Open shelving is huge in today’s trending kitchen design. I don’t think I can flip on HGTV and see a kitchen remodel that doesn’t feature open shelving somewhere. Honestly, the open shelving in my own kitchen is the first thing I fell in love with when we originally bought our house. You always check out the kitchen first, right? When we were home shopping I would look at the kitchen and think “where can I add open shelving?” I watched a lot of Fixer-Upper and Flip or Flop back then.
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After seeing copious amounts of those perfectly styled shelves and having open shelving in the kitchen myself there are a few things I’ve learned. First and foremost, having a design show to professionally style the open shelving is ideal. And secondly, it takes some practice to get it just right. Plus it’s ok to redo your open shelving over and over again. Your taste can change and you learn what works best for the functionality of your kitchen.
After all, open shelving should be about design and functionality. Open shelving provides an opportunity to showcase your favorite and sometimes more decorative items along with items that you use the most. Today I have put together a list of 12 style tips for open shelving in the kitchen to help you get an idea of how you want to utilize your shelves.
Items You Use Often
Fill your open shelves with the items you use the most often. Everyday plates. coffee mugs, cutting boards — whatever you find yourself grabbing from the cabinets on a daily basis. This prevents a dust build-up on rarely used items plus it makes open shelving way more functional and practical as opposed to strictly decorative.
Mainly Decorative Items
Or, scratch the above idea and opt for mainly decorative items — as long as you don’t mind dusting or washing a little dust off. Use your open shelving to showcase items that are mainly for aesthetic reasons, rather than daily use. This will differ for each and every person, but some things to consider could be cake stands, glass vases, mortar and pestle, or rolling pins, just to name a few examples.
Create A Pantry Space
Utilize your open shelving as additional pantry space. Repackage spices and goods into more decorative jars and containers to get both the functionality and design aspect of open shelving. It’s easy access to ingredients without the worry of everything getting sloppy and unorganized looking.
Small Shelves Big Impact
To reap the benefits from open shelving it doesn’t mean you have to have many large shelves. Just a few small shelves can make such a difference in a kitchen where a cabinet would otherwise be. Can you picture this space with a skinny cabinet instead? What a drastic difference it would be.
Easy Coffee Bar
Utilize the shelves to create a small and practical coffee bar. It’s truly as simple as adding your coffee pot under the shelves that hold your mugs, stirrers, spoons, or whatever else you want to be included. Functional, decorative, and the perfect way to start your morning routine.
Above The Sink
Typically you don’t see a lot of cabinetry or any type of storage above the sink. However, creating open shelving in this space can be very beneficial. Dish soaps, everyday plates, pots and pans, tea or coffee kettles — all items that you use on a daily basis at the sink, of course.
Near The Stove
Open shelving above the stove area can be really useful for cooking and preparing any kind of meal. The convenience of having your cookware, cutlery, and cutting boards right at your fingertips will have you cooking easier, and wondering why you hadn’t thought of this before.
Color Palette
When deciding what to put on your shelves consider sticking to the same color palette to create a cohesive look. Keep your color palette simple, this can be done with just neutrals or a distinct color. However, if you have a large mixture of colors, group items of the same color together on the shelves to maintain more of an ordered look.
Add Hooks Underneath
One super-easy way to utilize even more storage space, add hooks underneath the bottom shelf. You can hang mugs, pots, pans, cooking utensils, measuring cups, or anything else you typically need at an arm’s reach while cooking. Or in this case, we love the addition of little watering can.
Corner Shelving
Most times the open shelving concept in the kitchen is seen as a few smaller shelves adorning one wall. But the oftentimes overlooked corner shelves are a perfect kitchen solution. Whether you have an empty corner or you’re looking to remove cabinetry, utilizing the corner for open shelving can be practical and make your kitchen feel more spacious.
Try Not To Overload
Keep an airy and neat appearance by not jam-packing your shelves with all dishware, cups, mugs, and all things decor that you can get your hands on. Negative space on open shelving is not a bad thing; it creates a balanced look that allows your items to breathe. Cluttered shelving will give your entire kitchen a disordered appearance.
Healthy Space
Did you know having plants in your kitchen can benefit your health? First, you can use fresh herbs while cooking for nutritional benefits. Second, plants can help purify the air, increase humidity, and increase oxygen levels. All of which could help improve your focus and memory… and maybe we’ll stop forgetting about the food overcooking in the oven. Maybe.
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