Since most Americans spend 400 hours per year in the kitchen, top-notch interior design is critical in your cooking space. Luxury cabinets are a must-have feature, as are beautiful countertops. But there’s also an often-overlooked part of the kitchen to consider: visible shelving. Floating wall shelves are an awesome way to spruce up your space. These can be made from natural wood or contemporary stone. Either way, you’ll need to be mindful of having kitchen shelf decor that looks great.
Read on to learn how you can create a great luxury kitchen aesthetic with your shelving layout.
Choose Kitchen Shelf Decor Thoughtfully
You likely have more dishware than shelving, and that’s okay. You don’t need to install unnecessary floating shelves and ruin your interior design to accommodate every item. Some of your kitchenware will go in drawers and cabinets.
You’ll need to edit down your collection to determine what to display.
Start by piling up all of the dishes that you use on a daily basis. This will probably include plates, bowls, and silverware. You’ll also want to keep your favorite mugs accessible for coffee and tea.
Keeping these items out in the open gives you access to your most-used kitchenware. It’s also important that you don’t put out more plates and silverware than you use in a single day. You don’t want an overcrowded look, and motivating yourself to do dishes regularly means a cleaner luxury kitchen.
Spare dishes can go in a cabinet or cupboard, as can kid’s kitchenware. You don’t need to ruin your sophisticated aesthetic with an Elmo plate, even if having them handy in a cabinet is an awesome way to make your children smile.
Use Base Objects
Beyond dishes, you may also want to display other frequently-used items. A wooden cutting board makes for a simple and elegant backdrop behind dishes and trinkets.
This is called a “base object.” It’s practical and neutral enough to serve as a backdrop for the rest of your display.
You also might choose a minimalistic art print as a base object in some areas, which is great if you store functional items in front of them. Salt and pepper shakers add a touch of texture and color above base objects, as do other spice jars.
Use Countertops as Shelves
Beautiful open shelving is always great, but it needs something underneath it to truly shine. Sure, some design magazines might say that a lot of white space is chic. But in reality, it can throw off the balance of your space.
Your high-quality countertop can be used as a bottom shelf. This is especially important because kitchen shelving is frequently not deep enough to accommodate some items like mug racks. It also might not be sturdy enough to hold heavier things like cups full of stirring spoons, tongs, and spatulas.
Be Practical
When it comes to kitchen shelf decor, you’ll want to be pragmatic about what items you display. Artwork and ornamental trinkets are great ways to spruce up your space. Flowers in antique vases add a touch of delicate flair to your shelves.
However, you need to intersperse actual kitchen items on open shelves as well. This doesn’t just make your kitchen feel like it’s serving its intended purpose. Open shelving also keeps the dishes and utensils you use most frequently constantly accessible.
Put the things that you use daily on a lower shelf that’s easy to reach. This will show off your favorite pieces while ensuring that you can grab them easily whenever you want a quick meal or snack. You can also place often-used kitchen utensils on these shelves like stirring spoons and spatulas.
Your decorative artwork and trinkets should go on upper shelves since you won’t need to reach them regularly. However, you can also keep higher shelving functional by placing cutting boards, butter dishes, and dishware that you only use for entertaining there. You won’t need to access these frequently, but they’ll be there whenever you do need them.
Start Simple
While ornaments and decorations are an important part of shelf decor, it’s important that you begin with the basics. Start by arranging your selected kitchen items evenly across the shelves.
Beginning with less gives you the freedom to see where to put accents. You also will see what colors and textures you’re already working with after displaying functional items. You’ll be able to choose artwork and display items more mindfully when you have a practical starting point.
Over time, you can begin to fill the empty space on the shelves with other items. They’ll perfectly complement the things you already have displayed. You’ll have more freedom to conceptualize your space holistically and make tweaks to increase visual appeal.
Consider Natural Accents
When you think about adding ornamental accents to shelves, wood trinkets and decorative porcelain dishes probably come to mind. You may also think of tiny framed photos and paintings. While these are awesome choices, you’ll want to add plants to your shelves first.
This is because using plants in interior design has a ton of real-world benefits. Research shows that it can improve your air quality and boost emotional wellness. It also may be able to reduce background noise levels in your space since leaves absorb and reflect noise.
Beyond that, though, natural decorations are simply aesthetically pleasing. They come in bright colors, especially calming and earthy tones like green and brown. These hues make for a great backdrop that pairs well with wood cutting boards and kitchen utensils.
They also come in a wide range of textures. Some ferns are leafy while other vines are smooth. You’ll have an awesome opportunity to play with texture when you go natural.
Don’t want to constantly water and care for real plants? There are faux plants with realistic-looking leaves and vines available at most craft stores. While these alternatives aren’t truly alive, they can still enliven your space with a pop of natural color.
Fruit is another awesome way to accentuate your kitchen decor with natural items. Placing oranges or pears in a bowl is an exciting way to create a pop of color despite neutral base objects. Faux fruit always works in a pinch, but it’s even cooler to put out something healthy that you can snack on throughout the day.
Hang Items Near Shelving
While your shelves are obviously the centerpiece of your design, you likely have kitchen items that don’t fit on them. Favorite pots and pans are important, especially if you want to keep them accessible.
Hanging them on the walls with nails between your shelves is a great way to add some texture to your space. It mixes up your design so that your eyes are drawn to several areas of the kitchen. Since these items are generally simple and come in neutral hues, they can stop your space from looking too busy and cluttered.
Embrace Trial and Error
It’s unlikely that your shelves are going to have the seamless luxury look you want immediately. Your first display may be cluttered or lack the visual appeal that you’re looking for. That’s 100% okay and doesn’t mean that your eye for decorating is lacking.
Making beautiful shelf displays takes time and effort. Embrace this – mental health experts believe that the act of decorating and organizing can reduce stress.
Once you have decorated your shelves, step back to the other side of the kitchen. Take a long holistic look at your display and decide if some areas are more cluttered than others. Redisperse the items evenly while considering size, shape, color, and texture.
When you think you’re done, take a walk past the kitchen and look through any open doors. This will help you see multiple angles of the shelves. It also will let you know how things look at a cursory glance, which is how you’ll frequently see your space when walking by.
Continue to switch things up until they’re to your liking. Only then will you get the luxury aesthetic that you’re looking to attain.
Boost Your Interior Design Today
It can be challenging to design and decorate a stylish luxury kitchen. Luckily, well-dispersed kitchen shelf decor can add some sophistication and elegance to your beautifully renovated space. Now that you know how to be mindful about decorating kitchen shelves, it’s time to get started.
Our experts are committed to installing quality German kitchen cabinets in any high-end home. We’re also excited to share how you can pair this cabinetry with other remodel features including floating shelving and opulent dishware. Contact us today to discuss the ways we can help you enhance your luxury space.
