Styling Open Shelving

Open shelving.....is it for everyone?   NO     Is it for me,  it can be.....as long as I use a few styling tricks that I have up my sleeve !

I like to keep the colors light and simple....too many colors and it becomes too busy for me.    White is the main color I like to use for open shelving and then just add a few pops of a pastel color.   In the open shelving I have in the hallway to store my tablescape stuff,    I chose to use a pale pink as my pop of color.

The mirrors on the wall that is across from my open shelving make the shelving look double so I have to be very careful how I style it.     I edit down the items on the shelves to the bare minimum so the shelves don't become too busy.     The bare minimum varies with each person and since I have been purging and organizing our home since the first of the year,   my bare minmum has changed.

When I went back and saw how the cabinet looked this time last year,   I was amazed at how much clutter I had become comfortable with over the years.     Look at all that stuff on the shelves!

I edited,   purged,   organized,   and took down the curtains.    I am so pleased with the fresh new look!

 

 

One of the reasons I like to use open shelving in the hallway is because with the cabinet doors removed I am able to add extra lighting to the dark end of the hallway.    The lighting also allows me to put an unlit candle under the lights.     The heat from the lights makes the candle fill the hallway with a wonderful scent.    The light shining down into the candle makes it almost look like it is lit.      I also store my extra candles in cabinets to give out  a lovely fragerance when I open the doors.

I smile every time I pass this sign in the hallway,,,,,which is many times a day since the laundry room,  bathrooms,  and bedrooms are there. 

The shelves are filled with my collection of pretty tablecloths, napkins and other tablescape items that I use when we entertain.        

I have a few of my napking rings displayed on the shelves but the rest of them are out of sight in the drawers below the shelves.

The tea cup napkin rings were a gift so they are probably my favorite ones.

I added a few pumpkins to the shelves to give a touch of fall    The pumpkins are some I made years ago using a wedding gown that I picked up at a yard sale.    It had some stains,  but there was enough usable fabric to make quite a few pumpkins.     

I have a couple of my napkin rings displayed on a teeny tiny 2 tiered stand that I found recently at Hobby Lobby.

Thought you guys might like a peek into the drawers filled with napkin rings and place card holders......

The hampers are filled with what is left of my collection of doilies.    I sent a bunch of them to the auction to get my collection manageable    My collection of doilies were stuffed all over the place...in closets.  drawers,   under the bed......you get the picture,    lol     Now,  they are all in one place!

I repurposed some pitchers to house cloth napkins     
 

After I put a few pumpkins on the shelves,   I put the basket and what was left of the pumpkins that were in it on the table across from the cabinet.      When I was editing my pictures for the post I decided that it looked too cluttered with both things on the table so I removed the basket.     You may have noticed that the picture you saw of the table earlier in the post didn't have the basket next to it.   

 

I sat the basket of pumpkins on the floor under the table,   not sure I like it there so it will probably go back out to the studio.