I don’t know about you, but I never seemed to have adequate display space in my kitchen. I have three long banks of cabinets and plenty of storage, but not enough open storage. I have a charming buffet area in the breakfast nook but it seemed like it was just a big bank of closed cabinetry. Oak wood everywhere!
A friend of mine cut the center panels out of the cabinet above her microwave and inserted glass instead. It created a darling little display space for knick knacks and cookbooks. We needed a bit more than that would provide. I didn't want to go overboard with open shelving because, I like hiding/hoarding things away. I thought about ripping out our the stock bank of cabinets and putting in an antique piece, but I never saw anything that could replicate the amount of storage I wanted. It would also require patching the floor.
I looked and looked at it for years.
I tried taking all four cabinet doors off, but it was too busy.
Finally...
I did some creative maneuvering to get a look I love.
Before:
I got inspiration by looking at the church kitchen.
The church had a similar bank of cabinets but it had a double door cabinet in the middle and two small cabinets on the sides.
Similar to the above, only without the wine rack.
Here.
I need that configuration!
I tried asking Mr. Bill to take both cabinets off and mount one in the middle. Then we could cut the other cabinet in half and mount one half on each side.
He did not like that idea at all!
I finally figured out that if I flipped the two center doors to look like one
cabinet I could take the two end doors off and I would have it open on the ends.
See the complicated diagram above.
Take all the time you need to study my madness.
Unfortunately, I could see into the enclosed portion through the sides of the end boxes.
But,
I was so happy with the amount of open shelving.
I had to think about what to do about the now open sides. Pine boards cut to appropriate lengths would require staining to match the oak. I wasn't sure I could get the color right.
I don't know if you do this, but I went to bed with the problem on my mind. When I woke up in the morning, I had my solution.
Get it here.
Big Lots had faux oak book shelves. It was a perfect match!
I got one $19.99 bookcase and cut the shelves to the height I needed.
They slipped right in.
Trimming out the cabinets to make them look built in is the key. Otherwise it looks like the builder forgot to put the cabinet doors on.
We got the molding at Home Depot.
We got the molding at Home Depot.
Double stick tape helps my plates to stay put..
I decorated it with my brown transferware collection.
I have collected this for about 14 years.
It is a perfect muted tone for different seasons.
I am so happy I took some of the cabinet doors off to create open shelving. It was easy and inexpensive.
I think it adds charm and breaks up the sea of oak.
It looks original to the house and gives the space more of a buffet look, which is exactly what I wanted.
It creates perfect nooks for seasonal decorating.
Easter
Christmas
Winter
Valentine's Day
I've been rotating my collections of transferware since I painted the kitchen a nice neutral. This is Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams sets off my Blue Willow or my red transferware.
I didn't care for the front of the shelves so I glued a small piece of trim to the front.
If you have been around awhile, you know how much I love collecting. Sticking to one main color plus an accent color allows for more pieces in a collection.
A multi-colored china pattern would be much busier and would require scaling back a large collection.
Red and White with a green or yellow accent is enough.
I once heard that every room can take a bit of black. It grounds a space.
Here is a sneak peak at our new breakfast room chairs.
Years ago I remember looking at my friends custom buffet and thinking how much I wished they had done that to my house.
I had to wait a few years, but $30.00 and some thought fixed the problem.
Sprinkled with trim and vanishing cabinet doors,
Katie
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