Home Trend: Floating Shelves

A new trend for kitchens is installing floating shelves, I am obsessed with this look however buyer beware! If you plan on using floating shelves for storage I'm assuming you realize the obvious... you can't hide your mess! I may or may not be known to shove dishware into my cupboards as I'm unloading the dishwasher without any organization. Don't judge. With your dishware exposed it's imperative to put them back in an organized way so they look appealing to the eye, it may take a few times of rearranging before your shelves look just right. 

Since your dishes are hanging out there for everyone to see they also need to look nice and be coordinated. If you're currently using mismatched plastic cups and random colored dishware from college and not willing to invest in matching sets this may not be the storage solution for you. Side note it won't cost you and arm and a leg to update your dishware, with stores like Home Goods, Ross, Ikea and Target it's fairly inexpensive to update to matching cups, plates and bowls.  My suggestion would be to keep it simple, I personally love classic white and crystal glasses. I bought all my dishware from Crate and Barrel, the classic white which will never go out of style, they also always carry it so if I need to add to my collection I can.

If you're designing your kitchen and interested in using floating shelving be sure to add cupboards below your counter with doors, you can't always be organized and let's be honest there is no way to make Tupperware look pretty!

Now that I told you all the hurdles for using floating shelving let me tell you why I'm obsessed... hello they are seriously chic. Weather you use dark wood, light wood or white they can take your kitchen up a notch.  A lot of people spend a great deal of money on their dishes just to hide them away all day, now you can show them off almost as wall art. Because the trend is newer it's also an unexpected element in your kitchen that will get your guests talking. Depending on which route you go floating shelving can also be much less expensive than new cabinets, it's a cost effective way to update your kitchen. A lot of kitchens lack storage space and there simply isn't any room to add more cabinets or a pantry, but if you look around there will be a spot to add floating shelving, it's an easy and eye catching way to add storage.  

XOXO Linds