my favorite shelf
When we moved into our apartment last summer I instantly fell in love with the kitchen and all the possibilities it held for sprucing up. Of course, an apartment kitchen usually never affords ample storage space, but I have started to solve that problem with some simple DIY shelving. This is my favorite kitchen shelf because it was easy to make and it's extremely functional as well as pretty to look at. We have gotten really into making our own shelves because it's one of the easiest and most affordable ways to achieve exactly the kind of storage we want anywhere around the apartment. We got materials for this shelf at Home Depot and IKEA. Once on a random trip to IKEA we noticed that they sell these awesome shelf supports that come in both black and an unfinished wood, perfect for staining.
I love these shelf supports because they are large and sturdy, something I really needed to hold big, heavy pots and pans like my dutch oven, roasting pan and large stock pot. These larger items were nearly impossible to house anywhere appropriate in the kitchen beforehand.
We decided on the general placement of the shelf and how long we wanted it to be and then headed to Home Depot to get some wood. We settled on a sheet of unfinished poplar that was 11in wide and available for purcahse by the foot for under $5/ft. You can also purchase large sheets of wood for less than $40 and usually have them cut to whatever size you want right at the store. For other projects we have gone that route, the benefit being the large sheet can be used to make multiple items. Prior to installing this shelf we installed a shelf just under the back kitchen window and I use the area to take pictures as it's a great source of natural light. We have made outdoor planter boxes with extra wood as well.
After the wood was cut to size all that was left to do before installing was to sand the edges and pick out a stain. Again, investing in a large can of your favorite colored stain can go a long way and serve you for many projects to come. We stained the shelf supports as well as the shelf and then used a stud-finder to get a good placement on the wall.
Something that made this shelf even more functional was the install of cup hooks on the underside.
I was getting really frustrated with my KitchenAid attachments being bulky and awkward in drawers and cupboards. They always ended up in different places around the kitchen and as I was struggling to find a solution I had the epiphany of these cup hooks. Now, I always know where my attachments can be located and they are also safe from the ware and tare of being tossed around to different locations. All this on top of the added bonus of a cool decoration in the kitchen, I love seeing the attachments up on display every day :D I will probably be adding more hooks and have definitely been courting the idea of hanging measuring cups here as well, but pacing myself to let all the ideas keep emerging.
Next up, a shelf above the window to hold my cook books, a great idea my friend had when she saw this shelf.