Remember yesterday when our shelves looked like this?
Well, then I had fun doing this (if you’re at work, you can watch this without sound and totally get the gist):
If you check out the video you can see that I can actually reach everything up on those top shelves except for the stuff in the corner by the window, but it’s easy enough to sit on the counter to grab it.
Who knew I’d be able to reach all that stuff? I totally expected to have to scream “Joooooohn” whenever I needed something up there (he’s the chef of the family so that probably wouldn’t have happened very often anyway). Or use a step stool if he’s missing/outside/hiding and I’m really desperate. Haha.
So now our shelves are chock full o’ stuff, and are most definitely still a work in progress, but mighty cheerful and functional all the same…
It’s not necessarily where things will stay – just a first pass for sure. I actually have since re-stacked some of the bowls – and plates & dishes have gotten used so things are constantly changing. It really is a completely rotating display. The funny thing is that it’s kind of crazy to “perfectly style” kitchen shelves anyway since it’s all supposed to be used and is always being picked up or washed or put back so I have already declared that I WILL NOT BE CRAZY. And John is holding me to it. Hah. So since nothing is glued down or expected to remain exactly where I placed it OR ELSE, consider this to be just one “take” of many when it comes to our open shelves. I’m sure ceramic animals will worm their way in there somewhere. And I’m sure as we add crown molding and patch the ceiling (at which point everything has to come back down from the shelves) things might get switched up. But that’s half the fun when you’re me.
As you can see from the video, I didn’t give anything too much thought. Sometimes over-thinking can be the bane of your existence when you’re loading up shelves or a bookcase. So it was all sort of first-thought. So for anyone wondering about my method… I actually consciously tried not to think too much and just moved stuff around and stepped back and tried to focus on what I wanted to be easiest to grab and grouping things that made sense (like all the items for setting the dinner table and dessert stuff). I’m sure it’ll evolve and change – and most likely get better and more functional – over time. Here’s hoping, anyway! And you know I’ll take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.
Oh and you can see from the shot above how shallow the brackets are and how deep our 12″ shelves are, so there’s plenty of room for stuff and the brackets don’t interfere with storage or anything. Whew.
But back to filling up those shelves. I tried hard not to think too hard (say that three times fast) but I did think about one thing the whole time I was at it: function. For example, I put our dessert bowls and dessert plates on the bottom right shelf and all of our large dinner dishes and cups and cereal bowls on the bottom left shelf. So those are closest at hand (and just a step or two away from the dishwasher with no cabinet doors to open, so that should be pretty convenient). Then the top shelves got things that we may use less often, but that still might sit out on counters in a kitchen anyway (ex: a cute cake stand, some bigger serving bowls, a vase, a bottle of my mom’s favorite bubbly drink, etc). We figure that even when those items sit in cabinets for a while they can get dusty, so it should be the same difference (a quick rinse and they’re ready to go). We’ll keep you posted on how it all works for sure.
Here’s how the room now looks from the office doorway. Such a difference. Although the not-stainless dishwasher still kills us, but soon enough we should have the new one installed. Oh and I meant to take a shot of the window straight on to show the balance of the shelves that are spaced 14″ from the right of it and the cabinet that’s spaced 14″ to the left of it… but I had a brain fart. Epic picture-taking fail. So that shot’s to come.
Memory lane time? Sure. The room used to look like this from the office doorway. Kinda crazy, right? I’m totally standing in the exact same spot – not any closer (see the counter cutting off at the bottom of each picture at nearly the same spot?). Isn’t it crazy how much closer the window feels in the picture below?
But let’s get back to the present. Do you hear a harp softly playing in the background or is it just me? Picture me twirling around with my arms out while orchestral music swells and birds come and fly around me holding ribbons in their beaks. Only less graceful and more awkward. And maybe the birds are just Burger and Clara holding toilet paper and spinning around beside me while I grin up at the can lights.
Oh and someone pointed out that we have lots of subtle curves going on with our brackets and our round penny tile and our round pendants. I love happy accidents like that! With more angular things like the range hood and the peninsula, it’s nice to have some softer shapes to complement them. High five for happy accidents.
Now that we have our pretty glass cups out in front of the boring clear ones we actually use them more. And I get to stare at them. Wait, that sounds creepy. I get to gaze at them. Better?
We think the random pops of blue, green, and yellow along with those two frames I stuck up there are fun. It’s definitely not a “magazine after” or anything – more like a gathering of all the stuff we actually use with some pretty decorative things tossed in there for fun. If a magazine blew in I think they’d probably add “more pretty” (flowers, lacquered boxes, candlesticks, etc) in exchange for “less function” (translation: I would love it and John would roll his eyes and say “um, where are all our plates and bowls and cups?”).
