Open Kitchen Shelves Decorating Ideas

Incorporate Some Trending Gold and Lucite Fixtures

This handsome kitchen looks fit for a king with its regal black-and-gold island, barstools and range hood. Pale gray cabinetry acts as a foil to those bolder elements.

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Add Bistro Chairs

Stroll into this dreamy chef kitchen and the gorgeous blue stove and range hood immediately catch your eye. The color is cheerily continued in the woven barstools' plaid pattern, as well as a sprinkling of ceramics around the room.

Make a Focal Point of a Prized Collection

Whether it's the wedding china you stash away for that "special occasion" or your great grandmother's teacup set, let your collections shine in a dedicated corner of your kitchen. Here a shabby chic china cabinet in palest blue makes a beautiful home for the homeowner's collection of white milk glass serving pieces.

Choose a Colorful Appliance

The small kitchen in this tiny house has white walls, wood floors, big windows, open shelves and a fun, purple oven.

Learn More : How to Decorate a Galley Kitchen

Try a Copper Sink

The white marble counter atop a white wood base highlights the gorgeous hammered dark copper sink in this remodeled kitchen. Bronze cabinet pulls and faucet harmonize with the copper to add dimension to the island.

Or, Some Copper Fixtures

This gooseneck copper kitchen faucet is less expensive than a copper sink but still has plenty of visual impact.

Add a Bookshelf

Whether it's built into a kitchen island, a standalone bookshelf or a built-in feature of your cabinetry, nothing is as handy in a kitchen as a bookshelf. It's the ideal location, obviously, to keep your cookbooks in easy reach. But it can also be the perfect place to discretely tuck a TV or house a collection.

Reclaimed Wood Adds Character

This room's cabinets, floors and island were crafted from reclaimed barn-wood beams and boards. The hexagon tiles behind the stove were inspired by an antique Victorian patchwork quilt.

Warm Your Kitchen Up With Rattan

For an airy effect in this gourmet kitchen, designers added rattan barstools from Serena & Lily for the perfect casual, beachy contrast to the kitchen's high end glamour.

DIY an Herb Drying Rack

Nothing gives your kitchen the look of a charming European kitchen more than a rack for dried herbs, and nothing will give your cooking more impact than this decorating tip.

Learn More : Make an Herb Drying Rack

Splurge on Custom Doors to Hide Appliances

Extend Your Island

A handy butcher block is a great way to add additional prep space to this kitchen island while warming up the cold marble.

Create a Work Station With Chalkboards

In the kitchen, this nook is the perfect place to fire off a quick email and organize the day's events. Two chalkboard panels on the cabinet doors make reminders, calendar items and more fun and easily accessible.

Go Retro With Appliances

This small kitchen adds a ton of character with a cute retro fridge.

Try Carved Wood Legs on a Kitchen Island

There's nothing like carved wood legs on a kitchen island to add gravitas and impact.

Rustic Appeal

A great way to add a rustic look in a kitchen is to use reclaimed wood beams to give focus to a high ceiling.

Use a Runner

Want a quick, easy and inexpensive way to add a new design element to your kitchen? Add a runner. A rug in a rich color is a lovely way to bring warmth and a little extra elegance to this all-white kitchen.

Carve Out a Place for Children

This designer thoughtfully added a place in this bright, midcentury kitchen that kids could call their own while adults were working. The peninsula's clever bookshelf addition is the perfect little alcove for kids' books.

Paint the Ceiling

This painted diagonal shiplap ceiling in gray really warms up this kitchen.

Customize for Your Pet

This mudroom adjoining the kitchen features a special spot for the dog to be tucked away when needed, though Fido can still see the action through the metal grate doors.

Upcycle Vintage Elements

This industrial-style kitchen by designer Randy Weinstein features vintage finds like tractor seat stools and industrial hanging lights to create a modern yet eclectic mix of old and new.

How About Dark and Moody?

A deep ebony stain on the virtually hardware-free cabinetry in this kitchen is a stylish, distinctive break from the usual white kitchen.

Forgo Overhead Cabinets

This midcentury remodeled home opened up the space and kept things clean and weightless feeling by leaving out the overhead cabinets.

Lacquer Cabinets

Dark wood and contrasting white lacquered cabinetry provide appealing contrast in this streamlined midcentury modern kitchen.

Install a Ladder

Difficult, high cabinets suddenly become easy to access with a rolling library ladder.

