If the shelves are immediately above or adjacent to the cooktop, there WILL be deposits, but you’ll have exactly the same issue if you have cabinets in that area - the part that gets greasy is under the cabinets / shelves, not above. In my case, I clean the few adjacent cabinets (I have no shelves in that area) with cleaners formulated for wood. But my cabinets are very high quality (stained solid wood with many layers of hand-finishes - I think it’s hickory or alder), and oily deposits or cleaners do not damage them. I condition my cabinets with oil time-to-time anyway.
If you are going to have open shelves, you’d better have a really good hood/fan vented to the outdoors. 
I have a great hood. Even with the fan on, I imagine some deposit will escape and land on the shelf. With cabinets all the deposits land on the door or the bottom or the side, all very easy to wipe down.
I like the style of kitchen that Laurel Bern calls an “unkitchen,” although I prefer the type with glass-fronted rather than open shelves. Because I just don’t believe that the open shelves don’t collect dirt and grease. 
https://laurelberninteriors.com/2016/01/23/are-you-making-this-mistake-with-your-kitchen-design/
https://laurelberninteriors.com/2014/07/09/kitchen-renovation-going-cost-much/
https://laurelberninteriors.com/2016/07/17/hottest-kitchen-trends-yay-nay/
It’s worth taking some time to roam around her blog.
There are some really cluttered kitchens in there being touted as stylish.
Bunsen… what coloring of wood are you seeing? I think dark / cherry cabinets are out of style right now. Are people installing lighter maple type kitchens?
I did, but I just couldn’t imagine white cabinets in my house. I really like them
I guess I’m the only person on the planet who actually likes her golden oak cabinets. Oh well!
I am with you Thumper. I put medium oak in my condo 2 years ago.
My kitchen is very bright…lots of windows and natural light. Those golden oak cabinets look nice to me. The newer granite counters made a nice difference in the kitchen…and sink and faucet.
My appliances are.white…and I like those too, it just fits the space well.
The next owner can get stainless appliances…and new cabinets. Or get these refaced. They are good quality cabinets .
CB, this is an example of wood cabinet doors in a custom architect-designed new construction by a very reputable builder here in my neck of the woods:
http://www.johnlscott.com/Home/1078171/NWM/10405-NE-43rd-St-Kirkland-WA-98033/
Mr. B and I drooled all over that house, LOL. The wood is darker than honey but definitely lighter than the almost-black stain that has been popular for a while. I saw similar variations of the stain in other new construction homes.
Here is another very high end house that went with “non-standard” kitchen cabinet doors:
This house is as large as the lot on which the Burnstead house sits!
Here is a tiny mid-priced house with a cool reclaimed wood island and brown (but not too dark) cabinetry:
http://www.johnlscott.com/Home/1060001/NWM/9427-128th-St-NE-Kirkland-WA-98034/
@BunsenBurner’s post is proof that it really depends on one’s location and the architectural style of one’s house. The styles in those links would not fly in my neck of the woods. I do like the reclaimed wood island, though.
LOL, of course it depends on location and style. But about 2-3 years ago, almost ALL newly built homes, regardless of their style, had either painted or very dark stained (or some mix of the two) cabinet doors. All alike! So happy to see some cabinet diversity here in my neck of the woods. Sick and tired of painted wood.
Now, if we could get gray paint to disappear, I’d be happy. Actually, I don’t care what others choose to do, but I’ll pass on the gray paint. Just surprised it’s hanging on so long.
I see that those are the modern flush Euro style cabinets. Agree that they look very nice in interesting wood grains. But they aren’t the traditional raised panel styles
The other popular choice now is the simple shaker style cabinets (last link in my post has some). The trend I am seeing is the complete absence of any ornate raised panels and “aged” style stains that were popular right before the paint craze took off here.
Consolation’s links referenced the simple sheer style, which I think of as fairly classic and, wether or not it is trendy or popular at any point in time, never is really in or out of style.
The cabinets in the first 2 links you posted, @BunsenBurner, especially the first, remind me very much of the midcentury period which has been all the rage in the past several years and is in keeping with the modern aesthetic of the houses they are in.
That modern look IS the trend here. The other is the traditional PNW Craftsman style, but I am seeing fewer of them built as they require more materials than the modern boxes. Craftsman homes come with the shaker style cabinets. There aren’t many popular on the East coast houses built here.
We definitely have plenty of Shaker here in the Northeast (considering its strong roots in the region) and some Craftsman although probably not in that color. I do differentiate between the two, Shaker usually painted and Craftsman seldom so. The last house strikes me as a hodge podge of styles really.
I attended a talk today on upcoming colors in homes. She said grey probably has 5 years left (ugh - I too hate the greys).
Some interesting stuff on new kitchens - the very modern (what I would call office looking) is the new trend - grey cabinets that are flat (including no handles), copper fixtures, hidden appliances (drawers for everything), lucite range hoods, etc.
Tuscany is dead (no more cherry and dark granite with gold) and the all white cabinets is probably going to be here only for a few more years.