I recently realized I’ve never really shown you our kitchen.
I had a couple of the “Before” pictures on our house tour page, but none since we personalized it a little.
When we moved in, there were standard appliances and an odd cabinet layout. But, the big pretty sink and fake granite (my favorite kind–yes, I’m a terrible design enthusiast–I LOVE laminate counter tops, I’ll probably explain one day) were fairly new and pretty livable.
The upper cabinets however, are very oddly placed on the wall. I suppose it’s easy to understand: the previous owners didn’t know what to do in the corners by the big window, so they just ended the cabinets mid-way down the wall.
So we added open shelving to the two corners. The design felt much more intentional, and we had a more functional space.
I don’t have any photos of the work since it was a pre-blog project, but they are super simple:
- We measured and cut out the shape we wanted for the shelves from high-quality plywood.
- I wrapped each shelf in white contact paper. (We chose that over paint because it’s more washable, easily changeable and most importantly, we could put the shelves up immediately. Because we’re patient like that.) In case you’re wondering, the contact paper has held up perfectly for over 3 years.
- We screwed 1″ x 2″ boards to the walls for the shelves to sit on top of.
- We screwed each shelf to the supports.
I debated whether to add moulding to the front of the shelves to hide the supports. Mostly because the mitering would be a lot of work and we didn’t know how long it would be until we did an official remodel of the kitchen.
In the mean time, I could have at least puttied and painted over the screw heads, I suppose. You don’t really notice things like that after 3 1/2 years. Much like the hole in the bathroom ceiling. Oh well.
Anyway the open shelves were another cheap and easy fix that made a huge impact for us.
So what do you think, should I go ahead and add moulding to the front of the shelves or just fill the screw holes?
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May 20, 2013 at 7:03 pmIt looks much better and logical. I’ll probably do something like that in my own kitchen as I won’t be able to have a real cabinet close to the window.
Wendy Riggins
May 20, 2013 at 8:35 pmisn’t there “plugs” you could buy to put in the screw holes? maybe paint them a bright color to add a “punch” of color? just a thought. 🙂 I do like the shelves adds more functional space.
Christina
May 21, 2013 at 2:41 pmYes, there are! I didn’t even think of that. And the plugs would be much easier when it’s time to take the shelves down for the official remodel. Thanks for the idea! 🙂
Audra
May 20, 2013 at 10:58 pmI wouldnt have noticed the holes until you mentioned it. Prob easier to fill them.
Christina
May 21, 2013 at 2:58 pmWell, I feel better about them now. 🙂
Angie
May 21, 2013 at 1:45 amI’m with Wendy. That’s a great idea.
Angie
May 21, 2013 at 1:45 amAlso, I love your green dishrack!
Christina
May 21, 2013 at 2:43 pmThank you! 🙂
onshore
May 21, 2013 at 6:23 amClosed storage is what I would normally enjoy more, but who wouldn’t want small shelves where to keep the beautiful everyday stuff.
The shelves look good, I might not have figured out to install those, you have good eye.
Christina
May 21, 2013 at 2:56 pmThanks, Leena! Funny, I prefer open storage. Especially since all of my dishware and cups are white and matching. I would actually have to make my cupboards a little LESS organized if I were to have open shelves so they would be styled better. 🙂
Kelly Schenck
May 21, 2013 at 11:28 amgreat job filling a small space with open shelves. i love open shelves, especially in small spaces. i wouldn’t have noticed the screw holes either if you didn’t mention it.
Christina
May 21, 2013 at 2:57 pmThanks Kelly. 🙂 I like them in small spaces too! As long as they’re not cluttered, they give a room more depth.