One day I dream of having a huge, open plan kitchen, I still haven’t decided what style I would go for, in fact I change my mind every time I open Pinterest! What I do know though is that I would definitely have some kind of open shelving as I think it’s essential in any kitchen to inject character. You don’t want your kitchen to feel too sterile so accessorise it like you would any other room and open shelving is perfect for achieving this. As you probably know by now if you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, we rent our home and kitchen’s are not easy or cheap to change. Ours is fairly small and the units are cream with a wooden worktop, so one thing I did was bought this chrome, wire industrial style shelving unit to mix up the materials and make the space feel more interesting. So if you’re worried that open shelving will feel too cluttered in a small kitchen, don’t be as it actually has the opposite effect. If you have a room full of cupboards this will make the room look much smaller, where as opening up some shelving will actually open the space up and make it feel bigger.
The problem with open shelving is figuring out how to style them so that the space can be used for practical items whilst also keeping them looking pretty. Here are some ideas to help you out.
1. Start at the bottom. Use the bottom shelves for bulky appliances, cookware, vases etc… I love my Kitchenaid and Le Crueset casserole dishes and don’t want to hide them. So open shelves are the perfect way to display them.
2. Use baskets, jars or canisters as storage for things you can’t fit in the cupboards or things that you want easy access to but don’t want on display. I have a wicker basket to store crisps and also 2 metal bins for onions and garlic. Another great idea to free up space in your cupboards is to decant standard pantry ingredients like flour, lentils, rice, nuts etc. into different sized glass containers and display them together on one of the shelves.
3. wooden chopping boards, slate platters, ceramic bowls will all look fabulous on the surface rather than hidden away.
4. If you don’t have space for a home bar use a tray and arrange your favourite spirits together to create your own mini bar. See more ideas on how to create your own home bar here.
5. Open shelving is perfect for your everyday crockery, It also gives you chance to show off your favourite collections of tableware, glasses, platters etc. Try to keep the colours uniformed so it doesn’t look too busy.
6. Use the top shelf for herbs, plants or succulents real and faux. They will brighten any room and great for adding texture.
7. Drape over some fairy lights, they’ll add a gorgeous soft glow and make your kitchen feel much more cosy.
8. Depending on what type of open shelving you go for either use hooks or nails to hang things like planters, aprons, cookie cutters… bananas!!! on the sides. These are the details which will make your shelves feel complete and bring them to life.
Here are some of my favourite shelfie’s from Pinterest. See more inspo on my Kitchen – In Detail board here.
So, what do you think? Would you put open shelves in your kitchen?
Before I say goodbye for this week I just wanted to ask you a favour….
The Essential kitchen, bathroom, bedroom magazine have just launched their first Influencer awards and one of the categories is best newcomer. If you enjoy reading my blog it would mean so much if you could click on the above image and take two mins to vote for me. All you need to do is enter your email address and my website address which you can copy and paste from here www.kerrylockwoodindetail.co.uk
Thank you so much.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks