Open Up Your Long And Narrow Kitchen With A Cabinet Swap That Looks So Chic

You just moved into your dream home, and everything is perfect — except that long and narrow kitchen. As you unpack your belongings and try to make them fit into a narrow space, you might find yourself wondering if there's any way to make the kitchen feel less cramped. Actually, there's a trick to giving a long and narrow kitchen a whole different feel — and it all comes down to swapping out the upper cabinets with open shelving.

You might not think open shelves are sturdy enough to stock all your glasses, plates, and food staples. But actually, it's easy to create stunning floating shelves that are strong enough to hold kitchen supplies with a little planning. Just make sure to use the right type of installation hardware for your wall type. Switching from cabinets to open shelves may require a little rearranging to produce an uncluttered appearance, but many owners of long and narrow kitchens find the time well worth the surprising results.

Since they use less space, open shelves create a sense of lightness in a long, narrow kitchen compared to cabinets. In tight spaces, box-shaped cabinets have a bulky feel to them. When you choose open shelving, you decide how many shelves you install, the length of each shelf, and the depth of the shelves to keep them from seeming overwhelming in a narrow space. Painting the shelves the same color as the wall helps them blend in and seem even less noticeable for a lighter feeling. But the advantage is not just in how the shelves feel visually.

Once cabinet doors are open, they become even more awkward, potentially becoming bump hazards to busy cooks. Without doors to open and close, open shelves take up little room in long, narrow kitchens. An additional advantage of using open shelving in the kitchen is a financial one, since purchasing new cabinets can give even those with well-filled wallets sticker shock. Open shelving is a lot more flexible with a variety of options to keep the project cost-effective. You can even install beautiful rustic shelving for your kitchen on a budget using old wood scraps.

To avoid clutter, rather than putting food boxes and bags directly on the shelves, transfer the contents into mason jars or other attractive containers for a more eye-pleasing appearance, or move unattractive items out of sight to the lower cabinets. Another option is to install a few slim-profile upper cabinets for some hidden storage along with open shelving for the rest. By paying attention to detail, open shelves can serve as highly functional displays for vintage dishware or heirloom serving platters. Or this may be the attractive kitchen wall shelf idea that beautifully displays your produce.