Removing Upper Cabinets: Making Room for Penny Tile, Open Shelving, and a New Range Hood

We removed our upper kitchen cabinets to make way for a new design: a full wall of penny tile from counter to ceiling, flanked by a few feet of open shelving on either side of a built-in range hood. The cabinets weren’t demolished — they were carefully taken down so we can reuse parts like the doors for the new peninsula and donate the rest. When we moved in last December the kitchen felt overwhelmed by wood, so this change is a welcome fresh start.

We’ve been planning a penny tile backsplash and some open shelving for a while, and removing the uppers was the first visible step. The shelving will be limited — just a few feet on either side of the vent hood — and we’ll retain other upper cabinets above the pantry, fridge, and dishwasher so overall storage won’t disappear.

Before tearing anything out, we emptied all the upper cabinets to test our storage needs. We intend to keep everyday dishes on the open shelves (they’ll be used and washed often, so dust won’t be an issue) along with decorative items like a vase, a few cookbooks, lidded jars for sugar and flour, and a potted plant or two. Everything else would need to be relocated to remaining cabinets and the new peninsula.

We spent about thirty minutes deciding where to store the odds and ends — things like phone books, light bulbs, and cookie cutters. Instead of hastily stuffing items into whatever cabinet had space, we planned it out so we wouldn’t be rearranging constantly during renovation. That deliberate approach paid off: once everything was reassigned, we actually found we had extra room. The entire corner cabinet of the peninsula is completely empty even after everything essential has found a new home, which is a pleasant surprise for this stage of the kitchen renovation.

We’ve moved everyday dishes into another corner cabinet near the stove, and when we take those dishes out to display on the open shelves that cabinet will be free as well. There’s also a fully empty upper cabinet next to the pantry; it will be shortened and rehung with a microwave installed underneath. Overall, the added peninsula more than compensates for the upper cabinets we’re replacing with open shelving.

Taking the cabinets down was straightforward: we unscrewed the long screws that anchored them to the wall, ceiling, and to each other while a partner supported them so nothing crashed. The immediate visual impact surprised us — the room felt much more open once the heavy upper units were removed. Photos don’t fully capture it; this was one of those “you have to be here” moments where the space literally breathed easier.

Right after we finished, the kitchen looked chaotic, but once we tidied — moved the extra cabinets into the sunroom and pushed the stove back in place — the room felt much lighter and more open. The ceiling remains unpainted and a hidden patch of fire-engine-red paint was revealed beneath the old cabinets (imagine that paired with dark wood cabinets!) but it only reinforced how overdue this update was.

We’re comfortable with the temporary inconvenience. Living without a microwave has been manageable — soup gets warmed on the stove, which feels oddly quaint — and the dishwasher is hooked up, so washing doesn’t feel like a burden. In short, we’re surviving the mid-renovation disruption while looking forward to the improvements.

What remains on the to-do list: removing the backsplash, swapping out the quirky cabinet hardware, priming and painting the cabinet doors we plan to reuse, installing new countertops, adding the penny tile backsplash, and building in a stainless microwave and dishwasher. We’ll also install the new range hood, update the lighting, and finish the floors with mocha cork that we found on clearance. It’s a long list, but each step brings the kitchen closer to a cleaner, brighter, more functional design.

So far the removal of the upper cabinets has been a positive phase in our kitchen renovation. The space looks and feels more open, storage remains workable, and we’ve cleared the way for a beautiful wall of penny tile, a functional range hood, and carefully placed open shelving. It’s one of those necessary “get worse before it gets better” moments that ultimately makes the end result worth it.

P.S. The title of this update nods to earlier kitchen posts from our blog’s early days — a little full-circle moment as we make new changes in the same space.