One thing you will lose is the opportunity for deep storage (24")

Both open shelves or glass door shelves will have to be kept tidy.

If you have plenty of other storage doing something decorative up there could be fine.

Here's mine:

{{gwi:1400638}}

Here's mine. Personally, I don't mind the design element of the open space, but in a kitchen with limited upper cabinets (like mine) I would have preferred a cabinet instead. My kitchen may not be your "style", but I hope this helps:)

P.S. Sorry the pics are HUGE!!! Oops.

Also considering glass doors above fridge. These look nice! I store the good china up there, so it would at least look tidy. The rest of the cabinets, I am not so sure, lol.

If you want to put something decorative there, I think it will look great. Tinycastles' is very striking. But I'm planning to use that space for much needed vertical storage of cookie sheets, etc. What works for you is what you should choose.

I currently have a 36 in. wide 12 in. deep cabinet far back over the refrigerator. I have opened it once in the last 10 years. So, it's basically not used and is just filling in the space I could use for display. Actually, I use the top of the refrigerator in front of this cabinet for display.

I also have a 27 in. wide cabinet over the built in oven and microwave combo, at 67 in. off the floor. I use it for vertical storage of cookie sheets, etc. I hate it! Over the years it has become the "stuff the big items in" cabinet. Even if I get dividers I don't think this type of cabinet will work for me. Instead, I will place the oven under the countertop, eliminating this big cabinet, opening up the kitchen, and have a stack of drawers next to it. So, cookie sheets and muffin tins will go into one drawer, roasting pans into another, serving trays into another, etc. No more digging or stuffing in a large cabinet for me!

This is why I do not want to put a 36 in. wide 24 in. deep cabinet over the refrigerator... but need to think through how display shelves will work with everything else on that wall of the kitchen.

Also, we have a wall on one side of the refrigerator that comes out 20 inches. So, I don't want a 24 inch deep cabinet extending past that wall, closing in the kitchen (or 29 inch if we want the full build in look for this non countertop depth refrigerator).

Not that it makes a huge difference but my fridge is a "full size" built in, not counter depth. The space is quite deep, which would have been great storage.