How to Style Your Kitchen Shelves Like a Pro

07/13/2020

If you’ve been a part of this community for awhile, then you’ve definitely heard me wax poetic about how I want our house to feel.  There’s something about the long, sometimes arduous process of building from scratch that gives you plenty of time to think about things like how you want your house to look and feel and smell even.  What’s the vibe?  I’ve always wanted our house to feel like a retreat, a place of calm… which is sometimes easier said than done with two little kids. I’m embracing simplicity more than ever as we slowly decorate this new space.

Beautifully styled, Pinterest-worthy shelves always seems so simple, but can actually be quite a challenge. I decided to bring in my friend and interior designer extraordinaire, Shannon Eddings, to style our kitchen shelves three different ways so I could get a sense for the style that felt the most “us”.

How do I want our home to look? Uncluttered.  Like every object is in it’s place intentionally, but also warm, inviting, and comfortable.

Looking to simplify the décor in your own space?  Here are 5 Simple Shelf Styling Tips from Shannon:

1. Location: Where are your shelves? Bedroom, office, kitchen etc? Take this into account when selecting what type of items to put on the shelves. These shelves are in the kitchen so we kept most styling elements to serving pieces / cutting boards and vases alongside pretty cookbooks.   In a living room I would do more art and design books peppered with quirky flea market finds and the everyday Emmy trophy 😉

2. Shape and Size: Group books together, tall items, short items, etc. This helps determine whether you need to diversify and find more items of a smaller or bigger scale. Then I always start with books.  They are my base layer.  Then larger items. And last come the small items.

3. Color and Style: It’s cheesy and perhaps a bit overdone but grouping things into colors before starting the styling can really help keep the look cohesive while still achieving your ‘look’ whether it’s Scandinavian, Eclectic, Black and White or Minimalist.

4. Edit: I tend to overdo shelves at first and then stare at them awhile before removing things. Strip the shelves down to items that have meaning and make you smile. Restraint is essential in having perfectly (but imperfect of course ) shelves.

5. When in doubt, hire a professional!

MY FAVORITE THINGS FOR SHELVES:

Photography by Katie Jameson