You have to understand that when it comes to kitchen design function comes first, so as long as you include all of the basic functional elements the design can be as extravagant or as compact as you or the architecture dictates.
This image illustrates that less can be more and that by resisting the desire to include doors you can give the client a unique opportunity to dress the kitchen in a way which is personal to them. By using different coloured non-consumable items like plates, cups and glasses these open shelves present a blank canvas, perfect for expressing the quirky eccentric lurking within!
This kitchen though, however artistic, however abstract and reminiscent of a cool boardwalk cafe is not maximising its true functional potential! The base unit shelves appear shallower than normal, reflecting the fact that low level shelves are not a functional hot zone and that most clients will only use the first 35% of a shelf to store consumable and non-consumables items.
Kitchen designers fight a constant battle between form and function on a daily basis...the deciding factor on which one wins?!? The subjective human element!