Open shelving in the kitchen

Wondering how to proceed with a kitchen renovation?

Here are a few suggestions you might not get at your local kitchen supply store.

QUESTION:

We're planning a large addition to our home that will include a breakfast room as well as a new kitchen.

Its style will be contemporary and informal, with lots of baskets and other decorative elements. Cabinets with doors wouldn't be consistent with this look, so can you give us some ideas for kitchen storage?

ANSWER:

Sounds like a good plan that will work especially well if the kitchen is heavily used.

An informal style is really the best choice when many people are using a space where food is prepared. You say you want a contemporary look, but the sort of setting you're describing -- which will presumably feature open shelving and dish racks -- was the norm for kitchens in an earlier era. But closed cabinetry has been standard for so long that I suppose it's now considered a traditional element.

Kitchens with an open and relaxed look have come to be referred to these days as "country kitchens."

Don't think, however, that the style you're envisioning would be appropriate only in the country. In the addition you're planning, a mix of storage units -- some with doors, some without -- might be the most sensible option. It will allow you to display decorative objects, as well as to have instant access to functional items while giving the kitchen an orderly appearance.

The accompanying photo of a wall of open shelving suggests in part how you may wish to proceed.

It's taken from "Influential Country Styles," an informative book written by Judith Miller and published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House.

You'll note that in this case informal isn't synonymous with clutter.

The shelves and uprights contribute to a stylishly contemporary design that's also quite practical. The deep compartments provide plenty of room for storing useful items such as serving pieces along with purely decorative objects.

In addition, a work surface made of ceramic tile adjoins a small countertop range that is vented through the shelf above it. The lighting for the counter is housed in that shelf as well.

To give your new kitchen design consistency and a more contemporary look, consider more contemporary light fixtures.

HOME DECORATING, INTERIOR DESIGN, HOME RENOVATION & HOME IMPROVEMENT

(Readers with general interior design questions for Rita St. Clair can e-mail her at rsca(at)ritastclair.com.)

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