Styling: Savvy Solutions for Open Shelves
Shelves that show off your kit are big design news, but when there is nowhere to hide, how do you keep this storage looking stylish, too?
Open shelves were once only associated with storing uniformly shaped objects like books, which could be nicely stacked in a row. But times are changing and open shelving is cropping up throughout the home, in kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, too. We have all come to realise that open shelves are both handy and, when properly organised, great looking as well. It just takes a little styling alongside all that storing. These super shelves show how it can be done…
Think industrial
A pantry constructed from open shelving packs tons of industrial cool. These steel shelves and the vintage sign evoke the aesthetic of a New York deli, but are wonderfully practical, too. If you do decide on open storage in the kitchen, try to keep similar colours together on the same shelf and factor in some pull-out storage boxes, too, for a neat and symmetrical look.
A pantry constructed from open shelving packs tons of industrial cool. These steel shelves and the vintage sign evoke the aesthetic of a New York deli, but are wonderfully practical, too. If you do decide on open storage in the kitchen, try to keep similar colours together on the same shelf and factor in some pull-out storage boxes, too, for a neat and symmetrical look.
Utilise wall space
Use all available space and build your shelves directly onto the wall, right up to the ceiling. This home office ensures that storage will never be an issue by incorporating shelving into every available wall. Natural light then flows in via a huge skylight, rather than conventional windows.
Use all available space and build your shelves directly onto the wall, right up to the ceiling. This home office ensures that storage will never be an issue by incorporating shelving into every available wall. Natural light then flows in via a huge skylight, rather than conventional windows.
Keep it simple
For a clean and contemporary feel, stack only white ceramics and dinnerware on pine shelving, storing more colourful or scruffy items out of sight in drawers and cupboards. This makes for a Scandinavian vibe and keeps the space feeling neat and open.
For a clean and contemporary feel, stack only white ceramics and dinnerware on pine shelving, storing more colourful or scruffy items out of sight in drawers and cupboards. This makes for a Scandinavian vibe and keeps the space feeling neat and open.
Work in some wire
Keep everything from shoes to craft materials on display with a wire shelving unit. This type of storage system is particularly good for smaller rooms as it does not block light and helps to give the illusion of space.
Keep everything from shoes to craft materials on display with a wire shelving unit. This type of storage system is particularly good for smaller rooms as it does not block light and helps to give the illusion of space.
Display ingredients
Everything from sauce bottles to cereal can look attractive when decanted into glass jars or popped into wire baskets. It creates a very authentic display on an open shelf and keeps key ingredients to hand, too.
Everything from sauce bottles to cereal can look attractive when decanted into glass jars or popped into wire baskets. It creates a very authentic display on an open shelf and keeps key ingredients to hand, too.
Go for a grid
A simple white shelving grid which is home to glasses and kitchenware, teamed with stainless-steel worktops, gives this bright kitchen a sophisticated restaurant feel.
A simple white shelving grid which is home to glasses and kitchenware, teamed with stainless-steel worktops, gives this bright kitchen a sophisticated restaurant feel.
Repurpose old bits
Use old crates to create open shelves for your favourite knick-knacks. The wood will provide a warm, textured backdrop for your pieces and reusing old materials is a green way to work in a softly industrial feel.
Use old crates to create open shelves for your favourite knick-knacks. The wood will provide a warm, textured backdrop for your pieces and reusing old materials is a green way to work in a softly industrial feel.
Make a statement
Shelving can have the same impact as art, as this bright blue unit demonstrates. This punchy piece holds books, favourite pieces and prints, displaying them with a vigour that could never be achieved with run-of-the-mill wooden shelving. By painting the wall and shelving unit in one bright hue, this family room becomes a colour-filled fun zone.
Shelving can have the same impact as art, as this bright blue unit demonstrates. This punchy piece holds books, favourite pieces and prints, displaying them with a vigour that could never be achieved with run-of-the-mill wooden shelving. By painting the wall and shelving unit in one bright hue, this family room becomes a colour-filled fun zone.
See a single shelf as an opportunity to store and display your favourite things, from the practical to the purely decorative. This white shelf above the kitchen sink is ideal for everyday items such as glasses and bowls, but other accessories like this oversized letter look great dotted amongst the dinnerware and bring an eclectic feel to the shelf.