When we see open kitchen storage it's usually in the form of floating shelves. But for those who want the look without quite that much exposure, try this: cabinet cubbies!
Because of their space restrictions, cabinet cubbies force editing, so you're less likely to end up with a messy, mismatched row of kitchen stuff (open shelving's biggest critique). The glass door cabinets right above the cubbies are also a nice compromise: see the pretty dishes inside without worrying about the cleaning upkeep!
If you like this kitchen, you can check out the full tour at Apartment Therapy. And if you're curious about the color of the cabinets (as I was), the lower cabinets are painted in Farrow & Ball "Green Stone" while the upper cabinets are painted in "Bone."
Related: How Do I Find (and Install) Floating Shelves for the Kitchen?
(Images: Bethany Nauert/Apartment Therapy)
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Monterey Pitcher fr...
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Hey, I'm planning to do this. We don't want to replace our cabinets, but need more storage, plus I like the look of tall upper cabinets with our high ceilings. I plan to have them rehung higher on the wall and place a shelf underneath. Probably the shelf will be narrower, maybe 7".
It won't be as integrated as this cubby look, and it won't hold as much stuff. I plan to use it for some canisters of ingredients and a few other items that always seem to clutter my counters like the honey jar, sugar bowl, pepper grinder, etc. I think when these items are corralled onto a shelf they will not look as cluttered as sitting out on the counter. Or I can buy a set of bins to keep like items together on the shelf.
That was exactly what we did--moved the cabinets more toward the ceiling and put shelves underneath. I'm very happy with it. I do control what goes on the shelves--drinking glasses and mugs on one, which are always in use--so they don't look cluttered.
We have doorless cupboards, up to the ceiling, positioned so they are right opposite the dishwashers, facing away from the main space. I can fit so much on them, and I don't have to be so careful as with open shelves, I just throw things into them willy nilly.
Oh, I remember the photo above, from one of my favorite kitchens on this site. So pretty. It totally inspired our kitchen renovation plan, to do cubbies just like that under the glass-front cabinets on either side of our range hood. But then we had a measuring mistake and the cubby boxes our contractor built didn't end up fitting, so we had to use them elsewhere, and ended up not doing anything under the high-mounted glass-front cabinets. Now I'm kind of regretting we didn't have him do additional ones...but we put light fixtures underneath instead...