I have a wrap around cabinet corner that goes from the end of the main kitchen to the breakfast room. The base cabinets at this corner are only 14 inches deep. When I built the house I did not have cabinets made for over this area. When I sat in the chair at the kitchen table facing that wall, for several years I said to myself, “gotta do something about this”. I had had shelves in mind for some time and last week decided the time had come to do something. I like floating shelves for several reasons, but specifically because they have a simple and clean look. Now, building them is another story. In a straight run, it would be much simpler, but I made the design decision to wrap them around the corner to meet an upper cabinet, giving me more space. When walking into the kitchen it would look much better….more symmetrical for sure. Originally I was thinking 4 shelves, but they would not line up in a pleasing way to the mullions on the glass front cabinets. So after deciding on 3 shelves, next we needed to decide on the thickness. Done. Then engineer KBJ got to doing some drawings, and figuring out the frame design so they could support the weight of heavy items, and without being attached to the cherry end cabinet!
This is basically the view from both the family room and the chair where I usually sit in the breakfast room. The ipod speaker in front of Mr. Piggy, the toaster oven, the bill/receipt/record box, and clock……It all arrived there little by little, and while functional, it certainly is not pretty. When you are in the main kitchen you cannot see it that much. However, every time I looked at it, I have wanted to change it.
The receipt/bill box was actually hung on the wall, but I had already taken it down when I remembered I needed a before photo.
So I started by taking everything down from the walls. Yeah…..more holes to patch and then paint……and Piggy is wondering if he will be banished as well. I already like it better. If I didn’t need the storage space I would just put a piece of art there.
I decided for sure on floating shelves! We left the bill box there to hold a piece of wood so as to decide at what height the bottom shelf should be. Bingo! That way if I want to keep the box there, it would fit underneath. We then decided on the height of the top shelf, with a middle shelf in between. I had to play around with it a bit, because if you look at the upper cabinet to the right, the doors have mullions, and at night the inside has lights, so it is prominent. Placement of the shelves had to be symmetrical in relation to that, because when you enter the kitchen, you would notice it quickly if it was not symmetrical. You can also notice the jag/space between the clear wall and the cabinet wall so I had to decide whether to have 3 shelves just on the wall, or to “wrap it around, which would require some engineering so it could bear decent weight, and because I was adamant that nothing be attached to the cherry upper cabinet. It has to float! Hmmm, how to do it.
With the French door to the left, anything I put on the wall cannot interfere with people coming in and out the door, as we use it all the time. I didn’t visually want anything “solid” that would block the light or view, especially as you came in from outside
Looking back at a now empty wall from where Mr. Piggy is now standing on the table in the family room wondering where he will end up. I swear I heard him say,” no-no, don’t pack me away”! Forgive me, I have a long history with this piggy. He even traveled seat belted in the car each time we moved because I was afraid that the movers would break him.
I decided that 3 shelves, top and bottom only would wrap, with the middle one only the width of the wall. Why? good question. Actually, there is a really good reason! Tomorrow, details on constructing the shelves. Thankfully, KBJ enjoys these kinds of challenges.
I would also like to mention that a fellow blogger, Jennifer Carroll,of Celebrating everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll has worked so hard to get her new online magazine published, and today she presented her first issue, the May/June 2013 one. I am here to say that it is absolutely lovely and visually stunning. I subscribed after looking at just a few photos and the table of contents. I predict that it is going to be a huge hit. It always makes me so proud of women who have a dream, and despite obstacles continue to pursue their dreams with hard work while utilizing a whole lot of their talent. I hope you will click on the below link and support her. You will not be disappointed! There is also a short video and you can enjoy taking a peak inside this first issue!
Jennifer Carroll’s new magazine.
The cover from the new magazine by Jennifer Carroll………
Thank you for stopping by today! cheers, charisse
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Charisse, Thank you SO MUCH for sharing about the magazine!! How very, very kind of you!! Can’t wait to see how your shelves turn out and where your piggy finds his new home 🙂 Hugs, Jennifer
So happy for you, and it was my pleasure.