WHERE TO INCORPORATE OPEN SHELVING INTO YOUR KITCHEN

Open shelving in the kitchen is a bit of a love-it-or-leave-it idea, and whether it’s practical or not largely comes down to how you use your kitchen. But if you do want to incorporate floating or open shelves, a question emerges: where should you hang them? There are many great places to put open shelves, and this guide will help you determine the best spot when designing your kitchen.

Around A Window

With natural light so highly sought after, it’s important to maximise whatever window real estate your kitchen has. Bulky upper cabinets can box in your windows, blocking light from entering the space as fully as it could. Floating shelves, however, allow light to pour in through your windows into the space at all angles. This means you can put storage tight to the window (rather than leaving a big gap around the sides) without blocking the light.

Frame The Range Hood

Some people like to a range hood hidden away in a cabinet. Others like to make it a visual feature. If you like a beautiful exposed hood, surrounding it with shelves can complete the look to make a true feature wall. This approach also leaves the range hood visible from more angles (as opposed to surrounding it with cabinets, much like the previous tip). For those who spend a lot of time at the stove, it can also be nicer to spend time facing into an airy area of shelves rather than having a lot of cabinetry in your face. It can also be very practical to have open shelving for the convenience of being able to quickly grab something.

At The End Of The Kitchen

One smart solution is to fill the last few centimetres of space is with open shelves in a contrasting finish or material to create an attractive accent that anchors the edge like a bookend.

Above The Island

Who says shelves have to be anchored to a wall? Hanging shelves from the ceiling over your island puts storage in a handy spot for those who do a lot of cooking or food-preparation work at the island. Hanging them just above eye level means they are still reachable without crowding your view. This is also a great place to put dishes or glassware so they can easily be grabbed by a guest who otherwise may not know which cabinet to look in, and without even having to set foot in your cooking space.

At The End Of The Bench

If you have a peninsula bench you can also consider putting shelves along this wall to serve a similar function or incorporate them in the end of the bench. This can be a great place to mix some storage (for mugs, cups, and other beverage supplies) with art or family photos and mementos to create a functional and decorative display space in the central hub of a busy home.

In A Corner

Wondering what to do with a corner of an L shaped kitchen? Corner cabinets can sometimes be hard to access, but an L-shaped shelf lets you see and grab anything stashed away, even the items tucked right into the corner itself. No more searching in a deep corner cabinet, and no need for fancy pull-out systems. Just a little cutting and seaming to get a shelf that fits just right.

Above A Small Station

Sometimes all you need is just a few short shelves to store some basics, while most of your kitchen storage remains behind closed cupboard doors. What better place to hang these shelves than over a single station in the kitchen, such as coffee station, snack bar or breakfast nook.

Here at Hurst Homes we custom design each home to suit you and your lifestyle. We take the time to get to know what you want in your home and certain design features you would like to incorporate. We are with you every step of the way to help you create your dream home, offering our expertise where you need them. Just another reason why we are considered Waggas best builder. Contact us today and ask us about our available Wagga land to create a custom wagga house & land package!

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