Embrace Color

The impressive backsplash combines the homeowner's love of pink and peonies. A climbing vine with vibrant pink peonies sits on a gray ombre background, which adds subtle drama that echoes the fabric of the window treatment. Bookmatched walnut cabinets feature clean lines, while a custom pink stove and island make a dramatic statement.

Learn More : 10 Chic Colors That Will Make a Statement in Your Kitchen

Use a Table as Your Island

For a smaller kitchen, a custom island might not always make sense or fit the vibe. Here a vintage wood table is the ideal extra workspace.

Choose a Statement Kitchen Light Fixture (or Three)

The old saying "the more the merrier" is often true, especially for light fixtures. Whether it's a pair or a trio, the repetition of a fixture within a space makes it feel like a strong design element rather than a functional necessity. The height and depth of this gallery kitchen is substantial so large fixtures feel just right. The repeat of the graphic pattern is bold yet simple — a lot like the kitchen itself.

Learn More : Galley Kitchen Lighting Ideas

Make Your Mark With a Statement Fixture

The oversized pendant is a big, bold statement over the dining table in this kitchen, but its texture and color keep the light fixture from feeling at all overwhelming.

Try a Dramatic Tile Backsplash

The bold, blue and white backsplash is the focal point in this modern kitchen. A chef's oven with stainless steel hood range is flanked by white cabinets with brass hardware, complemented by a brass-toned faucet at the quartz kitchen island with a farmhouse sink.

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Rev Up Your Flooring

From this side of the room, guests can see that the kitchen also boasts an eat-in island with two barstools. Meanwhile, white walls and cabinets help call attention to the bold striped floor down below.

Make the Stove Your Pop of Color

This gorgeous blue range must have been love at first sight and adds personality to this white kitchen.

Skip the Hardware

Give your kitchen a sleek, modern look by skipping the hardware.

Add Floating Shelves

Open shelving adds a rustic, organic quality to this kitchen and is a great way of adding a little storage space while keeping things light and airy.

Embrace Pattern

A wall of Spanish-style tiles make a bold statement in this kitchen, made even bolder with the complementary blue and white pattern on the kitchen island bar stools.

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Add Tile As a Shelving Backdrop

Show off attractive tiles or wallpaper in the kitchen with open shelving and glass front cabinets.

Create a Dedicated Wine Bar

This bar area is perfect for entertaining. A wine fridge and storage are tucked into gray maple cabinetry with glass doors, showcasing the glasses inside.

Add Gold Hardware

A stunning teal color in this kitchen's butler's pantry works beautifully alongside trending gold cabinet hardware.

In Fact, Add Gold Everywhere

Most of this kitchen is gleaming white with gold accents: gold in the light fixtures, hardware, faucets, bar stools, range hood and the look is luxe-meets-traditional in this stunning kitchen.

A Statement Pantry Door

This kitchen features plenty of stunning design details throughout, like this unique herringbone wooden pantry door with brass pull handle.

Choose a Bold Wallpaper

An open concept kitchen features a dining nook that features a floral wallpaper accent wall and an upholstered dining bench. A wood dining table sits against the wall, creating the perfect eating area. Hanging above the kitchen island, a midcentury modern light fixture lights the eating area.

Paint an Entire Wall With Chalkboard Paint

A wall covered in chalkboard paint creates a place for the family to jot notes or doodle in this contemporary family-friendly kitchen. Gray quartz countertops, concrete floors and bar stools add to the industrial feel of the space, while white cabinets and pendant light fixtures add pops of color and texture.

Create a Double Kitchen Island

Kitchen islands have multiplied and many are adding seating areas to islands to enhance the kitchen as a social center of the home. Perfect for entertaining, the two gray and white islands offer lots of seating and storage options, both beneath double pendant lights with pearl shell accents.

Carry a Theme Throughout

These homeowners used bright copper accents in range hood, light fixtures, hardware and even a mixer, to tie this kitchen together.

Install a Beverage Cooler

In a busy family a dedicated beverage cooler may be more useful than a wine cooler.

Embrace the Outdoors

If you love the outdoors, floor to ceiling doors leading from the kitchen to the patio make for seamless outdoor entertaining and a feeling of connection with nature. The wood used in the backyard table echoes the interior flooring, and the outdoor chairs have simple, clean lines to match the home's minimalist decor.

Add an Eat-In Table for a Contemporary Touch

If a large island with stools is not your thing, consider this novel approach: a lower table with banquette that still keeps guests close but has a more contemporary feel.

