Hanging shelves for the kitchen: selection rules, do it yourself

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Modern kitchens are often equipped with open shelves, which completely replace massive hanging cabinets. Decorative kitchen shelves provide convenient placement of the necessary utensils without cluttering up unnecessary space. Their wide range allows you to choose the option most suitable for your kitchen.

Such storage systems are a universal design solution: decorating a room with this type of shelving helps to solve many problems and refresh the interior.

Advantages and disadvantages of hinged kitchen shelves

A variety of shelves, photos of which can be found on the Internet, are usually the best solution for storing dishes and other kitchen parts. Among the main advantages of kitchen shelves are:

• Practicality. They take up little space, visually expand the volume of the room. Open ones allow you to quickly find the thing you need.
• Multifunctionality. They serve as a storage function for kitchen items, as well as a stand for decorative items such as vases, pots with fresh flowers and other attractive details. Decorative shelves for the kitchen automatically become an element of the interior.
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• Big choice. The variety in material, size, types of designs, color and decor helps to find the right option that will surely fit into the design of the room and will be combined with any set.
• Ergonomic Open shelving units without back panels can be installed at any wall height. Sometimes they play a connecting role between hanging cabinets.

As you can see, open structures are more convenient to use than cabinets, the doors of which often have to be opened and closed in order to get one or another item for cooking. But it is necessary to take into account some of the nuances of such inventions, which may be for some housewives. significant disadvantage:

• While hanging shelves can help you find the right crockery or spice, not everyone might like the kitchenware on display.
• Large items like large pots and pans rarely fit on a narrow surface.
• Open shelves and the utensils stored on them are often contaminated with dust, stains or soot, so they need to be cleaned frequently. The installation of a powerful hood will help to reduce the formation of dust deposits. Stubborn stains can be avoided by installing shelves above the tables away from the stove.

Types of decorative shelves by type of construction

Open shelves are selected taking into account the style of the kitchen. But it's not just color and material that play an important role. The correct order of objects must be organized in the room, therefore they are made in various designs so that they occupy a convenient location without violating the freedom of space. There are several types of designs:

• Classic;
• Corner;
• Lattice;
• Equipped with additional drawers;
• Decorated with lighting.

Classic

Most often, ordinary open shelves are used in the kitchen, which are easy to install and are a universal solution.

Classic type easily fits into a small room. The doorless system helps you quickly find the right accessories, which significantly saves time when cooking. Often, dishes, jars of cereals, bottles with spices, and decorative items are placed on open shelves.

With the help of classic options, they often make a multi-level system over desktops, which completes a single composition of the room and helps to solve the problem with a large number of kitchens details.

Corner

Corner options originally made for small kitchens. Such shelves are compact and economical. The structure is usually installed over a corner sofa or tabletop in the corner. Creating a composition in several levels helps to place everything you need on the shelves.

Lattice

Shelves in the form of lattices differ in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. The visual airiness of the products makes the room light and spacious. Such products are easy to care for, as they rarely get dirty and practically do not accumulate dust. Various protective solutions help to increase the wear resistance of the material. Basically, lattice racks are used for dishes.

Equipped with additional drawers

Shelves, equipped with small drawersare a great alternative to bulky wall cabinets. They are especially relevant for small kitchens.

Small boxes are convenient for storing jars of spices and baking ingredients. Small boxes are suitable for storing pastry accessories and other little things that are necessary to create a comfortable cooking environment.

Decorated with lighting

Shelves with built-in lighting acquire an additional function of lighting the room. Two or three lamps of any shape, built into the shelves from the bottom, not only well illuminate the place where food is prepared, but also give a special charm to the room.

As a backlight can be used:

• LED strips;
• Spotlights;
• Small sconces.

If it is necessary to enhance the lighting effect, then mirrored walls can be added to the shelves. Reflective material contributes to better light diffusion. Such lighting brings a special coziness and warmth to the interior.

Selection of kitchen shelves by type of material

In a room where temperature extremes and high humidity are observed, you need to purchase furniture that is highly resistant to such factors. Durable and wear-resistant material guarantees long-term use of products.

Today in the production of kitchen shelves they use:

• Wood,
• Metal,
• Stone,
• Glass,
• Plastic.

Wooden hanging

Products from natural raw materials they always look beautiful and create a warm and cozy atmosphere. Wooden surfaces are suitable for almost any interior. The most durable types of wood are oak, beech, alder and pine. The tree is used in country, rustic, provence styles.

Before purchasing wooden products, one must not forget that wood has a low moisture resistance. Open shelves should be installed away from household appliances and the cooking area. In order for the material to serve for a long time, it is covered with waterproof solutions.

Wooden products are characterized by a high price. Therefore, some people prefer to make them with their own hands, sometimes replacing natural wood with MDF or chipboard.

Metal products

Metal surfaces go well with kitchen appliances and other details with metal elements. Usually, lattice types of structures are used, since solid surfaces visually make the interior heavier and are not lightweight products.

For long-term preservation of the appearance, the shelves are covered with anti-corrosion solutions. If the original color of the metal does not fit into the overall design of the room, then you can choose an option painted in a different shade.

Metallic surfaces fit perfectly into modern designs.

Stone

Anyone who appreciates natural material often acquires stone shelves for storing kitchen utensils. Heavy products require a solid foundation on which they will be installed.

Stone shelves are quite expensive; not everyone can afford such a luxury. Manufacturers take this nuance into account and use chips from cheap raw materials to make slabs. With a wide range of colors and textures, you can create a luxurious classic interior with imitation of natural stone.

Glass

Airiness and lightness will be given to the interior glass surfaces. Visually, they are almost invisible, but they can fit as many items as on racks made of other materials.

To make the shelves strong, they are made with a thickness of at least 6 mm. For greater reliability, glass hangers can be installed on additional fasteners. Strong construction can be made with dishes, jars and other items.

Transparent material is used in any direction, but it looks best in high-tech and minimalist styles. The only drawback of glass products is their low impact resistance. If the glass is handled roughly, it may be scratched or cracked.

Plastic

The most readily available material is plastic. Especially for kitchens, materials are used that contain the least amount of harmful substances.

Plastic products are lightweight and easy to assemble. The shelves are available on the market in a variety of shades and textures. Often, plastic is made out under natural wood or stone.

Plastic products are for light items only. Heavy utensils and containers should not be placed on them, as the surfaces cannot support heavy weight.

Do-it-yourself shelves for dishes in the kitchen

The market presents a large assortment of various open shelves. But some homeowners prefer to make lightweight pieces of furniture with their own hands. The simplest options are rectangular.

To create a hinged shelf you will need:

• Sheets of wood (or chipboard),
• Self-tapping screws,
• Dowels,
• Metal brackets,
• Varnish,
• Jigsaw,
• Screwdriver,
• Sandpaper.

DIY instructions:

1. First you need to decide where it will be located, draw up its sketch.
2. An electric jigsaw cuts out a product of the required size and shape.
3. The ends are sanded with sandpaper. When using chipboard, the edges are sealed with veneer.
4. The shelf is treated with a protective varnish.
5. Wooden surfaces are connected to brackets.
6. Holes are drilled in the wall for the workpiece.
7. With the help of dowels, the structure is firmly fixed to the wall.

For the organic and orderly space, it is the hinged shelves that are chosen. The universal solution contributes to the creation of a harmonious kitchen design.

Photo of open shelves above the table