Yes. It’s horrible even if you have good ventilation. And most people have inadequate ventilation that lets grease and moisture get all over everything.

I know someone who has open shelves above stove with a vent. They are constantly having to get on a step stool to clean the area due to the condensation from cooking steam.

Functionally a bad idea.

I never put open shelves near steam.

I have noticed this new trend of various length shelves on both sides of a range hood. It looks ridiculous, especially since you can't even reach the upper shelves. Then they put a sconce over the whole mess.

This idiocy has 13,000 saves on Houzz.

i have open shelves, and love them, but not near the cooktop.

i will NEVER be one of those people who don't have x but say x cant work... but i will say, if your adjacent cabinet sides are dirty after you cook, your open shelves will be dirty after you cook.

No open shelving near a range.

I could understand having one shelf that's easy to reach and clean but multiple shelves are just there to make some sort of design statement. I would rather see the beautiful tile than a cluttered wall that is in need of cleaning. I neglect my chimney hood because I don't feel like getting out the step stool. I would not want to face taking everything off the shelves to clean regularly.

Come to think of it, the other thing I dread cleaning is my bookcase, which has pottery pieces along with books.

Thank you everyone. There will be no open shelving near our range. The kitchen designer we are working with would have mixed them anyway but now she won't have to.

Is 36" hood to 30" range good ventilation? I've heard 30-35" above range for the bottom of the hood placement is appropriate.