Open Shelving Units vs Low Storage Units: Which Is Right for Your Home?

Open shelving units are the better choice if you want to display books and objects, make a room feel taller and keep things within easy reach. Low storage units are better if you want to hide clutter, keep sightlines open and gain a useful surface for lamps, a television or decorative pieces. In many UK homes the most practical answer is a combination: a low unit for the everyday items you would rather not see, and open shelving above or beside it for the things you enjoy looking at.

Both formats feature in our modern shelving units and storage UK range. In this comparison, we look at how each one affects the feel of a room, how much it can realistically hold, and which works best in different spaces around the home.

What We Mean by Each Type

Open shelving units are typically tall and upright, with shelves that are visible from the front and often from the sides. They might be bookcases, ladder shelves, cube units without boxes or open frame designs in wood or metal.

Low storage units sit below about waist height. They include sideboards, media units, low cabinets and long benches with drawers or doors. Their contents are usually hidden, and their tops act as a display surface.

Both belong to the wider family of modern living room furniture UK, and both can work beautifully. The question is which suits the way you live and the room you have.

A Side by Side Comparison

Consideration	Open shelving units	Low storage units
Visual effect	Draws the eye upward, adds height	Keeps the room open and horizontal
Hiding clutter	Limited, unless baskets are used	Very good, contents are behind doors
Display space	Plenty, across several shelves	Mostly the top surface
Floor space	Small footprint	Longer footprint along a wall
Dusting	More surfaces to clean	Fewer exposed surfaces
Under windows	Usually unsuitable	Fits neatly beneath a sill
Homes with young children	Must be fixed to the wall	Generally more stable

How Each Affects the Feel of a Room

Tall open shelving emphasises height. In a room with a low ceiling, a vertical unit can make the space feel taller, while in a room with a high ceiling it fills an otherwise empty wall. Because you can see through and between the shelves, a well styled open unit rarely feels as heavy as a solid cabinet of the same size.

Low storage does the opposite. It runs along the wall and keeps the upper part of the room clear, so the space feels wider and calmer. It is especially useful in rooms where windows, artwork or a view should remain the focus. A low unit also gives you a long surface for lamps, plants and objects, which can be styled as a single, considered arrangement.

Storage Capacity and What You Keep

The real question is what you need to store. Open shelving suits books, records, plants, ceramics and anything you are happy to see every day. It is less suited to paperwork, electronics, children’s toys or mixed everyday clutter, unless you add boxes or baskets.

Low storage units hide almost anything. Board games, chargers, remote controls, spare cables, table linen and photo albums can all disappear behind a door. If your main goal is a tidy room, closed storage does more of the work for you. Our modern storage furniture UK range includes cabinets and chests designed with exactly this in mind.

In terms of sheer volume, a tall open unit often holds more than a low cabinet of similar width, simply because it uses more of the wall height. A long low unit can compensate by running further along the wall.

Which Works Best in Each Room?

Living rooms

Living rooms often benefit from both. A low media unit or sideboard under the television hides equipment, while open shelving in an alcove or beside a window holds books and decorative pieces. A long low unit from our modern sideboards UK collection can anchor one wall while open shelves balance another.

Dining rooms

Low storage is usually the practical choice, keeping crockery and linen close to the table. Open shelves can then display glassware or a few favourite serving pieces.

Bedrooms

Low storage, such as a chest or a low cabinet beneath a window, keeps bedrooms calm. Open shelving works well for books and a small number of decorative items, but too much of it can feel busy in a room meant for rest.

Home offices

Closed storage keeps paperwork out of sight, which helps if the office is part of a living space. Open shelves are useful for reference books and frequently used supplies.

Hallways

Low units are usually more practical because they double as a surface for keys and post and do not obstruct walkways. Tall open shelving can work in wider hallways where there is room to pass comfortably.

Practical Considerations

Safety: tall open units should always be fixed to the wall, particularly in homes with children or pets. Low units are inherently more stable, although fixing them is still sensible.

Dust and cleaning: open shelves gather dust on every surface and every object. Low closed units are quicker to keep clean.

Flexibility: open shelving can be restyled easily, which suits people who like to change their rooms seasonally. Low storage is more fixed in its layout but offers a reliable, tidy base.

Television placement: if the television needs a home, a low unit is usually the answer. Its height should put the centre of the screen roughly at eye level when you are seated. Our guide to low TV unit measurements for UK living rooms covers heights, widths and viewing distances in detail.

Thinking About Proportion and Scale

Whichever format you choose, scale it to the wall rather than to the amount you want to store. A tall open unit looks best when it fills a clear section of wall, such as an alcove or the space between a door and a corner, with a little space left above it. A unit that stops halfway up a large wall can look lost, while one that crowds the ceiling can feel oppressive in a small room.

Low storage benefits from length. A short, low cabinet in the middle of a long wall can look like it has been left there temporarily. Where you have the space, a longer unit or two matching units placed side by side give a more settled, architectural feel. As a rough guide, a low unit looks balanced when it covers around half to two thirds of the wall it sits against.

Depth deserves attention too. Open shelving between 25 and 35 centimetres deep suits most books and objects. Low units are often deeper, at 40 to 50 centimetres, which is worth checking in narrow rooms where walkways are tight.

Materials That Suit Each Format

Open shelving shows its structure, so the frame material becomes part of the look. Slim metal frames feel light and modern, solid wood brings warmth, and painted finishes can blend into the wall. Because every shelf edge is visible, it is worth choosing a finish that you are happy to see from several angles.

Low storage is more about the front. Wood grain, high gloss, fluted panels or ribbed textures all give a low unit character, and handles or push to open fronts change the feel considerably. A low unit in a warm wood can soften a room full of hard surfaces, while a gloss finish reflects light along the wall.

Combining the Two

For many rooms, the best result comes from using both formats together. A few combinations that work well:

• A long low unit with two slim open shelving units at either end, framing the space above.
• A low cabinet beneath a window with open shelving in the alcoves either side.
• Wall shelves fixed above a low unit, leaving a gap for artwork or a mirror in the centre.
• A cube unit laid on its side as a low bench, with boxes in some cubes and open space in others.

When combining, choose a shared finish or colour so the pieces read as a set. Matching wood tones, or pairing a painted low unit with open shelves in the same colour, gives a fitted, intentional appearance.

Styling Tips for Each

For open shelving, group objects in small clusters, mix horizontal and vertical book stacks, and leave some empty space on each shelf. Use baskets on lower shelves for anything you would rather not see.

For low storage, treat the top as a single composition. Place a tall item, such as a lamp or a large vase, at one end and balance it with lower objects at the other. A mirror or artwork above the unit completes the arrangement.

You can browse open shelving, low cabinets and sideboards in one place at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do open shelves make a room look cluttered?

They can if every shelf is filled. Leaving space between objects, limiting the colour palette and using baskets for everyday items keeps open shelving looking calm.

Is low storage better for small rooms?

Low storage keeps sightlines open, which helps small rooms feel larger. Tall open shelving can also work in small rooms because of its compact footprint, so measure both options against your space.

Can I put a low storage unit under a window?

Yes. Measure from the floor to the sill, leave a small gap, and make sure the unit does not block a radiator beneath the window.

Which is easier to keep clean?

Low closed units are generally easier, as their contents are protected from dust. Open shelving needs more regular dusting of both shelves and objects.