Ahh floating shelves, our favorite! We love shelving because it’s a great way to bring in decor and personality to a space. They’re perfect for storing everyday items while bringing in pops of color and decor. Here are ways to pull off floating shelves in your home and how to style them.
Start with a Blank Slate
Before you start styling your shelves, take everything off of them. When floating shelves are too crowded and busy, they look cluttered. If you have items on your kitchen counter or built-ins, remove those items too. This will allow you to start clean and slowly add what you love.
Shop Your Home
When styling your shelves, you don’t need to buy all new decor; finding items in your home first is the way to go. Practical items are also great, especially in the kitchen, so the items on the shelves are ones you’ll actually use. Here are some of the pieces you probably already own and can add to your shelves:
- cookbooks
- glassware
- plates
- mugs
- plants
- kitchen tools
- picture frames
Vary the Height & Color
To pull off floating shelves in any room in your home, you need to vary the height and color of your decor. When everything is the same height and similar color, nothing will pop. Think of how you can use a variety of different items like bringing in greenery through plants, stacking bowls, and books for adding height to decor.
In our kitchen, we use shelving for practical items that we use every day. We also vary the color through plants and decorative bowls. To ensure that the sides don’t look too matchy-matchy, use a plant on one side, a vase on the other, and switch it up.
Think Beyond the Kitchen
With floating shelves, it can be easy to think about them just in the kitchen instead of countertops. Think beyond that and bring the floating shelves to other areas of your home. Below is a bar/nook area off the dining space where there used to be a built-in desk. We removed the desk, added some storage, installed a statement backsplash, and incorporated floating shelves.
Suspended Shelving
In our lower level, we went with suspended shelving, which is another type of floating shelf. While these are still hung on the wall and appear to be floating, they are connected on the sides. In our bar area, our tutorial for these shelves focuses on glassware and bar items. These are great for lower levels or coffee bar areas to store practical items with flair.
And there ya have it, our ideas for pulling off floating shelving in your home and tips for styling them!
