First, the Before photos:
Spring Cleaning has consumed me. I think about it while at school, wishing I had a car so I could leave at lunch mop lean a cabinet. This trusty device has been helpful in channeling that futile willpower into preparation. The simple, handy dandy Reminders app on ye olde iPadde gave me ample opportunity to make lists of what I wanted to accomplish, and the Draw Pad app, while flawed and not my favorite tool, served to make the following action plan for the kitchen.
I knew that I was off scale for my table and newt tank (hence the “doesn’t exist” space), but it turned out to be much narrower a fit than I had even imagined. Remember when I said that I solved clutter issues by buying Muji containers? At one point I had decided that all my vanity cabinet junk needed was a shelf, and Muji just happened to have a sale on acrylic organizing items. A minute later I was trying out different combinations of plate and bowl storage.
I realized that as far as the kitchen is concerned, if something isn’t within reach while standing straight, I probably won’t use it. If I can’t see it, I won’t use it. That’s why I thought all the stuff in the cabinet needed to be things I wouldn’t need to touch except for on the occasion, and the stuff I used regularly went under the table.
The other side with the microwave ended up like this. Again, that’s some very open storage for my peabrain: 
It’s still in progress; I realized that I have extra cabinet space above the kitchen counter, so I might need to rethink my Everything In Plain Sight policy for under the table. The small cardboard boxes have since been moved. The large one is a ceiling fan that I need to sell or give away. The foodstuffs on So far I’m pretty pleased, but what do you think? Are you for or against open storage? Is the microwave area really an improvement?
If you want to show off cute items, I don’t think there’s a problem with showing storage but I personally like hiding storage, it gives the room a cleaner look!