5 Decorative Ways To Store Your Favorite Cookbooks At Home
Whether you're a professional chef or learning to make pancakes for the first time, you might have a cookbook or four lying around your home. Reading cookbooks allows you to learn new techniques, be creative, make new recipes, and enhance your skills, regardless of your cooking abilities. In addition, you'll acquire various health benefits by learning how to make delicious meals at home. For example, cooking at home can save you money rather than buying takeout a few times a week. Healthline claims that it can also restrict calorie consumption by allowing you to use better-quality ingredients instead of eating fast food, which contains higher calories, fat, and sugar.
On the other hand, cooking meals at home means having dinner with loved ones and making it a perfect time to connect, especially if everyone has different schedules. Even a couple of nights a week can make a difference in relationships, improving self-esteem, via The Family Dinner Project. While the kitchen is an ideal place to keep your cookbooks, finding the optimal storage area for them can be challenging, especially if you have a smaller kitchen. Not to worry, we put together different places in your kitchen to stash your cookbooks.
1. Bookends holding coookbooks
If you're embarking on the cooking journey and have a couple of cookbooks, then you don't need substantial space to store them. A handy way to keep a short stack of cookbooks together is by placing a couple of eye-catching bookends on either side. The bookends will keep the books from falling or tipping over and keeps them standing straight, via Joyvano. Bookends also work if you have numerous books but want to separate them around the kitchen. Stylish bookends make unique décors that can fit anywhere, like in the kitchen corner, the island's center, or any floating shelf.
Bookends are versatile; they come in different colors, shapes, weights, and themes, so you can tailor them to your books or kitchen interior. West Elm has a plethora of cookbooks and bookends options to choose from. For example, the Agate Stone bookends are gorgeous with emerald, turquoise, and white stone that are on sale for $34. They would fit perfectly with cookbooks that have white or blue covers. On the other hand, the stone bookends would look great in a chic or minimalist kitchen, with neutral tones adding interest to the room.
2. Bookcase in the kitchen
Book lovers and professional chefs with too many books that bookends won't be able to hold may go a different route, such as installing a bookcase. You can put them in any room, such as the living room or bedroom, but it's a creative way to use them as an accent wall in the kitchen. Or, if there's not enough space to install a bookcase, clearing out an area under the counters can be turned into a storage unit for the cookbooks. Amazon has a small three-tier bookshelf perfect for the kitchen with a metal foundation and gray wood shelves. It would look great in an industrial-style kitchen since the bookshelf has a rustic appearance, and adding kitchen-themed décor will give it personality.
For smaller kitchens, a bookcase can be put in a corner and take up a couple of cabinet spaces. Home interior blogger Deeply Southern Home renovated her kitchen and built a two-shelf storage unit for her books at the end of the stock cabinets. She goes over the steps of how she made the bookcase for anyone wanting to start a simple project. Learning how to build and customize a bookcase in the kitchen prevents you from hiring someone to do it for you, which can save you money. In addition, extra storage shelves make room to incorporate other décors that are out of place in the kitchen.
3. Cookbooks in a storage box
The easiest way to store cookbooks is in a box on the kitchen counters. You might have to free up some space depending on the number of cookbooks you have. Find a great wood, metal, or plastic box to hold the books in one place. They'll take up unused space in a helpful way by giving the cookbooks a lovely home. You can find most boxes at a thrift store if you don't want to purchase an expensive one, or head to Home Goods, where they'll have a wider selection. If you're feeling creative, build your own. Blogger Lovelyetc built wooden boxes to fit in her bookcase that she used to store her kids' toys, and she made a simple step-by-step guide on building any size wooden box that anyone can do.
A wired basket can be ideal for a small area and won't collect much dust. In addition, a metal wired basket looks great in any style kitchen, such as a farmhouse, industrial, or contemporary interior. Finally, if you're worried about the basket looking awkward or plain in a corner or the middle of the counter, you can pair it with a small vase and faux flowers or any other décors, such as a figurine, a photograph, or a couple of wine bottles to add charm.
4. Shelving units for cookbooks
Sometimes it's impossible to clear up some space on the counters, or you might not like having clutter in the prep area, which is why decorative shelving units are excellent for storing cookbooks. If you're renovating your kitchen and installing customizable cabinets, purposely leaving space between the cabinets and a wall can be used to add shelves that are the cookbooks' height. Measure the length to fit all the books and leave extra space when you acquire more over time.
On the other hand, if the kitchen has modular cabinets, which are pre-designed and standalone and can be placed anywhere in the kitchen, via Mr. Cabinet Care, there can be space left behind. The open space can make the kitchen look awkward, so installing cubbies is a great way to fill it. The cubbies will display the books' spines to give the area color and personality. Depending on where the cubbies get placed, put an extra cabinet next to the books with every spice you own or jars of colorful treats to add interest.
5. Bookcase part of island
If you prefer to keep all the cabinet storage as it is, then installing a few shelves on the side of the island would be a great area to keep cookbooks. It gives the kitchen a different appeal and makes room for extra personal knick-knacks. Some islands have countertops extending past the base, leaving space to put a couple of bar stools; instead of placing chairs, adding a bookcase would fill up some of the emptiness. There are a few ways to install shelving units, such as building them yourself or hiring a professional.
On the other hand, instead of doing the groundwork, you can buy a tall table with a couple of shelves and put it on the side of the island, claims home interior blogger The Endearing Home. If your island is also on the smaller side, stores such as Home Goods, Target, Walmart, and Amazon have a variety of tiered end tables that can match any interior. For example, Amazon has a three-tier industrial end table with a metal base, wood shelves, and a wired crate that would hold heavy cookbooks.