Getting Creative
When you’re designing your kitchen and considering floating shelves kitchen ideas, you want it to feel stylish and on trend, with all the must have items and home accessories that make a kitchen feel warm, inviting, and timeless.
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Kitchen trends come and go, so it’s important to know which ones are here to stay. Our favorite kitchen trend of 2022? It’s definitely floating shelves.
Floating shelves have been slowly gaining popularity over the past few years, and they’re only going to become more popular in the months and years to come.
They offer just as much storage space as wall cupboards, but without the bulk. And this trend is so versatile that it can have an immediate effect on just about any kitchen scheme or design style.
If you’re stuck and wondering how to incorporate floating shelves into your own kitchen, we’ve got your back. Read on for some great ideas to help you create your dream kitchen!
Our top Floating Shelves Kitchen Ideas for 2022
- Rustic Farmhouse Style Shelving
- Galley-Style Stainless Steel Shelving
- Industrial Suspended Shelving
- Simple, Sophisticated Shelves
- Glass Shelving
- Add a Pop of Color
- Live Edge Wood Shelving
What Are Floating Shelves?
Floating shelves, or “open shelves”, are a kind of shelving unit that is mounted to the wall using hidden brackets fitted in the back of the shelves.
This creates the illusion that these shelves are floating in place, rather than being supported by brackets (although some exposed brackets are popular, too).
They’re often used in the kitchen as an alternative to pantry cupboards since they create a more open and airy kitchen design. They also allow you to show off your backsplash or kitchen wall in a unique way that you can’t do with kitchen cabinets.
Many homeowners love floating shelves since they are far less expensive than full kitchen cabinets and can be installed with just one or two people.
They even make a great DIY project for homeowners who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves.
For a beautiful range of floating shelves for any room, visit Willow and Grace Designs
Why Choose Floating Kitchen Shelves for Your Kitchen?
Given that we all want to completely transform the look and feel of our kitchen space, without the commitment of a full-scale renovation, floating shelves make perfect sense.
They’re easy to install by yourself, they’re available in lots of different styles and colors, and they’re versatile enough to look great in just about any space.
Floating shelves can also be an amazing alternative to standard kitchen cabinetry.
When made with high quality materials, this style of shelving gives your kitchen a more open and inviting feel.
The Pros and Cons of Floating Shelves:
Pros:
There’s a lot to love about floating shelves, from their accessibility to their open and modern look. Here’s a few of our favorites:
- Open shelves help to open up the kitchen and reveal wall space that would have been covered up by cabinets and cupboards.
- Forget old china cabinets—floating shelves are a great chance to show off your dinnerware if you have a beautiful matching set.
- You can even choose shelves in colors and materials that complement your dinnerware.
- Open shelves look clean and sophisticated; they’re much less likely to become quickly dated than cabinets.
Cons:
However, just like any on trend design 
element, there are some downsides. Here’s a few reasons why floating shelves may not be for you:
- The biggest one is that with floating shelves, there’s no hidden storage space — all your plates, bowls, and cooking supplies are on full display, even if they don’t necessarily match or look good together.
- Open shelves are also at a much higher risk of accumulating dust, so it can be hard to keep your kitchen items clean.
- There’s also the issue of storage capacity. Depending on the size of your shelves, you may or may not be able to store all of the items you normally could with traditional cabinets.
The Top Floating Kitchen Shelves Trends 2022
Rustic Farmhouse Style
By far one of our favorite trends over the past few years, the rustic farmshouse (or modern country) style is all about embracing natural elements and creating a relaxed environment.
It has all the hallmarks of a traditional kitchen, from soft, neutral colors to classic appliances and natural or antique decor.
As for color scheme, most rustic and modern farmhouse kitchens tend to stick to a black, white, and brown palette that works well with vintage furniture and wood floors.
Get The Look:
Start with some white walls with a shiplap or wooden panel backdrop, and add period style lighting and antique decor for a more classic, vintage feel. Then add your shelves.
When choosing floating shelves for your own rustic kitchen, stick to wooden shelves with a warm tone.
You can also go with shelves in a dark color, if they pop out against white walls.
Galley-Style Stainless Steel
Stainless steel may seem like a rather harsh material for your open shelves, especially as warm wooden shelves are a popular kitchen design feature.
But if you want your cooking space to have the look and feel of a commercial or galley kitchen, then the more metallic finishes you can include, the better.
Galley-style floating shelves are one of 
those kitchen trends that probably won’t take center stage in 2022, since some homeowners prefer a space that embraces a more natural style and warmer colors.
But you don’t have to forgo color and comfort completely to get this look! silver galley shelves look brilliant against colored tile backsplashes and painted cabinets, so you can get the best of both worlds.
Get The Look:
Choose metal shelves with sharp, clean lines and match them with stainless steel countertops and/or a stainless top on your kitchen islands.
Silver is a cool color, so too much will make your kitchen feel cold and clinical. Balance it out with warmer colors like pinks, reds, oranges, or browns in the rest of your kitchen design. Keep decor minimal and modern!
Industrial Suspended Shelving
The industrial style has made huge waves over the last decade or so, and continues to be a favorite in the interior design world because of how it beautifully combines natural elements like wood and stone with metal.
This look is especially effective if you commit to a commercial kitchen look by choosing stainless steel appliances and adding elements like a hood over your stove top.
You can also add one or two kitchen islands with steel tops as well to carry the look all the way through the room.
