Open Shelving Instead of Upper Cabinets

I've seen quite a few photos of kitchens with open shelving instead of upper cabinets. 

Traditional Kitchen design by Salt Lake City Architect Alice Lane Home Collection

What do you think of this trend?
It is super cute, but is it practical?
I know myself.
I would have great plans to keep things neat and organized but in reality I wouldn't be able to keep my stuff as neat as a magazine photo.
I would have to weigh some factors before I ripped out my cabinet uppers and installed shelves.

Traditional Kitchen design by New York Architect Crisp Architects

I would totally do something like this if my cabinets or my cabinet doors were in horrible shape and there was no repairing or painting them. 
It would be a cheaper alternative to installing new uppers which is why many home owners have resorted to this option. 
My sister did it many years before it was trendy.

Traditional Kitchen design by Philadelphia Design-build Fredendall Building Company

When I took some cabinet doors off in my kitchen I thought through the storage I would loose and decided that the impact outweighed the loss of a storage. Read about how I did it here. 

My little nooks are filled with my brown transferware that I don't use so nothing ever gets out of place. 

My pantry

Oh, how I miss Hostess, Coffee Cakes. 

 and 
laundry room

are testaments to the realities of my everyday life. 
These open shelves looked wonderful for photo's but everyday life gets in the way. 
 Junk gets put on the shelf no matter how cute things look on photo shoot day. 

What do you all think?
This is a darling look, but will it last?
Is it a look for you?

Sprinkled with open shelving,

Katie 

Photos courtesy of Houzz.
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