We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Reese Witherspoon's Instagram Post Unveils A Space-Saving Kitchen Cabinet Alternative

Celebrities often unveil rare kitchen design elements that create online buzz and serve as inspiration for homes everywhere. Case in point: "Legally Blonde" star Reese Witherspoon took to Instagram to share a video that features a kitchen with stunning suspended shelving. In the clip, Witherspoon is cooking a meal with pal Amanda Frederickson. When the duo heads over to the refrigerator to grab ingredients for their dish, you can see that space-saving gold suspended shelves line the walls of the kitchen.

The exposed shelves were used to display gorgeous dinnerware, which allows these pieces to double as decor. You can see that using the suspended shelves in place of traditional kitchen cabinets creates a more open feel and arguably makes the kitchen look larger. Because there's so much space around these open shelves, they leave more room to store items on top of counters. If you have a smaller kitchen or simply need more storage space, consider opting for suspended shelves over traditional cabinets.

How to recreate the suspended shelving look at home

If you're a fan of the suspended shelving in Reese Witherspoon's video, you might be interested in recreating the look at home. Luckily, you should be able to pull this off pretty easily. Witherspoon didn't share where viewers could purchase the gold shelving, but Amazon sells a few different options you might want to consider instead. In particular, the website's DIYHD 68-inch Ceiling Mount Industrial Black Iron Pipe 3 Layer Kitchen Storage Shelf features a similar suspended design.

This item is priced at $95. If you want to recreate the layout shown in Witherspoon's Instagram video, you'll likely need to purchase a few of these shelves to line your kitchen walls. Follow the product's assembly instructions to mount the pieces to your kitchen ceiling properly. If you choose to purchase this shelving, keep in mind that the wooden planks shown in the product photos are not included. However, you should be able to save time by having wood cut to size at your local hardware store.

The difference between suspended and floating shelves

Before deciding whether suspended shelves are the right fit for your kitchen, it's important to understand how they're different from floating shelves. Both options can help you save space, but they're not the same in terms of design. You might be more familiar with floating shelves. These attach directly to the wall, typically with the help of invisible brackets. They're often used in laundry rooms, bedrooms, or even in living rooms to display decor.

Suspended shelves, on the other hand, hang down from the ceiling using rods or rope, as shown in the product photos and Reese Witherspoon's Instagram video. These require a bit more wall space for whatever hanging material they use. They're a great fit for rooms with large, empty walls, which is why they're perfect in place of kitchen cabinets. Once you remove any cabinets, there should be plenty of room available to install suspended shelves.

Check out some other unexpected items that could instantly upgrade your kitchen.