If you've been following my blog for any time, you may know my obsession with open shelving in kitchens.
Maybe you remember the open shelving I created for our last house when I renovated my first kitchen.
I love the look of open shelves. So much so that I had to find a way to incorporate them into our current house.
In this house, open shelves were necessary. We removed the kitchen soffit and mounted the original standard length cabinets close to the ceiling. My short legs didn't do anything to help me reach higher than the lowest cabinet shelf once we bumped them up. They would give us extra storage too, which is always necessary!
In this house, open shelves were necessary. We removed the kitchen soffit and mounted the original standard length cabinets close to the ceiling. My short legs didn't do anything to help me reach higher than the lowest cabinet shelf once we bumped them up. They would give us extra storage too, which is always necessary!
I hired our friend, Jimmy, to make these shelves for me. I gave him the Ana White plan for a floating shelf, and asked him to use maple since we hadn't decided whether we would paint or stain them yet.
The shelf had to be stable to hold a setting for six. Since we wanted them to float, it was important to make them as strong as possible. He mapped out the wall studs and used caulk to adhere the shelf "skeleton" to the backsplash.
It worked great, and there is no movement in the shelf at all. I wouldn't pull myself onto the countertop with them (I still have to reach the top cabinet shelves periodically), but they hold all those dishes with no problem.
I chose the same stain I used on the interior pantry shelves (Minwax Polyshades Tudor). We are both pretty big fans of the warm wood look against the white cabinets.
For now, I'm enjoying the maple stained shelves, and the additional storage space. Not having to hop onto the countertop to reach a water glass is a plus, too.
What do you think? Would you have stained the shelves or painted them? I'm on team 'love it.'
I like that it's different. And easily paintable if we ever want a different look.
Our kitchen to-do list is shrinking pretty quick. Here's what we have left to do:
- Caulk line under countertops and below backsplash
- Touch up cabinet paint
- Choose and install under cabinet lighting for the coffee nook
- Either return or finally install cabinet hardware
- Buy, paint and nail in quarter round shoe molding
- Order blinds for the window
Tired of hearing about our kitchen yet? Did you see the updates we shared in our master bedroom last week?
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