Oh and a bunch of folks asked if we considered a third row of shelves up top, but we figured once we loaded up those second shelves the stuff on them would balance with the top of the doorway, so anything above that might have been too heavy/cluttered for us. Plus that stuff would be really hard to reach/use.
And as for where we put the brackets, we wanted them all to be equally spaced on both sides (we looked at three on the left side but they didn’t feel as balanced with the ones on the right as four of them did). And that preferred layout thankfully worked with our studs (nearly all of our screws aligned perfectly and they feel really strong!), so after looking at a few different hanging options/bracket placements (and taping things off to help picture them) we just pulled the trigger and went with our favorite – which we thankfully love just as much in real life!
In short: we are so very happy with our wall o’ tile complete with glorious bracketed shelves full of sunshine and rainbows. Literally, the art actually says “Love Life” (it was the cover of a book that John got me, which I framed) and “Squeeze The Day” (a favorite flier from an old Boden catalog that came in the mail). We know open shelves (or these brackets/wall color/tile/pendants/stools/accessories) might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we dig it. And the whole photography crew for the book is being very cute about stroking and gazing right along with us (full disclosure: this is one of those things that looks better in person, and even the video completely fails to capture it) so you’ll all just have to come over when we’re done with all of the crazy book chaos. Haha. You can even pour yourself a drink since you know where we keep the cups…
In other news: oh happy day – the tulips are still alive! I keep meaning to drop a penny in the water while Clara’s around so we can watch them perk up. Thanks for all the flower tips guys!
Here’s another shot sans crown molding and a patched ceiling. Oh and there will soon be a pendant hanging down over the sink too. We’re trying to tackle that, just so we don’t have to stare at torn up ceilings for much longer. So yes, it’s definitely a work in progress, but we’re jazz-hands-crazy about how our little “refurbished” kitchen is shaping up. And we’re definitely even more impatient than you guys about the cork floors! Can’t wait to get there and call this turkey done. Hah.
And just because I’m nuts, here’s what I did while playing around in photoshop.
Flat brown paint dumped on the “floor” via photoshop hardly captures all the amazing texture that our marbled cork floors will bring, and the white paint dumped to replicate crown molding hardly looks real (nor does my crazy little made-up pendant over the sink, which will probably be a lot lighter looking and made of clear glass) but it was fun. And if you squint and hum the Dexter theme song, you can almoooooost see it (sidenote: John changed his ringtone from Dexter to the Parks & Recreation song, which saddened me for a nanosecond and then I realized how hilarious the Parks & Rec song is – we even set it to be our alarm tone too, just because it makes waking up extra early for book stuff almost pleasurable tolerable).
So spill it. Who is completely surprised that 5’2″ me can reach nearly everything on those upper shelves? That was a total unexpected bonus. Oh and for those wondering why there isn’t a crew of lovely book photoshoot people wandering in and out of the time lapse video, they have to set up lights for certain shots that take a while so they were shooting in the back bedrooms (and I gave them one of those “I’ll be back in thirty minutes, so hold tight and scream if you need me” things). Thankfully only John wandered in for a sec, so there were no photoshoot emergencies in the middle of my shelf-y fun (I even ducked out to answer some comment questions and take a call about our upcoming Portland gig). So as Martha would say, that’s a good thing. In summary: yay shelves. What have you guys been hanging/filling up with plates and bowls/filming in time lapse lately?
Psst- And now for a post about donuts.
UPDATE: We couldn’t love our open cabinets more. Check out a bracket tweak that we made here and an update post about how they function here here.
diana says
Maybe this will be a not very comfortable question (I’m sure it’s not), and the time it’s definitely not right to ask it, but just for me: what do you NOT like yet in the kitchen as-is at this moment? I fully appreciate (with the brain, my guts haven’t been sweating for it) all the hard work you’ve put in, but I just know from multiple experiences that what I have imagined doesn’t turn exactly the same, and it leaves me with this lingering feeling….
YoungHouseLove says
We hate the holes in the ceiling and the lack of trim and all the clutter from the book stuff going on (we majorly clean it every night and by the next afternoon it’s trashed again) and we hate the floor! And we’re dying for a pendant over the sink and new floors since the old floors are trashed. Basically the stuff we don’t like is how half-done and unfinished it is!
xo,
s
krista says
It really looks great and it very inspiring! We’re hoping to give our kitchen a facelift in the next year or so, but for now we have bigger fish to fry! Just wondering if you are planning to dress the window at all? It think it would really add some nice balance to that wall.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, would love to get to that someday! Will keep you posted!
xo,
s
Lauren says
It looks so amazing!
