KITCHEN UPDATE REVEAL: OUR OPEN BUILT IN SHELVES

The time is finally here! Our built in shelves are done! I have been waiting months to work on this little kitchen project of ours and we were finally able to tackle it this week. I had written about it HERE this past January.

Just when we were about to start working on it this winter, my husband had an accident and hurt his arm. After a few moths recovering, he was finally able to get this one crossed off the list. I owe him a HUGE thank you for doing it on his vacation too – we all work on home improvement projects on our time off, right?! I can tell you he’s as happy as I am with this transformation and how much brighter and finished our kitchen looks and feels.

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This project was so simple to do and it cost us virtually nothing (only about $100). It was two days of work – one day of building (really just a few hours), and one day of painting – which was a full day. Below is the before – we had a single floating shelf.

Our intention was always to add a few shelves, however it was one of those projects that never got finished. In the end, I’m happy because I love the built in SO much better! Here they are, our new built in, shelves.

There is another reveal I’m sharing with you today as well, our new brass pendant light over the sink. You can read about my pendant and sconce lighting roundup HERE, which I shared in my previous post. I love this cute, little light! It has all of the qualities I was looking for : brass, a vintage vibe, elegant and inexpensive.

Now let’s get back to the shelf. There really is an airy quality that wasn’t here before. The shelf has an open back and I had planned to keep the wall color the same warm grey, Collingwood, by Benjamin Moore.

Once the shelf was built, I realized we needed to paint the back as well as the entire sink wall, white. This color is the same as all of the trim throughout the house, Ultra Pure White by Behr Paints. It is just that, a pure white and very bright.

SEE THREE WAYS TO STYLE OPEN SHELVES HERE!

You can see the grey on the far left next to the cupboard. It was too dark and I wanted to create visual balance so I decided to paint it all white, which was the key to tie everything together. Keeping the background for everything white, was also a way to diminish the business of so many objects on display.

Below a full view of our kitchen. If you remember, we had a vintage print hanging on the left side of the window (which is still a favorite of mine), I haven’t decided yet if it’s going back up or not. I’m really enjoying this clean look right now.

One of the options I’m considering, is hanging candle wall sconces on the far side of each window, instead of the print that was here and the mirror.

UPDATE : WE ADDED WALL SCONCES TO COMPLETE THE LOOK EVEN MORE…READ THE POST HERE!

The opposite wall of our new built in shelf also has a small open shelf, next to the mirror. We plan to build something similar, which will go up to the ceiling as well, to utilize the vertical space and bring in an element of symmetry…that will get done eventually!

Fresh hydrangeas from our garden are the perfect summer touch. I wanted to create the feeling of a butler’s pantry when styling this shelf, showing all of my favorite essentials. Since I don’t have one, I can at least dream about it!

I think the shelf and brass light elevate this look without compromising the intention of the design. Combined, they were a very small investment – which proves you don’t need to spend a fortune to create something that really wows you.

I’d love to tile this wall as well, with the same white subway tile we have on the feature wall – I think it would be perfect in here. That’s another one on the list!

The look of our kitchen has always been a an old-world-meets-modern vibe. I’ve always wanted it to have the feeling that it’s an extension of our living space, rather than just a kitchen, if that makes any sense.

There you have it – I would love to know what you think! Did you like the before better, or the after? I’d also love to know what you think about our new light! Stay tuned for a post on how we built this shelf – you won’t believe how easy it was.Thanks so much for reading! xo