Kitchen Shelving Ideas

Pitek says Rahman asked him to keep the house simple, "and let the texture of her life give it depth." The white color scheme lets her furnishings and belongings take center stage in the space. The kitchen cabinets are from Ikea.

Closet Case To consolidate most appliances and food storage, keep his compact kitchen looking neat, and save money on cabinets, Sherman built a closet into the kitchen wall (“Cabinets are expensive but closets are cheap,” he offers). Inside is a countertop, blackboard surface, toaster oven, garbage cans, magnetic knife rack, and plenty of shelves. When the doors are closed, the unit recedes from view.

Frosted Tip Church wanted open shelving above the kitchen counters, but DeSalvo convinced her to go with Ikea cabinets with frosted-glass doors to ensure a uniform look. He installed inexpensive strip LED lights by Zilotek on the top inside edge of the cabinets to provide ambient illumination and silhouette the contents inside.

Swede Motion With no Ikea in Hawaii, the Gambys took advantage of a trip to Los Angeles during construction to pick up their kitchen cabinets—simple models made of glass, plywood, and particleboard. They shipped the cabinets to the island and, à la all things Ikea, put them together onsite, situating them high above the counter. ikea.com

The open shelving lets light stream into the kitchen. The table is the same height as the counter, so it can be used as extra space for food prep.

Another view of the kitchen. What looks like drawers are not all drawers—some are false cabinet fronts that conceal appliances.