Christine says
Looks wonderful! And you guys continue to amaze me with your energy. I have a couple of questions about spacing/height.
What variables factored in to placing your hood that distance from the stove? I’m so used to seeing hoods lower, and I’ve been living with a microwave over our stove for so long that your hood seems really high.
Also, what is the distance between the bottom shelf and the counter? I’m struggling with the placement of our “bucket” of spatulas, spoons, etc. by the stove and always end up moving it to retrieve something. Can you get things out of yours under the shelf?
Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
We went solely off the recommendations of the manufacturer for that hood model (they gave a range of inches and we went dead in the middle of it so it’ll hopefully perform best). The bottom shelf is 18″ from the counter, just like upper cabinets (so the backsplash on the window wall, which is a standard 18″ backsplash can wrap around under the shelves so everything lines up). We have gotten stuff from the fruit bowl and the cup of utensils and it works well at that height since it’s standard upper cabinet height. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kahley @ Ambiance says
Totally LOVED watching the filling of those shelves! Made me giggle and feel like maybe I’m not so crazy with all the arranging – standing back and staring – rearranging – standing back and staring – rearranging…. and on and on haha – it seems this goes on in my home on a weekly basis! It looks wonderful – I am loving the pops of color and those green & blue glasses out front are DA BOMB! Thrift store find? Good job girl!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we blogged about those glasses a long time ago and now my brain is blank. Maybe they’re from Sur La Table on clearance – or HomeGoods or Anthropologie? Anyone remember? Total brain fart! I usually know where every last spoon is from! So sorry!
Update: Found it! World Market for $2.99 each! Here’s that post: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/04/steals-deals-bottoms-up/
xo,
s
Tammy says
I have some glasses that are very similar to yours (if not the same ones) and they are from World Market.
The shelves look great, btw!
Stefani says
https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/04/steals-deals-bottoms-up/
World Market :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for hunting that down!
-John
Karen F says
so pretty! great job! and thanks for letting us in on your thought process. looking forward to seeing how these evolve over time as you live in your new kitchen!
Vanna says
The shelves look great but need some warming up. How about a nice basket filled with oils and cooking items…cooking wine, etc. It will also add a bit of heigth. Just a thought.
YoungHouseLove says
Definitely a possibility! Can’t wait to see how they change as we go!
x,
s
Jadee says
Love it! It is so cheerful and happy! You guys are doing such a great job! I love watching your kitchen unfold! So many exclamation points :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha thanks Jadee! I’m also an exclamation point fan! Can’t stop!
xo,
s
Lindsay says
Looks great!! I think the music is SO appropriate in the video:)
Betsy says
Just curious, do you have plans for above the pantry and fridge? I love the shelves and the video!!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to hang art next to the fridge and do something to the side of the pantry for sure (just waiting for the dark cork to go down to see what we think will work best).
xo,
s
Merritt says
Love it! Love, love, freaking LOVE it! I have open “shelves” (we just took the upper doors off) and I rearrange my shelves all the time just for fun! The kitchen is looking gorgeous, and I’ve loved watching all the progress along the way!
Dana says
Looks lovely! I have a mother-ish question for you- I noticed that your kitchen opens up to your office and formal dining room, but not your living room. Do you ever feel like you wish your kitchen opened to your living room to be able to see Clara better? Or does she just hang where you put her? Our kitchen is closed off from everything, it was never an issue with our first child, but now that we have 2.5 kids… it’s a little harder to keep tabs on them when I’m making them breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc… so we’re house shopping.
YoungHouseLove says
It actually does lead to the living room from that doorway next to the pantry but doesn’t open wide to it, but John convinced me it’s nice that way because if the whole thing were open plan it might be really loud and echo-ey, so it’s nice to have easy access to the living room and Clara actually plays on the rug by the fireplace (and in the middle of all the cabinets on the floor- haha) when we’re in there (and eats at the peninsula somestimes in her booster seat while we cook) so it’s working out great!
xo,
s
Tiffany says
love the shelves! love the video!
Nancy says
Looks wonderful! I love the open shelves.
Kelly (Kelly is Inspired) says
Absolutely Beautiful.
Meagan says
That photoshopped picture makes me want those cork floors installed now! (no pressure haha). I think they are really going to ground the space so well! Love the styled shelves…the room is really coming together.
Design Love says
Looks really good! I like the picture framed accents which adds some color and whimsy. John did a great job on the shelves.Very fresh!
Cindy
P:S
Where is the purple rooster?