Get The Look:
Rather than hiding your supports, this style of shelf encourages you to place your shelves on external supports. For industrial shelving, these supports are normally made with metal pipes.
First, attach the sections of pipe that will become the supports. You want to build a sort of half ladder. Then, using screws, attach the supports where there are studs. Now, you’re able to slip the shelves into the brackets!
Simple, Sophisticated Shelves
These shelves are designed to be as unobtrusive as possible. They’re usually thin and made of materials like wood, glass or metal.
They’re little more than simple rectangular shapes, and with no visible supports, there is nothing to distract from the beauty of the shelves and their contents.
But simplicity doesn’t have to mean boring. Rather than keeping the focus on your minimalist floating shelves, maybe
include patterned tiles or heavily veined marble as a backsplash to add some instant luxury and color.
By using natural materials, your kitchen feels a bit more timeless and much more elegant. Stick to wood if you want a more casual, laid-back space, and go with metal shelves if you want a more industrial or modern theme.
Get The Look:
Choose clean, rectangular shelves with no visible supports. You can get your shelves pre-made and pre-finished, or you can choose to do this part yourself.
We recommend a warm and rich color for the stain, to contrast nicely against light-colored walls. Fill them with your favorite dishes and kitchen supplies, and add life to your kitchen with a few houseplants.
Glass
We get it; glass is probably one of the last materials you would choose to work with when it comes to your floating shelves. But you may be surprised how beautiful and effective glass shelves can be in a modern kitchen design.
Glass partitions and shelving work beautifully to create a clean and sophisticated look, especially against beautiful patterned tiles or a wallpaper backsplash.
Another perk of glass floating shelves is that any natural light will pass right through them and help the kitchen feel much brighter and more open. This helps small spaces feel larger and large spaces feel bright and airy.
Get The Look:
Hang brackets on the wall in a neutral or metallic color that won’t distract from the background color behind it, and set the glass shelves on top. Be sure to only put items on your glass shelves that you know won’t scratch the surface or slip off.
Add a Pop of Color
Any interior designer will tell you that a pop of color is one of the best ways to shake up a boring and neutral color scheme. In a more neutral living space, a bright and bold color stands out and adds energy to the room.
Adding bright and colorful shelves to your kitchen is one of our favorite decor ideas. You can choose to leave the rest of the kitchen a neutral color, with bright and colorful shelves that demand attention, or you can pull that color into other elements of the room, like the kitchen island.
Another great way to add some color? Stick to neutral or white shelves to match the rest of your drawers and cabinets, but add a bright color to the wall behind it to really make them stand out.
Get The Look:
This look can be achieved easily with a little bit of DIY know-how. Start with a set of plain floating shelves in a simple rectangular shape. Then, you can either choose to paint the shelves or cover them with contact paper in a color that pops away from the kitchen wall.
Live Edge Wood Shelving
What is live edge wooden shelving? It’s simply a series of floating shelves made from pieces of wood that still retain the natural beauty of the tree they were cut from. That means the outer edges are likely uneven and they may still have bark attached.
This kitchen trend works best for natural and rustic design styles like coastal, rustic, or Bohemian. They’re also a fun and beautiful way to introduce more natural elements into your everyday life.
Get The Look:
Choose long, narrow strips of wood with exposed live edges. There are plenty of retailers that sell these shelves already finished, or you can purchase your own raw materials from a home improvement store.
You don’t need to paint your live edge shelves, but a good sanding and finish with a stain and varnish will bring the wood to life.
If you use visible supports, make sure that they match the backsplash or wall color— you want them to blend into the background so your attention falls completely on the live edge shelves.
If your getting inspired to create your own live edge timber shelving, here is a great article outlining all the steps on making a live edge timber shelf from scratch.
Small Shelves
If you love the look of floating shelves but you’re not fully ready to commit to them in your entire kitchen, then consider adding a few just in the places where you need to quickly reach something.
By adding a few small floating shelves to your kitchen, you get the beautiful open look fight where you need it, without having them line every inch of your kitchen walls.
Get the Look:
Decide where you want your shelves to be. We recommend the area right above the stove or in a corner, so they’re out of the way, but you can easily reach for your spices and supplies while you’re cooking.
FAQ’s
Are floating shelves a fad?
Sure, open shelves have become somewhat of a hot commodity in kitchen design over the last few years, and some fads look great one year and dated the next. But we say, floating shelves are here to stay, as long as they fit into your kitchen design and lifestyle.
If you’re worried about them looking too faddish, make sure to choose simple and classic shelves that won’t look out of date anytime soon.
Are floating shelves strong enough for my dishes?
Since there’s no visible supports to show you how strong floating shelves are, it’s understandable that you may be worried about them not being able to support the weight.
But don’t worry, for every support you place into a stud, you should be able to place about 50 pounds onto your shelves (but it’s unlikely you’ll need that much weight anyway!).
Final Thoughts
We hope you got some inspiration from some of these decor ideas, and incorporate one of these kitchen trends into your own space.
Remember to do a little bit of planning before adding floating shelves to your space, to make sure that they fit the overall flow of your kitchen.
And remember to have fun with it! This is the kind of kitchen project that can completely transform a space, so make sure that it fits you and your personality.
If this Guide has inspired you enough to go out and start your own Floating Shelf Project, then I would recommend visiting Willow and Grace. They have a wide range of Beautifully hand crafted floating shelves to offer as well as a wide range of other Home Decor products to get you started.
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