FLOATING SHELVES
By Karen Kirk
June 2024
FLOATING A FEW OPEN SHELVING IDEAS BY YOU FOR THE KITCHEN
You either love the idea of open or floating shelves or you hate it. As a visual person, I love the concept of open shelving, but they come with pros and cons and it’s helpful to become familiar with these before replacing your kitchen cupboards with them.
The pros are obvious for a professional cook or chef. They need their equipment and ingredients within reach and in plain sight. To some extent, it’s a brilliant idea for the home cook to adopt or those of us who simply love to have somewhere in the kitchen to display our favourite things, including cookbooks, collectibles, plants, and our pretty copper pots. Floating shelves don’t take up a lot of physical or visual space so swapping out a small cabinet unit or two can make a kitchen feel larger and brighter and add a lot of style and function.
Check out these inspiring ways designers have found to incorporate floating shelves in the kitchen.
1.
Do you have an odd nook or corner that could use a little attention. Designer Stephanie Krausmaximized an awkward corner in her compact kitchen design by adding simple natural oak floating shelves for her everyday dishes and accessories. I love her palette of white with soft blue and natural wood accents. A floating, black-framed cabinet, black sconces and brushed gold fixtures anchors the space and adds a little drama.
Thermador 30-inch free-standing gas range
2.
Small spaces can be fitted with custom floating shelves for a practical and pretty way to offer display and add function to the cooking area in a kitchen. Black metal brackets support the shelves and coordinate with the patterned backsplash and hardware.
3.
Petite floating oak display shelves that match the cabinets are styled with favourite kitchen accessories. Accent lighting provided by a wall sconce in black to match the hardware, illuminates these pretty shelves to create a unique decorative statement.
Thermador Professional 30-inch double wall ovens
Design: We3Dwellings @we3dwellings
4.
Under-shelf LED strip lighting adds a touch of drama to this stunning cooking zone featuring Thermador’s 48-inch Pro gas rangetop, 30-inch Microwave drawer and range hood ventilation. A dramatic quartz backsplash creates a strong focal point in this sleek and modern kitchen.
Design: We3Dwellings @we3dwellings
5.
A narrow floating shelf caps off the tiled backsplash and provides a visual detail that takes the eye across the long countertop. With plenty of storage below, no upper cabinets are necessary. An interesting yet simple focal point is cleverly created with a simply styled strip of quartz that matches the countertop.
Thermador 48-inch dual fuel gas range
6.
For a quick DIY project, install a pretty wall-mounted shelve like this steel and tempered glass floating 2-tiered shelf with an antique brass finish from Pottery Barn.
