Radical Floating Shelf Ideas for Every Room in Your House
Is there a room in which floating shelves wouldn’t look great? Spoiler alert: NOPE!
Floating shelves look good anywhere – especially if you know how to style them and where to place them. In today’s blog, we’re going to take a look at how well-designed and carefully planned floating shelves can upgrade any space.
Floating Shelves in the Kitchen: A Classic Since the Early 1900s
Did you know that floating shelves were used in 1900s kitchens as a way to store dishes and kitchen tools so that they were readily available to the cook?
That’s right! Long before the Bauhaus movement in the 1920s, kitchen cupboards weren’t even a thing. Maybe that’s why floating shelves look so great in modern kitchens! Our culture does have a tendency to recycle older design and fashion ideas, improving upon them as we go.
Related Radness:
Floating Kitchen Shelf Ideas:
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a way to use floating shelves in your kitchen that doesn’t look great, but here are a few ideas:
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Replace your upper cupboards entirely
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Place some on either side of your stove’s hood
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Install some on the end of a row of cupboards
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Put a hanging shelf above your island
Floating Shelves in the Bathroom: Form & Function
The bathroom is one of those spaces that you really want to optimize for your specific use-case while you’re in there. Whether you’re showering, sitting on the porcelain throne, or simply washing your face, the goal is to have everything you might need within arms' reach.
Floating Shelf Ideas for the Bathroom:
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Shelving above the tub for easy-access towels
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In-shower shelving for personal care products
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Above the toilet for toiletries
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In any corner to add visual intrigue (plants look great in a bathroom!)
Floating Shelves in the Living Room
Perhaps one of the more “cookie-cutter” floating shelf rooms, the living room is the perfect place to display your collection of beautiful things. Don’t be afraid to get creative with shelf placement and the items upon them. Create a radical piece to look at.
Related Radness:
Living Room Floating Shelf Ideas:
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A floating mantel, perfect for stone or brick fireplaces
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A narrow-ledge gallery wall
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Geometric shelves, like hexagons or squares
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An accent wall with contrasting colored walls and floating shelves
Floating Shelves in the Dining Room: Show Off Your Pretty China!
This room is another great opportunity for floating shelves to really shine. Between displaying fine china and housing goblets and wine glasses, floating shelves in this room would be a treat and a feast for the eyes.
Floating Shelf Ideas for the Dining Room:
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A wall of plates and glassware, organized by shape or size
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A collection of handmade pottery, displayed along the upper edge of the wall
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A single floating desk-like shelf, organized as a serving bar, with hooks or baskets below it for storage.
Floating Shelves in the Bedroom: Function. Style. Bow Chicka Wow Wow.
Bedrooms are really fun to decorate; they are isolated from the rest of the house, so a coherent theme isn’t totally necessary. However, it’s a small enough space that you can focus your efforts and consolidate your design to meet the needs of the space.
Bedroom Ideas for Floating Shelves:
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A floating headboard with descending potted plants
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Floating end tables, either from short shelves or cuboid shelving units
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A floating desk for a makeup vanity
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Corner shelving for trinkets and the odd book
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Floating shelving in the closet itself to add storage
…and Everywhere Else
If we’re being honest, the list doesn’t stop here. You can put floating shelves on the porch, in the basement, in a hallway, in the nursery, in the office, in the garage… You get the picture. Shelves are so miraculously versatile; they can go anywhere, be anywhere, and do anything for your space.
In short: the sky’s the limit! In what creative ways have you used your floating shelves? Where is the most unconventional place you’ve hung a shelf?
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