How Ina Garten Decorates Stellar Kitchen Shelves

Ina Garten might be best known for being the "Barefoot Contessa" on Food Network, but as a chef and cookbook author, she also knows a thing or two about having a beautiful-looking kitchen. Whether you are following her on social media or rewatching old episodes of her cooking shows, it is clear that Garten understands interior design. So, when she offers up suggestions on essential decor items for styling kitchen shelves, we pay attention.

On Instagram, Ina Garten combined her top kitchen storage solutions with an eye for design to show her followers how to make their shelves look stylish and "alive." Not only did her post include differently styled shelves using pieces you might already have on hand, but she also shared tips for putting together an eye-catching display — whether it's picking a small color palette or mixing shapes and sizes. Garten makes it clear that while she may "love working in a kitchen with beautiful things," she actually "hate[s] anything that's purely decorative."

This means that you can easily decorate your kitchen without having to spend a ton of money. In fact, you might not need to spend anything extra to create Barefoot Contessa-worthy shelves. The chef points out that, since this is your own kitchen that you're decorating, "you can just move things around until you find the most pleasing arrangement." 

Ina Garten's first tip is to use items that are both "old and new." Use dinnerware, placemats, vases, and trays you already own, while potentially adding in something new — or even something you haven't had a chance to use yet. Having them on display might have you reaching for these pieces more than you have been. She also recommends sticking to small, simple colors in the kitchen, especially when styling shelves. Consider using one to two accent colors (like, say, blue, natural rattan, silver, or copper), and then keep the rest white.

When choosing items for your shelves, Garten suggests combining pieces of different sizes and shapes. This can help create another focal point in the room while also adding something interesting to look at. Adding to that, she mentions leaning a larger platter or a pretty plate against the wall behind your shelves. This actually ties in with the idea of picking unique shapes to go next to each other to boost visual interest.

Garten's final tip? Throw in some of your favorite books. On her shelves, she opted for cookbooks and other food-focused reads. Considering we're in the kitchen, this makes sense. She stacked a few books on two different shelves, with one stack even being topped with a small copper pot. If these are books you tend to reach for, it's probably best to skip putting objects on top of them. Remember, it's all about how you want to make this look your own.