Open Shelves. Whether you love them or hate them, this trend has reigned the interior design world for the better part of the last decade. As an interior designer, I often find myself a little giddy at the thought of styling them, because there is so much opportunity to add personality, character, and statement pieces in an otherwise sterile environment — The kitchen! But just because open shelving in the kitchen can make the room appear larger and more open, it doesn’t mean it’s less intimidating to constantly have your dishes on display for anyone to see. Still, you shouldn’t let that fear stop you from having the gorgeous shelves you’ve been dreaming of. I’m going to be sharing some tips and tricks to help you master styling your shelves. They’ll look so good, even your mother-in-law will be impressed! (No guarantees though!)

First, let’s start with the essential items: Your everyday dishes. These are the items that you will be reaching for regularly. Cups, bowls, plates, wine glasses… whatever you consider essential. Make sure these are cohesive sets. This is not the place to put random mismatched dishes that you’ve had forever. Keep within a color palette, and try not to mix old and new. We don’t want our shelves looking like a garage sale. Once you have your cohesive base of everyday items, you can begin sprinkling in the items that fit into your color scheme, but perhaps aren’t necessarily everyday use such as vases, pitchers, larger bowls, or anything fitting into the theme. If the shelf is big enough, I even like to put wooden utensils in a canister and place them up there!

Vary the heights on the shelves to keep things interesting. You don’t want every single shelf to have a single row of bowls. Stack glasses or add cookbooks to give variation and height to otherwise single, lonely items. Cake stands are also a great way to elevate items and display them!

Lastly, I love to add texture, interest, and warmth. This is where the personality can shine through! Greenery is a great way to add an organic pop of color. I also love styling with cutting boards of all shapes and sizes (vintage ones being my favorite!). The wood tones really help break up all the dishes and create visual harmony. Cookbooks are a great way to add some color – just make sure you aren’t introducing too many colors!

No matter what you plan on doing with your shelves, the most important thing (besides dusting them often!) is balance. Make sure that you don’t overload one area with one color or texture or amount and not the other. Balance is absolutely the key to having beautifully styled open shelves.

Now that you know the tricks, get out there and make your kitchen shelves the envy of all of your neighbors!

Juliet Young, Interior Designer

The featured kitchen is a newly constructed home built by Lance Johnson Building Company and styled & photographed by Juliet Young Interiors.