Simona is an interior design and décor writer for Homedit. Since 2011, she has been writing about interior design, DIY solutions, and the latest trends in home architecture.
Shelves, whatever their type or design may be, are universally practical and user-friendly, as demonstrated by their versatility. There is absolutely no room in a home which couldn’t benefit from open shelves. The shelves in a living can be used for the storage of books or the display of decorations, in the dining room a few shelves can come in really handy when you want to keep some dishes close at hand or to display some things on the walls, the bathroom shelves are perfect for organizing toiletries and keeping them easy to reach, the kitchen shelves are also awesome for keeping stuff handy such as utensils and spice jars and there are also plenty of ways in which all these shelving ideas can be applied to spaces such as a home office, entryway, hallway, bedroom, etc.
Kitchens are often designed to include open shelves in one form or anotherKitchen shelves are great for keeping stuff handy but also for displaying things like planters for exampleSome shelving ideas are great for organizing items in a kitchen or a pantryIt’s usually nice to create a blend of useful and ornamental items when filling the shelvesSome shelving ideas include the use of embedded LED light strips or spot lightsHere’s a quirky idea: add some shallow shelves to your kitchen backsplash to maximize storageThe items which are displayed on open shelves inevitably become decorations for that particular spaceBathrooms could definitely benefit from having some shelves too. Pay special attention to the materials usedIt’s often fun and beautiful to mix and match open and closed storage solutions such as shelves and cubbies
There’s more than one type of shelving. In fact, there are more variations than we can count. It’s difficult to identify many of them with no visual reference to look at so check out all these great examples that we gathered for you today. They show you how shelves can be useful in all sorts of spaces and configurations and who knows, maybe some of these images will inspire you to add some shelves to your own home or to come up with completely new and original shelving ideas that you can share with the world.
Install LED light strips to the undersides of open shelves to create a dramatic and eye-catching effectIn the bathroom, you can also add a ladder which can serve as a towel holder or which can incorporate shallow shelvesLaundry rooms and dressings are spaces which can make the most out of any shelving ideaGlass shelves are particularly interesting and there are many different variations and options to consider in this caseUse accent shelves to complete a furniture arrangement or to add visual interest to an empty wallObviously, open shelves are great for storing things on, particularly in spaces such as offices but also in living roomsIt’s entirely possible to create an entire furniture arrangement out of just shelvesIt can also be fun to play with different types of shelves or to mix and match shelves with different shapes or proportionsGeometric shelving installations are particularly popular in modern and contemporary interior designsHow about adding some color to your wall-mounted shelves? There are plenty of ways in which to do thatA nice possibility is to add a few bookshelves to the bedroom so you can keep your favorite books handyThis is a very interesting and eye-catching shelving unit which combines several different colors and shapesOpen shelves are also great because they don’t obstruct the view of the surface they’re placed againstYou can cover an entire wall in open shelves and you can have them custom made to suit your every need
A lot of these shelving ideas have passed the test of time. Some ideas are classic and have been adapted and transformed over time, some are more recent and some are actually quite unusual. We hope you find them as interesting and inspiring as we do Keep in mind that it’s always fun to add your own signature to anything that you include in your home decor because this way you get to make the place truly feel like home and you become connected to it in a special and very pleasant way.
Tall and narrow shelving units are quite interesting although not as versatile as other typesA lot of living room furniture sets nowadays include some sort of shelving ideas in their designsOpen shelves that are used in combination with closed compartments help to maintain a spacious and open decorThe shelving ideas and design possibilities are very numerous in the case of living roomsOpen shelves are in this case the link between the lower and upper units in this living room furniture arrangementUse accent lighting to highlight the items displayed on shelves and to create a nice moodAccent lighting and open shelves go hand in hand and the combo is quite common in a lot of contemporary homesYou don’t have to fill all the shelves in your home. Sometimes the shelf itself can be the center of attentionUse open shelves in the dressing room or walk-in closet to organize shirts, accessories and other thingsOf course, workspaces can definitely use shelves in their interior designs as well as there are many things which can be organized this wayTry to group objects on shelves and to diversify the types of items displayed this wayAnother interesting suggestion is to display books and planters together on shelvesBookshelves can be of many different kinds and this geometric configuration is just one of the optionsa shelving unit can have a desk built right into it. The desk is basically just an extra wide shelfYou can create all sorts of interesting and intriguing visual effects using shelvesShelving units can have an open back or a back panel which can have a special role in the decor of a spaceCustomization is important when dealing with shelves and shelving ideas and there’s a lot to consider in this senseThis type of shelving units can be combined into larger units or can be used as standalone piecesThe shelves can actually be a focal point for a room and can help to highlight the style chosen for the decorShelves and cubbies can be used to display vases, planters, terrariums, books and lots and lots of other items onMost shelving ideas can be adapted and customized to suit a certain type of space or a styleShelving units can also double as space dividers and that’s a pretty cool option for small spacesThere are plenty of ways to personalize and decorate shelves even after they’ve been installedIt’s usually nice to match the shelves to existing pieces of furniture, unless of course you prefer them to stand outIntegrating the shelves into large and compact furniture units can offer more cohesion than separate, independent shelves doAn arrangement of storage cubbies with the occasional open shelf can be really fun to designAnother way to ensure cohesion is if you connect separate shelves with a back panel