YoungHouseLove says
Jarvis is in the bedroom due to book chaos but we can’t wait to bring him back in so he can keep a watchful eye on the kitchen – haha.
xo,
s
Design Love says
I think your nerdy self, just peaked out there for a moment! haha
C.
Allyn says
So bright and happy!
And I really love the “love life” art. That’s a motto of mine!
My mom used to call for me to reach tall things for her, so all of a sudden I would hear her call out “hey stretch!”
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, cute!
xo,
s
Michelle says
The open shelving looks awesome!! Looks like so much fun to style it!
Christine says
I love it!!! It looks so clean and happy! I will never understand why so many people are worried about your plates/bowls getting greasy or dusty or the girl “correcting” your sentence about floating shelves. Do people just look for typos? Then again, I have never been one to give unsolicited advice, but I think it’s so funny that y’all have to be armed with research to “win” your case. Have a great day!
Emily says
GAAAAHHHHH IT WAS SO WORTH HAVING REBECCA BLACK STUCK IN MY HEAD FOR 2 DAYS!!!
It looks. Magical.
And I loved at the end of the video how the YHL logo came up right on the word “love” in the songgggg gah it’s too much. Too much awsomesauce!
The art. The colors. I want to LICK it. That’s gross. I want to pet it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- John is totally the music man. Isn’t that awesome? So glad. Come on over and lick it anytime!
xo,
s
Kayla says
Love the video. Love the open shelves. Love you guys. That is all.
YoungHouseLove says
Love you right back, Kayla.
xo,
s
Melinda says
Y’all are just amazing! Seriously. So talented.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melinda! Stop making me blush. Hah.
xo,
s
Teresa says
WOW. Thanks for sharing all the progress with your kitchen. It has been fun to watch the changes and as I’m just about to embark on an MAJOR kitchen reno in my 110 year old house, it has been very motivating :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Good luck Teresa!
xo,
s
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
The pops of color totally make the shelves!!
Rachel says
I absolutely adore it. You guys did an amazing job! Very inspiring. I am in love with the green and blue fleur de lis glasses. Would you mind sharing where you found them? I need a pop of pretty to get my inspiration going for my kitchen and I think they could be just the thing!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we blogged about them a long time ago. Maybe from Sur La Table on clearance – or HomeGoods or Anthropologie? Anyone remember? Total brain fart! I usually know where every last spoon is from! So sorry!
Update: Found it! World Market for $2.99 each! Here’s that post: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/04/steals-deals-bottoms-up/
xo,
s
jessica says
Anthro! I have them, too, on my open shelving :)
Lynn @ SafeBeauty says
Johns autotuned voice totally makes the video pop! And those shelves have turned out “spiiiiicy” like the way Stefan says it on SNL.
My best, Lynn
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
Can’t wait for the floor! But the shelves definitely look awesome with all the stuff on them. Hubby doesn’t like the floating shelves, but I want to win him over to a few glass front cabinets so I can paint inside and decorate the insides all pretty, whenever we get around to the kitchen that is.
Rachel Tatem says
It looks great! That’s awesome
Chrissie says
That looks fantastic! It will look even better with the floor and ceiling finished off. I bet you can’t wait to see it all come together!
Jessica @ Quirky Bookworm says
It looks so great! I’m normally not an open shelving fan…but you might’ve convinced me. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jessica!
xo,
s
Lizzy says
I love when you guys do videos like this! The tunes you choose are always so appropriate too!
The shelves look AWESOME. Each shelf/bracket set looks like one solid piece – so rich! I can only hope that the shelves we install in a few weeks will look half as good.
Who would have thought that filling the shelves would make such a huge difference in your kitchen?! From this viewpoint, it looks so complete now!
Lauren Johnson says
Y’all need the “pin-it” button on your site!!! I’m trying so hard to pin that vertical shot of the left side of shelves and it’s not workinggggg!!!
probably user error, but either way, I think the shelves look SO good – great job!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man – so sorry Lauren! Do you have the Pin It button on your toolbar? That’s how I pin stuff. Anyone have any advice for Lauren?
xo
s
Lauren Johnson says
Figured it out! Sometimes you just have to read – I blame it on trying to pin at 8 am..
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! Haha. So glad you cracked the code!
xo,
s
Kelly B says
It looks nice! I love green and blue too. Where do you guys keep your cookbooks? I think a few cookbooks would look nice on the shelves too. Just an idea:)
Xo
Kelly
YoungHouseLove says
They’re in the shelf with the microwave built in (on the upper shelf) but it’s a fun idea to break those out for sure!
xo,
s
Kala M. says
I love watching you guys layer in the colors. I really love the color of those tulips mixed with the grello of your walls. You should try to find some things in a similar color to add too your new shelves. I also can’t wait to see the cork floors I think it will really ground the kitchen and add some warmth. Yeah for progress!!
