Open Shelving in the Kitchen

With my dream of a gorgeous, vintage midcentury modern buffet becoming less of a reality, I've decided to make use of what I already have.

 Want

Midcentury Modern Buffet

Have

Ikea GORM shelving unit 

(the size of mine is a little different, since it was purchased in 2005)

Inspired by gorgeous images of open shelving, I realized this wouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. We already have a kitchen full of cabinets for regular supplies, so I thought this would be a pretty way to display some baking ingredients and fun red accents. I picked up some simple glass jars at Walmart, and headed home to organize and sort. Ps- organizing and sorting are two of my favorite activities.

Following the advice advice of John & Sherry from YoungHouseLove, I removed all the contents from the shelf so I could start from the beginning. Using the jars for pasta, flour, sugar, and oats yielded the calm aesthetic that I was looking for. My Kitchenaid mixer, Le Creuset dutch over, and teapot provided the red accents that I wanted. For interest, I added in some cookbooks that we had on hand, along with a Westie shaped cookie jar for added fun!

Like all of my bookshelf projects, I thought of the bookshelf tips that Nate Berkus explained on his show. I've listed them below in case you're interested in making your shelves a prettier sight!

1.  Heavy items should go on the bottom.  This isn’t limited to literal weight, but also to visual weight.  Boxes, baskets and large collections, such as our encyclopedias, should stay toward the bottom.

2.  Add height to the top.  This makes a bookshelf feel more built-in, even if it’s not.  If you have a stand alone shelf, adding baskets to the top to fill the space between the shelf and ceiling will help the shelf appear built-in.

3.  Use books to create pedestals.  Don’t let decorative objects take up cupboard space, put them on display.  Stack larger books and top the stack with a decorative object, adding height and drawing attention to that object.

4.  Stand back and look for balance.  If you have one side that seems more filled or visually heavy, shift items around to make the shelf feel more balanced.

5.  Negative space is usually what makes the beauty.  Don’t feel like you have to fill every space with books.  Adding the decorative objects with space on all sides will create a reprieve for the eyes.  Your shelf will also look less like a library or bookstore and more like a display with books mixed in.  If you have tons of books, don’t feel that you have to have every book you own on the same shelf.  Add a small stack to a coffee table, nightstand, or another bookshelf elsewhere in the house.  Create book pedestals there to display more decorative items, too.

Here's an "in process" Blackberry picture (don't judge the quality!). I need to take another one now that everything is spread out and organized...

What's your position on open shelving? Love it or leave it?






*Open shelving images from google search*