exactly what I meant about breaking up the wall of cabinets. Great designs.

Mairin~I am a white kitchen enthusiast, but your kitchen could convert me! Pefect rich color. Wow. Sorry about the tiles-bummer.

Thanks all & any other photos are appreciated!
Katie

My kitchen is similar to your goal: white cabs, marble countertop / backsplash, etc., and one thing I often wish I'd done differently is having more glass doors. Yeah, we can always have the doors changed but before I spend another penny on that kitchen every other project in this house better be done!

Here's my wall of white:

It's lovely and incredibly functional, but I think glass uppers would help break up all the white. But sometimes I like how simple it is ... no pleasing some people! Plus, I'd have to clean out the messy top shelves if I had glass. Hmm.

I'm also conflicted about the glass cabs we do have: I love a door with mullions (or is it muntins?) but I hate when those mullions / muntins block the view of the decorative pieces. So we had ours without mullions / muntins because we knew what would be going in those cabs and I wanted to see those objets in all their glory. That being said, I still love a glass door with mullions / muntins! I am esp. gaga for the wood which arcs like back-to-back or interlocking Cs ... yummy. (mamadadapaige has some stunning examples in her collection)

I have one on the end run it's where I keep my dishes. I love the look.

These pictures are making me regret that I didn't use any glass in my new kitchen. I wanted it, but didn't feel that I had a cabinet that I could devote to "pretty" storage.

I worried about having a boring wall of white, but it hasn't turned out that way, as the appliances break it up. Still, if you have room for pretty storage, I'd get some glass.

I used some glass uppers and others solid over glass lower cabinets. It took me days to decide how to do this but I considered each wall separately and what I would most likely be putting in these cabinets, etc. Here are some photos so you can see how various combinations look:

I had the same question and concerns when planning my kitchen renovation. I know myself well enough to be certain I would get weary of maintaining the contents of all my cabinets in "company" order if I had all glass doors.

I chose one corner cabinet in glass for dishes and glassware.

{{!gwi}}

ktrud and sterlingsilver,

We have 8ft ceiling, the top glass part is 12in and the bottom 30in, we have 42in uppers on the other wall.

The lights inside the glass cabinets are xenon puck and the lights on the bottom are from Lowe's (xenon strip).

The backsplash is a travertine mini-brick "Multi tumbled cardine" from the Tile shop

Here is a link that might be useful: Backsplash

We have both glass cabs and stacked glass uppers. We put lighting in the stacked uppers as well. Our glass cabinets are sort of in a "hutch" configuration. (There is a trim piece missing from the center of the "hutch" crown moulding and light rails that have been installed since these pics was taken)

I love my glass uppers!
I have had them about 2 years now! They only need dusting occasionally! I love how the light shines from them and I change the plates seasonally! I always get compliments on them.!
Here are some pics! click on the pic to see all!
Christine