So you fancy open shelves in your kitchen? You love the way they look on Pinterest and in the magazines. So practical and yet so decorative. And they look so darned pretty. You’re absolutely sure they would be a great style statement in your kitchen too. Well, I’ve had open shelves in the kitchen in the past, and I’m here to tell you to consider this very carefully.
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Image: Pip Studio at Daisy Park
The Good
Yes, open shelves can look amazing. The kitchen can sometimes be a clinical looking space. Especially if you have just moved into a new house and the builders/previous occupants thought they would maximise storage space by putting wall cupboards EVERYWHERE! It’s tempting to rip them all down to allow for a more spacious look and to give some opportunity to stamp your own personality on a space. Because that’s what open shelves are very good for. They provide a lovely display surface in a functional room. Somewhere to show off your best china, your collection of mason jars filled with dried goods, an inspirational quote or two, your favourite recipe books, and some green stuff (herbs, plants, a bunch of daffs). You can see it now can’t you?
Image: Marks and Spencer
They also give a perfect opportunity to inject some style. Maybe you have a hankering for a more ‘country’ looking kitchen and hefty, rough hewn timber would look perfectly in keeping. Or some industrial looking metal shelving will reflect the ‘loft style’ interior you’ve been dreaming of for ages. I have to admit, shelves are great for reinforcing design decisions.
Image: Marks and Spencer
And let’s face it, open shelves can actually be a very practical decision too. It’s handy to have all of your most used items just an arms length away. No more kneeling down to delve into the depths of impractical base units. Especially the corner ones. No more moving other items before you are able to reach the one thing you are looking for. And no more cupboard doors to bump into because you forgot to close them in your haste.
Image: House of Fraser
The Bad
You’re already sold on the idea by now of open shelves. But are you really going to keep them tidy and looking good? Those images you’ve been pinning, have been styled for the photograph. It’s very unlikely they look like that all of the time. You will probably have to put aside some time once a week (you know, on top of all those other household chores), to sort them out and get them looking pretty again. Do the family know that they are not a dumping ground for all the things THEY want to have to hand also? The phone charger, the bill that needs to be paid, the homework timetable and that Lego brick, will all probably find their way onto the shelves when you’re not looking, or when you’re laying the table for dinner in a hurry.
Image: Marks and Spencer
The Ugly
And yes there is an ugly side to open shelves in the kitchen and I know this one very well. It’s called airborne grease and dust. It accumulates at an alarming rate. Those shelves don’t just need a weekly tidy up, they need a monthly scrub. And that means all of the things on them too. Especially the things you don’t take down and use on a daily basis. Like the inspirational quotes, and very likely the mason jars filled with dried goods. When was the last time you did any baking anyway?
Image: Next Home
So, if I haven’t put you off, there’s a couple of things you can take out of this. It’s better to use kitchen shelves for things you use EVERY DAY. By all means add a few things purely for the decorative value, but be prepared to wash them regularly. And tidy up and re-arrange them as often as you can. After all, they were mean’t to look darned pretty.
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from Dear Designer https://deardesigner.co.uk/kitchen-shelf-life-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
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