Kitchen Open Shelving

After working on the kitchen updates, like painting the cabinets white....there was a still lot to do!  I had been lusting over open shelving in kitchens for like......ever!  So logically this was the next step in the kitchen reno.  I started out with a 1x10 board that was cut into two 9 inch by 36 inch pieces. 

I then swung by Home Depot and picked up some 6 inch brackets.  I was hoping the ORB finish would pull out the ORB finish from the cabinet knobs. 

We decided that we wanted the shelves to go above the kitchen island we built.  We measured how far up and anchored the brackets to the wall using an electric screwdriver and a level.    

After you anchor in both brackets make sure the shelf is level….this is really important if you don’t want all your dishes to end up on the floor.  We decided to fit the shelves into place before we painted them so we could pre-drill the holes to avoid paint peeling at the holes.      

Also, pre-fitting them left a little room for wiggling if we absolutely hated the placement of the shelves.  We ended up loving it!  We wanted there to be enough room between the shelves to stack the dishes and glassware that we needed.        

With three coats of paint (left over from the kitchen cabinets) on each side and ample dry time, our shelves were complete.  We waited at least 6 hours between coats on each side and waited 7 days to flip them.  We painted the bottom first so that incase there was any paint smear it would be on the bottom.          

I added some plates, cups, bowls, and serve ware to the shelf to make it complete.  Above all I wanted the shelf to be functional since we don’t have a lot of cabinet space.  After taking all the dishes out of the cabinet and relocating them to the open shelves I felt like I had a TON more space!            

I’m not sure if this is how the styling will stay, but it is what is working for right now!  I am so happy that I get to display my pretty white dishes in a functional and stylish way. 

I am loving how the shelves make the kitchen look so functional and cohesive.  When I started out the wall was blank and it was just space that was left unused.  After we added the kitchen island the space became more functional, but a little bare with nothing on the wall.  Now with the addition of the shelves the kitchen has become way more functional all around, rather than just on the L bank of cabinets!    

And now it’s time for the budget breakdown:

Brackets (for 4): $20.00

Shelving: $8.00

Paint: free from the cabinet and trim projects

Grand total: $28.00