A new home project: open kitchen shelving

Some projects just take longer to get round to than others, do you find? I’ve had this blank wall in my kitchen for over a year now, not really knowing what to do with it. On the other side of the room, I have wall-to-wall kitchen units, comprised of IKEA Metod frames customised with Superfront doors in soft beige and warm oak, giving a considered, Japandi look. In the middle of the room, I have a secondhand stainless steel kitchen island, but something was always missing. I have lots of closed storage to hide away the things I don’t want to see, but what I needed was some open kitchen shelving to display the things I do want to have out – and away from tiny hands!

With a little help from Taskrabbit, I’ve transformed this section of my kitchen, from an unloved dead zone to an inspiring curated corner. Open kitchen shelving adds character and personality to the space, allowing me to create an ever-changing display of favourite books, objects and art. Now this corner feels like it’s part of the kitchen; walking into the room, the space feels instantly inviting and cosy. In this blog post I’m going to share everything you need to know about installing open kitchen shelving.

[AD – This project was created in collaboration with Taskrabbit for Instagram, but I was not obliged to share this blog post]

There’s been a trend for a while now of removing top kitchen cupboards and replacing them with open shelves. This can really work to make a kitchen feel lighter and airier, instead of the top units imposing on the space and appearing heavy. I really believe that a kitchen should be lived-in and loved, telling a story of the user, whether that’s with well-worn cookbooks, overflowing jars packed with utensils, stacked kilner jars or much-loved mugs out on display. Open kitchen shelving is great if you want to personalise your space.

Sometimes though, you just really need the closed storage space to hide away clutter. Luckily I could fit in both in my kitchen, without having to compromise on storage needs. I wanted to balance the wall of closed storage with lightweight shelving.

This corner had became a dead space for dumping things; the pram, recycling, bags, you name it. There wasn’t enough width in the room (3m) to have two walls of kitchen units and an island in between, as you tend to need a minimum of 90cm between a kitchen unit and an island. A narrow shelf (with a depth of 30cm) means that you can still get round the island comfortably, from the hallway, through the kitchen, to the extension.

I would never have been able to put these shelves up myself. I just know I would have got into a stress, and either have kept putting off the job, or given up halfway through. I don’t mind painting and decorating, but I get so frustrated with a drill. Sometimes it’s best to recognise your limitations and get the professionals in.

It can be really hard to find reliable tradespeople and handy people who can do small jobs – the little things that you perhaps don’t have the time or skills to do yourself. I’ve used Taskrabbit a few times now and have always had a positive experience – not only can you get help with mounting and furniture assembly, but also cleaning, painting, electrics and help with moving. I like that you can find Taskers from your local community easily on the app, they often have quick availability and you can see their photo and read reviews on their profiles. Every Tasker I’ve used has come with their own tools so you don’t even need to worry about what drill bit or wall plug to use.

These shelves were trickier to install than they look. My old Victorian walls are pretty wonky and uneven, but this didn’t phase my tasker Ociel, who used a laser level to measure them out and ensure that they were all straight and seamlessly connected, to form three rows of three separate shelves.

The shelves themselves are from the Kungsfors series from IKEA, in ash veneer. They can be used as individual shelves, or grouped together in a modular arrangement like here. They also come in bamboo.

In terms of spacing for open kitchen shelving, I recommend a space of 20-25cm between shelves if you’re displaying small objects and paperbacks, and a space of 30-40cm for larger items. Here, the bottom shelf is set at 90cm from the floor, to line up with the height of the kitchen worktop, with 40cm spacing between the shelves. I always find odd numbers look more aesthetically pleasing than even numbers, hence the choice of three.

Then all that is left to do is curate your shelves. Styling shelves is all about harmony and balance – you want there to be an even distribution of colours, tones and shapes. Here I have balanced a couple of black objects with white objects, neutral books and a few soft blue tones to create a cohesive display. Cluster objects of different heights together so the result looks relaxed, not contrived, for example a larger jug with a medium sized object next to it, and a smaller one in front. There’s nothing more staid and uptight than the same object repeated in a row of three or more.

I also like to use the concept of triangles when I style. This means grouping items together so they create a triangular arrangement that’s pleasing to the eye – you can see this with the three bowls on the bottom shelf or the picture, lamp and bowl on the second shelf. The points of the triangle are each object. I’ve always found this to work, creating a display where your eye can bounce easily from object to object, without anything feeling jarring or out of balance.

I’m sure I’ll be changing up my shelves every now and then – they’re the perfect canvas for endless rearranging, styling and curating!