In our last home, we loved our open shelves and knew we wanted to add some to our new house. After building our DIY kitchen island, we got hyped by our progress and spontaneously took down a few upper cabinets by our kitchen window.
We installed some open shelves, and then were met with the age old dilemma of what do you add there that is both functional and cute?
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I’m not great at the whole ‘styling’ part of it all, but I am great at spending all my downtime online shopping, so here’s a roundup of the best kitchen decor finds for your open shelves, as told by my Amazon and Etsy wishlists:
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Utensils set
The perfect neutral set that will be functional and cute in a crock or jar of some kind. I also love finding old wooden spoons at thrift stores that I use purely for the vintage look.
Glass storage jars
It doesn’t even matter what you’re storing, it’s going to look better in glass jars. We added a whole bunch of these types of jars to our pantry makeover a while back, and I find it cuts down on space as well, not needing to store bulky pasta or cereal boxes.
Storage jar labels
While you’re at it switching everything into glass jars, you might as well add these uniform labels that will definitely look like The Home Edit’s been by.
Glass carafe
Everything in this Etsy store is pretty dreamy, but I love this set. It’s perfect for a brunch with some orange juice or a fancy cocktail night at home, plus it would just look good up on an open shelf!
Bamboo soap dispenser
Okay, maybe this is weird to put on a shelf? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that sponges gross me out, and this is an adorable alternative.
Serving dish
This dish is so unique and would be the perfect addition to brunch when it’s not on display.
Ceramic bowls
These bowls are neutral, but have such a nice shape and look so pretty all stacked up.
Cookbooks
I meannnnn, who doesn’t love a good stack of books? There’s something about cookbooks that just makes me happy, even if I just eat scrambled eggs for dinner like four nights a week (and this is another thing I always look for while thrifting). I think it’s just the ambition to be the type of person who cooks extravagant meals and has dinner parties with friends.
Here are a few of our faves:
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen
Magnolia Table
Tasty Every Day
Cookish
Measuring cups (this, or this)
Still using those misshapen metal measuring cups from Walmart? Get outta here with that, there are so many cute ones that deserve a spot on display!
Pretty mugs
I pretty much exclusively use my old Yeti to drink my iced coffee, but do I still endeavor to make a collection of pretty mugs on display? Yes, and these are the perfect starter for a pop of color on your shelves.
Art prints (this, and this)
To break it up a little, I like to add some artwork on my shelves, and these two are perfect. You could truly spend hours searching through Etsy for printables (especially vintage landscape art which is a current fave) but here are a couple to get you started.
Cutting boards
Oh look, another item I like to thrift. You can get these either just for the looks or for functionality as well, but there are so many shapes and wood tones, I just love them all. They also add a bit of warmth to the look, I think.
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This post contains affiliate links, meaning we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of our links, at no additional cost to you.