Choose an Unusual Range Hood

This gold range hood that sits overhead is a statement piece in the room.

Think About Dedicated Wine Storage (That's Not a Cooler)

In this clever add-on to a California kitchen island the interior designers added custom wine storage.

Make It Multipurpose

This otherwise wasted nook becomes a mini-office in this contemporary kitchen. A floating desk drawer provides a handy corner for paying bills or reading recipes in this small kitchen office nook. The desk is painted the same cool blue as the kitchen cabinets with a multicolored striped chair adding extra color to the space.

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Add Brightness With an Epoxy Floor

Granted, epoxy floors aren't easy to get right: It took five tries to get the ideal color and sheen in this kitchen. But their glossy brightness adds hugely to the overall fresh, cheerful mood.

Add a Kitchen Art Station

Arts and crafts supplies are kept in kitchen cabinets so parents can keep an eye on children and include them in the home's activity center. If there's no time to clean up, the full-height cabinet doors can be closed in a hurry to hide any messes.

Use Natural Wood Cabinets

Natural wood cabinets have a fresh Scandinavian-inspired look and pair beautifully with white accents.

Mix Backsplash Materials

In this open concept kitchen, glass-fronted cabinets hang above a glass tiled backsplash, creating a built-in bar. Rustic brick lines the wall creating unique accents walls and a backsplash.

Incorporate Art

A fire engine red island pairs with a colorful 3-D artwork installation to bring this contemporary kitchen to life. White walls, shelves, cabinets and a white range hood keep the space feeling bright and open.

Go Blue!

Or, Go Green!

This family-friendly kitchen emits cottage charm in a modern way thanks to its very on-trend mint green cabinets, another popular kitchen color beyond blue these days.

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Swap Out the Stools for a Bench

For cozier, more communal dining, this homeowner chose a bench rather than the usual stools for this farmhouse kitchen island.

Don't Overthink the Art

Many homeowners are taking a casual approach when it comes to incorporating artwork into their kitchen and leaning small pieces on countertops or open shelving that they can then easily swap out when they need a change.

Learn More : How to Decorate Kitchen Counters

Install a Pot Rack

A pot rack on this kitchen's white brick wall adds instant color and decor, while also being a practical storage solution.

Use a Grate Instead of Glass in Cabinets

Modern metal grates outfit white cabinets with matte black cabinets below in this small, modern kitchen. A brass pendant light hovers above the waterfall edge, marble island and works well with the brass hardware throughout.

Mix Up Kitchen Cabinet Color

This kitchen is beautifully balanced with blue lower cabinets and an island paired with white upper cabinets and a clean white subway tile backsplash.

Create a Dining Nook

Add a Hidden Pantry and Bar

This Charleston home features a pantry off of the kitchen with a door to hide any mess away. It's the perfect place for meal prep, a small bar area and extra storage.

Think Beyond the Rectangle

If you've got the budget to go beyond a run-of-the-mill island, consider asking your contractor to change the look of your kitchen by cutting a one-of-a-kind quartz countertop.

Add Drama With a Waterfall Countertop

Honey-colored wood cabinets are handsomely broken up by this kitchen's island, topped by a white waterfall countertop.

Add Some Hidden Use Value

Think about what you use most often in your kitchen and consider adding dedicated space for that task, whether it's a baking station, a coffee station or just a clever way to hide your cleaning supplies. This slim, pull-out shelf makes cleaning supplies easy to get to and easy to hide away. There's space for tall bottles as well as extra cloths and dish towels.

The Kitchen As Gathering Space

Homeowners are finding ways to make guests — and themselves — comfortable by adding lounging elements to kitchens. Two-thirds of this kitchen is dedicated to meal prep; the other third to cozy lounging with a fireplace, armchairs and a niche well stocked for happy hour.

Try a Photo Mural

A sweet family photo blown up to mural size is a charming surprise in one of this kitchen's nooks and a great way to bring interest beyond traditional artwork.

Learn More : How to Decorate Kitchen Walls

Dispense With the Dedicated Dining Room

With so many formal dining rooms becoming wasted space, these homeowners made a smart choice and added their rustic in-kitchen dining room to their open concept kitchen.

Play With Color and Pattern in Hardwoods

The owners of this Minnesota home used dark wood flooring in a herringbone pattern for a fresh look in this transitional kitchen.