Jyl says
Sherry this had to be like Christmas morning for you :)
Oh! And for the Summer perhaps Clara would be interested in a little grill of her own that reminds me of her toaster.
Keep it up P family! Looking goooood!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I love it! Totally like Christmas morning, and Clara would love that grill! Ha.
xo,
s
Jane says
It’s beautiful! Love the pops of colour against the white and grey – it’s a great combination – really fresh and bright! Congratulations and when can you come to London (England) and help us makeover our tiny kitchen?!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that sounds like so much fun! Be right over!
xo,
s
Carmen says
I love, love, love them! The pops of bright color are so fun!
We have one cabinet floating alone in space on one side of our sink and I have been wanting to replace it with open shelving forever, but my husband is not on board. He fears dishes will get broken which is entirely possible in our house:)
Sarah says
I really love your blue and green small glasses with the patterned sides. Do you happen to know where you got those? My mother has something similar that I love, but hers cost $12 (!) apiece, so I’m hoping to find something a bit more reasonable.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I can’t remember but we got a good deal on them. We blogged about it. Why isn’t my brain working! Oh yes, here’s that post! World Market for $2.99 each! https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/04/steals-deals-bottoms-up/
xo,
s
Helene says
You didn’t photoshop the dishwasher!
YoungHouseLove says
I know! I forgot! Haha.
xo,
s
mribaro says
Sherry, I could see your happiness! And the little birds with ribbons, and unicorns flying over rainbows all singing “Hallelujah!” in unison! :)
I kept thinking “those blue bowls are too heavy on the right, I hope she moves them to the center of the left shelves”, but nevermind this – it’s your kitchen, and as you said, it all rotates constantly.
You’re now very close to the finish line! So super exciting!
Kelli says
Great job Sherry! The shelves look great! It must be soooo awesome to be so close to a completely finished kitchen! What an accomplishment! It’s great you stuck to what felt right for your dream kitchen and “bracketed”…haha
If you ever want to get rid of that clam shell bowl, I’m happy to take it off your hands! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- thanks Kelli!
xo,
s
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
It’s so happy and cheerful! Looks awesome. We don’t have nearly as much open shelving as that, but I am constantly rearranging ours. Making it more functional and even changing up the punchy colors. Here’s our evolution so far:
http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2012/01/open-shelving-evolution.html
Psst. We desperately need new bowls! The black is sucking life outta those shelves.
YoungHouseLove says
Love the evolution!
xo
s
Miranda says
Looks great!….as excited as I am to see the floors it will also be nice to not see that almond colored dishwasher anymore!!!
Kelsey says
This is my first time commenting, but let me first say I love everything you two do! I’m definitely trying to get my house more stylish because of y’all! I do have a few questions and I’m sorry if you have already answered these a gazillion times. What video camrea do yall use? And I have the same Dslr as y’all, do you have another lens? Or do you just use the one that comes with the camera? Thanks again! Keep up the great work! Oh and I can’t wait to get the book!!
YoungHouseLove says
We have a Nikon DSLR (D3000) and we just use the stock lens for almost all of our blog posts (this entire post, etc) and have a Nifty Fifty that we use for Clara pics when we want closer shots and she’s moving a lot (to keep her less blurry). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Eileen says
Looks great guys! What did you use to hang the Love Life frame? Maybe it’s not hanging at all, but it looked like in the video that it’s raised up a bit from the shelf.
YoungHouseLove says
I just stuck two green desert dishes under it! Haha.
xo,
s
Eileen says
you’re so tricky! Great idea!
At least I didn’t ask you if you had magical powers and made it float like I originally thought! :-P
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I wish.
xo,
s
Ginny @ Goofy Monkeys says
WOW!!!
The shelves look so great now that they’re dressed up! You guys are making me so jealous with your awesome and beautiful kitchen.
The video was great – it’s good to see the thought process of placing items then moving them, placing a few more and moving everything until it falls into place.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
So pretty! I love the pops of color! Makes the white on white kitchen bubble with life!
Rebekka says
the shelves look AWESOME! my favorite part is the “squeeze the day” art. i loved it on your frame wall, but it LOVE LOVE it on the kitchen shelves. i hope one day i can become organized enough to consider open shelving….
Whitney Dupuis says
Oh my goodness! I actually missed seeing this yesterday because I was spending the day with my birthday boy (he was 2!). Imagine my surprise when I come back, not only to shelves, but fully stocked shelves! It looks amazing. It really makes me want to do the same. The whole before and after of that kitchen is just incredible.