The Best Kitchen Shelves To Buy And How To Style Them

Buy now at Etsy

These solid timber shelves with steel brackets make for a super functional kitchen solution. A great idea here is to mount each shelf at varying heights to accommodate larger items at the bottom.

Not all kitchen shelving will be totally functional – it’s just as important to introduce decorative elements. There’s usually a lot of empty space above a sink as cupboards are a bit impractical, so a slim display shelf makes a great addition.

Pictured: Kitchen accessories at Dunelm

This barely-there shelf acts as a natural divide between the marble splashback and fabulous green wallpaper above. It’s placed slightly below eye level so even the smallest of items will be noticed.

Pictured: Crane Fonda wallpaper at Divine Savages

It’s a common design trick to paint your shelves the same colour as your walls for a barely-there effect. This would work equally as well with a dark and dramatic hue, or painted the same matt blue as the splashback.

Pictured: Country Living Peacock Blue Matt Splashback

Buy now at Etsy

Wood and steel make for natural companions, and work especially well if you’re displaying pale ceramics and glass – it can be tricky to add wood accessories to a wooden shelf without them disappearing.

Buy now at Really Well Made

If you need to use the full length of your kitchen walls, freestanding shelves are your best bet. A robust steel is a safe choice, and Scandi design darling HAY, famously do them in an array of bright primary colours.

Buy now at IKEA

Kitchens are often the most expensive room to renovate, but shelves certainly don’t need to be. These petite IKEA shelves come in at a very reasonable £20.

Buy now at IKEA

This kitchen shelving unit looks straight out of a chef’s kitchen but it is in fact from good old IKEA. This is one for the serious cooks.

Here’s another great use of paint, and one to really lean into. To replicate this elegant uniform look, paint everything, from your cabinets to your shelves and even your work surfaces in the same shade.

Pictured: Kitchen by Cheverell with metalware by Armac Martin

Buy now at Garden Trading

Garden Trading is an absolute go-to for kitchen storage solutions. We love this antiqued brass wall rack, but you can also find classic wood shelving units, galvanised steel shelves and freestanding ladder shelves.

This is a real favourite of ours, and such a common trick amongst stylists. Forgo the usual kitchen accents of mason jars and plant pots and instead style your kitchen shelves as you would a living room or bedroom – antiques, art, family photos, anything goes.

Pictured: Walls painted in De Nimes at Farrow & Ball