When my husband and I began searching for the best open shelving for our kitchen, we looked at the usual options, like Ikea floating shelves or even custom made wood shelves. The problem we kept running into was that the ready-made options weren’t deep enough for dinner plates, and the custom-build options were astronomically expensive!
Then we heard about the best open shelving idea from Yellow Brick Home. In their post, they detailed how they used stair treads and brackets to create open shelving for a rental property they were renovating. I did some quick research, and I found out more about this idea, but I highly recommend reading their post. The kitchen turned out beautifully!
First, we looked into where we can buy stair treads near us, and it was simple enough to order from Lowe’s. We ordered 2 treads, and they arrived in a few days. I picked them up at the store at no extra shipping cost. We went with the same red oak wood option recommended by Yellow Brick Home. At just under 30 bucks per tread, I couldn’t believe how reasonably priced real wood was!
The slim design was not what I had envisioned at first. I love a chunky open shelf in a kitchen, but I couldn’t deny how modern, sleek and beautiful a thin shelf looked. It was just enough. The look was easy and classy without trying too hard.
Another thing I absolutely loved about this choice was the size of the shelf you are getting for the cost! This is a 3 foot board! And it is 12 inches deep! And it is 1 inch thick! It has plenty of space for full-sized dinner plates, cups, bowls. I use the other shelf for large glass canisters of flour, sugar, and other baking goods.
You can even buy longer stair treads if your space is bigger than this- up to 48 inches!
The floating shelves I’ve seen available for purchase wouldn’t have let me store dinner plates without quite a bit hanging off the edge. You simply can’t find another solid wood shelf for this price in this size. This is the reason why the best open shelving are stair treads!
We also used THESE EXACT brackets from Amazon to install the shelves. They come in black, and they were perfect for this slim look. They added a touch of heaviness that a chunky shelf would have offered, but without taking up so much room.
The process of fine-tuning the stair treads wasn’t difficult at all. My husband did cut the bullnose off the treads, which took about half an inch off, but there was still plenty of room on this shelf. I added THIS EXACT STAIN after some light sanding.
I love that the focus of the open shelves is now what is on the shelf instead of the shelf itself. My daughter’s beautiful artwork, our delicious dry goods, like beans and chiles are on display without competing with a super heavy wood shelf. It is the perfect modern compliment to the more traditional shiplap walls that line our entire kitchen.
This kitchen has been a real process, and I would love to share more about how my husband completely gutted our kitchen a few weeks after moving in to our 1940s home. I will do a complete tour of the space in another post.
The point is that the kitchen was so dated and strange. We knew we wanted a bright space, and the large windows helped to bring in some light, but installing upper cabinets would have blocked some light, and sunshine in Chicago is so desperately scarce during the winter. We didn’t want anything to block out one ray of sunshine.
I’m sharing about these shelves because I am considering how they will look in other spaces of our home. Maybe as a book shelf in our daughters’ room? Maybe in the hallway across from the bathroom to offer more storage space in our home that currently has no linen closet!
Especially since we are currently renovating our hallway, I want some shelving that will really function for our family instead of simply holding decorative pieces. For example, I want a shelf that could easily hold a stack of folded bath towels. And this shelf could do that! Also, I’m wondering how some storage baskets would look on this shelf. If you have some favorite storage baskets, please share in the comments.
We’re so happy with this look. The best open shelving are stair treads! What do you think?