27+ Open Kitchen Shelving Ideas That Work

Open kitchen shelves essentially have two different purposes. They can be purely decorative…placing carefully selected kitchen items to deliver a certain image, or they can be functional. Basically, anything you would have placed in a closed cabinets is on display on the shelf. Generally, commonly used items like dishware are perfect for a shelving unit as they offer easy access.

Not only is an open shelving kitchen in style, they will stay in style too. A floating kitchen shelf offers so many benefits that its hard to see how and why they would fall out of favor. They give a feeling of space, especially in a small space, and are very functional with their open storage and flexibility in kitchen storage. They will remain in style and are here to stay, regardless of whether you have a rustic kitchen, farmhouse kitchen or a more contemporary kitchen like a modern white kitchen.

Open shelving is gaining in popularity due to the many benefits. It is much cheaper to buy shelving than it is to cover a wall in cabinetry. in fact, as a shelving idea, you can simply remove the cabinet door to expose the contents of your pantry.
Aside from the cost aspects, the functional benefits are many. This is why open shelving on a wall cannot be considered a fad or a passing trend. From a design perspective, they work well too…separate a base cabinet countertop with a tile backsplash using a shelf. Alternatively, with a more modern angle, consider a shelf on your kitchen island for that perfect coffee bar look!

Open shelves are much cheaper than cabinets. When you compare the cost of a shelf against a cabinet unit, the cupboard doors and and fittings, you see that there is a big difference. A wood shelf in comparison is cheap and more flexible, especially when you have a corner space. In this scenario, corner shelves work incredibly well in a small kitchen, making the most of storage space available to you.

It’s not possible to keep wooden shelves dust free, they will always attract dust. The key is to keep on top of the cleaning. The shelf and the contents should be dusted at least every two weeks, and everything removed and cleaned on a monthly basis.

It is generally accepted that there should be at least 10 to 12 inches between shelves.

Generally, the wood should be at least 3/4 inches thick for shelves. For heavy duty floating shelves, they could be thicker with a bigger shelf bracket.