How To Incorporate Open Shelving Into Your Kitchenset – Getting Started Finishing Open Shelves Kitchen Guide How To Install Floating Shelves, What Height To Hang Kitchen Wall Shelves And More!
We’ve lived with open shelving for 5+ years now and, all those years, I’ve been asking about open kitchen shelving. On this page you’ll find a summary of all the blog posts I’ve created on floating shelves: including how to install floating shelves, how to install floating shelves over tile, how to finish floating shelves and Wooden kitchen. shelves like today!
How To Incorporate Open Shelving Into Your Kitchenset
In short, adding wooden shelves to the kitchen is an instant addition to our space. Yes, you lose some locked storage, but to me, that loss is worth it. I really enjoy changing the art on the shelves, making coffee mugs, etc., and the shelves make the kitchen feel bigger and more open.
Lovely Floating Shelves Ideas For Kitchens
If you want to learn how to install floating shelves including how to install floating shelves over tile, this is the article for you!
Learn how to install floating shelves with our floating shelf kit. Plus, I’ll be sharing details on different types of kitchen brackets, types of wood used for wood shelves, how to build kitchen shelves and more!
Are you confused about how to determine the height between the countertop and the shelves in the kitchen? I am sharing several examples of kitchen wall shelves of different heights to give you an idea of what floating shelves can look like.
In this post, I’ve collected some of my favorite kitchens on Instagram and asked each homeowner for specifics about how high they hang their floating shelves. You can see from the article, the difference between the counter and lower shelf heights as well as the different heights from the upper shelf to the ceiling.
Organizing Tips To Optimize Open Kitchen Shelf Storage
Before you jump into open shelving, I think it’s a good idea to think about how you store things and what your kitchen currently has in terms of storage. I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to small appliances and pots and pans. If we have a lot of tools, serving dishes, etc., there is not enough storage by removing the upper cabinets.
For us, we are willing to sacrifice not having a Kitchen Aid Mixer or Instant Pot or multiple places for 8+ people, for the beauty we want. Not everyone will value the aesthetics of the items, so I really want to point out that, by choosing to have open shelves for the kitchen, I lost the closed storage.
Some people have so many cabinets that it won’t be a big deal to them, but I wanted to share my perspective.
If you want to know more about our kitchen renovation trends of 2017, be sure to check it out! I’ll add a few pictures so you can see how the open shelves really changed the place!
Best Open Kitchen Shelving Ideas And Decor
Anyway, just a reminder that a home takes time to develop, time to renovate and time to make it your own. The project really didn’t happen overnight here!
Anyway, I hope this DIY Open Shelving Kitchen Guide was helpful! I started a Pinterest Board that has all kinds of open shelving for the kitchen. If you need more inspiration, take a look.
P.s. I am working on writing more about kitchen open shelving including how to build open shelving, what types of items add functionality and interest to kitchen wood shelves and more. Stay tuned for it. If you love the trend of open shelves in your kitchen but don’t know how to make them look amazing while still being totally functional, this is for you! I’m talking through the tips I use to make my open shelving (and the latest kitchen open shelving) look beautiful but also work hard for our busy family of 6.
Almost every time I share my kitchen online, I get comments or messages like, ‘I love them! But mine will never be like that – I have too much’ or ‘it’s too messy’ or ‘I can never do mine well’. If that’s what you mean… I get it! I hope these tips help you because I believe your kitchen should work hard for you but also be a place you love. So these tips reflect that.
What I Wish I Knew Before I Chose Open Shelving In My Kitchen
Designing your kitchen can be a fun way to customize it to suit your taste but it can also be confusing or frustrating if it’s not what you envisioned. The first time I tried to build an open shelf it took me a day. I’m just kind of kidding. It takes a little practice I guess! During the 6 years we have had open shelves in the kitchen (both this one now and the white one we moved to last year), I have loved them for their functionality and design and I have learned. a few things about how I like to make them.
They completely open up space compared to large cabinets. They make your dishes look good instead of hiding them in a hidden place. They are also easier to remove when holding a baby on your hip… because there are no cabinet doors. And your friend won’t open every cabinet to find a drinking glass. No- they know where this stuff is because it IS ON the open shelves in your kitchen. I need a very special kitchen design before I can go back to all closed cabinets.
Okay… I have this in video form! Are you still following me on YouTube? I would love it if you did! If you like this in pictures/words, you know I have it too 😉 just skip the video!
Because I love open shelves, I follow many designers or bloggers on IG who have them. I have read their tips over the years and some of them I like and work for me and some I don’t. We are a big family. We have 4 children and often host. There are very few days that we don’t have at least one person throughout the day. We use all of these foods regularly. One of the tips I’ve found that doesn’t work for us is to put only 4 of each plate on your shelf so it doesn’t get crowded. No way! I need all these foods. Also… I don’t want to use up valuable fridge space on a dish that could look amazing on my shelf. That defeats the purpose of the job for me… at that point, the shelf will be decorative NOT just storage.
Types Of Open Kitchen Shelving: Which One Fits Your Kitchen?
And stacking! I love the look of the stacked plate. I often see designers doing this- say a bowl on top of a plate. It adds height, looks good but I can’t get a bowl with a baby on the back of my voice when there are several bowls on top. It’s not for me. But combine short glasses? Heck yes… because it doesn’t change the functionality. So you can see I did this to add height to that section of the shelf. I guess what I’m trying to say is to take all of these tips and only use the ones that work for your family. Not all of them are right for you and your home.
The first thing you should do is remove everything from the open kitchen shelves and start fresh. It’s 100% easier to try something new if you don’t move anything, but start from scratch. Get rid of everything and clean out your shelves. If you get half way in and it’s not working for you… pull the whole thing out again. One of my favorite decorating books is The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith and she recommends doing this for the whole room. Like… remove everything and add ONLY what you decide you need or really don’t like or really like. Starting over isn’t cheating, it’s knowing what you really want.
I like to collect everything I can think of to put on a shelf in one place. Place your favorite plates, cups, any plants you might like, brochures, whatever. Put them all in one place so you can play around and change things and decide what you like best. I like to have a lot of options and I know I won’t use them all. It’s better for me to only have what I think I’m going to use because then I’m trying to fit all the things I think I’m going to use on the shelf even though it looks better with less.
Okay, let’s talk about matching dishes. I love them. I know not everyone has them. When we installed the open shelves in our last kitchen, the price was high