Before we moved in, the basement looked like this:

Not perfect, but some might say it was better than, say, this:

But not us!  
Who could leave perfectly good walls intact when there was demo to be done?
The good news is, we have windows now!

Maybe it's all the years I spent stocking shelves in retail jobs, 
but I absolutely love this idea:

My house may be a certifiable health hazard at times, but one thing I always do is neatly arrange my shelves of glassware and dinnerware in the cabinets.  

My sink could be piled high with dirty dishes, but as I unload the clean ones from the dishwasher, I lovingly place them in neat rows. 

No wayward crumbs, nothing that I don't love...meaning that unless my husband sneaks them in, no freebie plastic cups or hideous mugs.

It's my thing, however (extremely?) odd. So I actually think I could pull off open shelves, and even if it's too late for the kitchen, maybe it's an option for the dining room?