Wall Cabinets or Shelves?

[Ben Skove]

One trend I seem to be noticing in the various design magazines and websites is a move away from a full bank of wall cabinets towards different types of shelving. I did this in a rental - used shelves between two tall cabinets, and had positive response about it.

Now that I'm putting a kitchen design together for a flip, I'm wondering what the situation is in retail. I'm sure it varies market by market, but the frugal portion of me (and by portion, I mean ~95%) would really like to be able to be a) on top of the latest design fad, while b) saving a nice chunk of change. Have any of y'all done this, and if so, what was the response? Thanks!