Scandinavian Kitchens - Open Shelving Ideas

Something I already knew, which was confirmed at KBIS in May...open shelving is HOT! It adds that warm touch, anyway it's done. Although, there IS an art to the arrangement of objects on open shelving, very much so. I designed my own kitchen (meant to be temporary, and here it is 4 years later) with lots of open shelving of various types to allow me to be surrounded by my collections. FYI, in the first image of my kitchen, the objects (all mine) were artfully arranged by the stylist on site when my kitchen was shot for publication last year, so I can't take credit for that! But, I digress. Let's call today's journal entry, Scandinavian Wednesday, rather than Monday (late again) and take a look at how the Scandinavians "do" open shelving. They're very good at arrangements, the shelves themselves, and creating a look and feel of real warmth. Today we'll look at traditional shelves and arrangements in the kitchen. It's not really difficult to put items on a shelf, but one may want to think in terms of "layering" the shelf. Put something behind, perhaps a plate, platter, or a piece of artwork, then something of a different color or texture in front of that, or monochromatic items if that look is pleasing. Books stacked sideways is always lovely, and a piece on top of the books, and so on. For me, it takes some time arranging until I'm happy with the look. There is volume, color, texture, proportion and balance to consider. Sometimes there are happy accidents, other times, it has taken precious time. Next week (if I remember!) we'll look at shelving in modern kitchens. Images are from left to right from the top down as follows: First, from lantligt, second, from boligmagasinet, third from sol-solstad, fourth, from Karna.sprayblogg, fifth, from Savannah-beach, sixth, from Masan Shabby Chic, and last but not least, from min lilla veranda. Oh, I hate when I forget a detail, that's why it's also good for my subscribers to come to the blog to see if I've added something...take a look at the entire Scandinavian Kitchens category for more inspiring open shelving ideas! Heck, look at all the kitchens on the blog! :-)