What do you think about open shelving? I've never been a big fan of it myself, mainly because I KNOW if I had it, my open shelving would end up looking like a big open mess. It's beautiful, but Lewisville and the family that lives here, that being mine, isn't meant to keep up pristine, magazine-like rooms. We are indeed, Normal.
Lately, I've been drooling over rustic/industrial pipe open shelving. That's a mouthful. I love that look for some reason, and though it may indeed prove that I have in fact now gone crazy, I think about how I can achieve that look in my rental home.
I know I can build it, but renting a home means putting as few holes in the walls as possible. Owner like that sort of thing. So I search craigslist to check out garage shelving, yes, I said garage shelving. You can spray paint the metal to throw that rustic vibe onto it. Nothing. Then I come across the Vittsjo from Ikea. HMMM. Could this work. It was listed for $30. Yup! It will work. I'll make it work.
So here's why my ideas about open shelving changed.
I Have. No. Counter. Space!
These pictures are from my i-phone when we first viewed the house. I knew counter space would be a challenge for my charming family of five, but it was a much more serious problem than we ever imagined. Picture a family of five in that one corner trying to get snacks and plates and all the things families do in a kitchen. It was bad. Really bad!
So I put up this temporary table in the other corner to give us some space and relieve some tension.
You moms know what I'm going to say next, right? It turned into a catch all table. We'd put everything on that table as we came walking into the house, and it became more of a mess for us to deal with. So the search for shelving was on! Oh, was it on!
Goodbye useless table.
Hello Vittsjo!
It's glass shelving, but it will work. For $30, I'm going to make it work. Now that we have it, all of our everyday small appliances will be put here. They'll be taken off our small counter space and give us some room! Yeah, for Swedish furniture!
I decided to fill the shelf with our "we use this everyday" items.
We juice every day, so our juicer parts go in the basket.
And, yes, we make popcorn almost every night, so that goes on the shelf too along with our very old, but still working toaster oven.
So far, the shelf hasn't become messy or overwhelming. Open shelving can be tricky and I'm sure I'll be changing it around a bit. I don't want it to look empty, but I don't want it to look messy either. There has to be a balance and I'm still finding it.
It has become one of my best investments in this new house.
So, what do you think?
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Lately, I've been drooling over rustic/industrial pipe open shelving. That's a mouthful. I love that look for some reason, and though it may indeed prove that I have in fact now gone crazy, I think about how I can achieve that look in my rental home.
 |
| {Source} |
I know I can build it, but renting a home means putting as few holes in the walls as possible. Owner like that sort of thing. So I search craigslist to check out garage shelving, yes, I said garage shelving. You can spray paint the metal to throw that rustic vibe onto it. Nothing. Then I come across the Vittsjo from Ikea. HMMM. Could this work. It was listed for $30. Yup! It will work. I'll make it work.
So here's why my ideas about open shelving changed.
I Have. No. Counter. Space!
So I put up this temporary table in the other corner to give us some space and relieve some tension.
You moms know what I'm going to say next, right? It turned into a catch all table. We'd put everything on that table as we came walking into the house, and it became more of a mess for us to deal with. So the search for shelving was on! Oh, was it on!
Goodbye useless table.
Hello Vittsjo!
It's glass shelving, but it will work. For $30, I'm going to make it work. Now that we have it, all of our everyday small appliances will be put here. They'll be taken off our small counter space and give us some room! Yeah, for Swedish furniture!
I decided to fill the shelf with our "we use this everyday" items.
We juice every day, so our juicer parts go in the basket.
The twine baskets I made from ice cream buckets. You can read how to make your own by just clicking on the picture on my side bar. These hold the kids' snacks. They like to snack, obviously.
And, yes, we make popcorn almost every night, so that goes on the shelf too along with our very old, but still working toaster oven.
So far, the shelf hasn't become messy or overwhelming. Open shelving can be tricky and I'm sure I'll be changing it around a bit. I don't want it to look empty, but I don't want it to look messy either. There has to be a balance and I'm still finding it.
It has become one of my best investments in this new house.
Blessings,
Lisa
Wow, that looks good!
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