New Floating Shelves in the Kitchen!

Hello and happy new year, friends! (Yes, it's already February, but I haven't posted here since December, soo...) You might remember that last time I shared some photos of our almost-complete kitchen, minus the floating shelves on either side of the microwave. Well I'm happy to say that we've made some good progress lately, and the shelves are finally installed! 

First of all, let me backtrack a bit before the reveal. The brackets we used were the Aksel shelf hardware from Shelfology. These things are pretty heavy-duty, so we could rest easy about the weight of the shelves and what we put on them. We installed the brackets prior to the backsplash - I'm not sure if there's actually a recommended method there, but to us it seemed easier than adding them after the backsplash. (Although it probably caused some frustration for the guy we hired to install the backsplash.)

We cut the 9" deep shelves out of some leftover oak butcher block from our countertops, then sanded and oiled them with Real Milk Paint Pure Tung Oil (mixed 1:1 with their citrus solvent which is a natural thinner) to match the countertops. For a hot minute I had debated about painting them white like the upper cabinets, but I'm glad we kept with the natural, warm wood tone. This still allows us to add some white decorative accents that really pop against the shelves and backsplash. 

I'm not gonna lie, I'm super happy with how the shelves turned out. It's just what I envisioned, maybe even better! While I love the look of kitchens with lots of open shelving, this little bit is just the right (low-maintenance) amount for our kitchen, for both a decorative and functional appeal. Even with the two shelves installed, this side of the kitchen still feels nice and open (we had actually raised the cabinets up several inches higher after I painted them a couple years ago, specifically with the shelves in mind). 

It's always fun when you realize you have before & after pictures taken from the exact same angle:

I've been in the process of decorating them with some pieces we already had on hand, but of course also used this as an excuse to shop for some new accents. I'll share the styled floating shelves in my next blog post!  


Product Sources:

• Cabinet paint: Annie Sloan Pure White & Graphite
• Oak butcher block countertops: Lumber Liquidators
• Mosaic backsplash: Mohawk Grand Terrace Metallic Medley
• Outlets/switches/wall plates: Legrand radiant collection in Gray
• Shelf brackets: Shelfology Aksel bracket
• Cabinet hardware: Cosmas oil-rubbed bronze contemporary knobs
• Butcher block oil: Real Milk Paint Pure Tung Oil mixed with Real Milk Paint Citrus Solvent

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