ETA, I don't think you have to consciously work to keep them nice looking. Everything has a spot or area. If the bowls or glasses are stacked haphazardly, all the better!

love it. Hopefully I can keep mine that clean. What did you use for your backsplash. It is real shiplap or something else.

Thanks! I love how it turned out. Tomorrow makes 3 months post-build, so I may have a different opinion on the shelves in 3+ years. But for now, I'm very happy with them. Feels so much lighter and open than cabinets.

Backsplash is tongue and groove similar to this. We flipped it to the back side, so it doesn't have that extra indent in the middle. Used it farther down that wall on the the fireplace bump-out too. Wishing I'd put more of it in other rooms. Shiplap ALL the things!

Thanks for the gentle reminder @barncatz! I cringe every time a friend uses the word "retarded" to describe her kid being silly. Edited my post ;)

barncatz, I was using OCD in a joking manner sort of a self defense mechanism right now. I should have not done so. I also have a child that has issues. He is 15 and hasn't been to school since Easter due to acute anxiety. OCD is ne issue he doesn't have as he has so many others. I can only hope that as he matures he has the strength you daughter exhibited to over come his issues. I am sorry if I offended you.

Oh dear, you didn't offend at all, Lisa. OCD is commonly used as that shorthand, I see it all the time on GW, a site I love, and I just started to wonder if that usage might stop someone from recognizing the illnesses' true manifestations. I didn't see it until my daughter was diagnosed at 17. I hardly ever hear "I'm feeling schizo about it " and wondered if that's because people familiar with it tried to share what they knew. My daughters' room was such a mess that I wish I could post an OCD photo everytime someone says they're OCD as shorthand for orderly! I wish I could come up with a catchy acronym to replace it, because it does wonderfully convey rigid orderliness but doesn't convey the actual illness.

I hope I haven't ruined your thread, which is a great one. And our house is dusty because it's on gravel, with gravel driveway, and that made the shelf a pain. I agree, maintaining the contents was not, and I think shelves are adorable!

PS. Don't be too hard on yourself as you parent your son. I also hope you and your family will find the way through the challenges.

Now, shelves Garden Webbers!

Oh, I want to see these as I'm planning some open shelves. I have a marble island top that used to be my kitchen table, I've had it about 6 years now, it's etched. I tried to capture that for you.

Island from other side can't see anything.

Hope that helps you!!

I love the look of floating shelves in kitchens...or anywhere for that matter, and while I don't have any in the kitchen, I know they'll get dusty. Every horizontal surface in my house gets a layer of dust that requires weekly dusting. I can't imagine kitchen shelves would be any different..maybe more so because of the steam and grease .

Here is my photo from this morning. We use our dishes every day except top shelf so they don't get dusty. Have had this setup for 9 years and I still love it. I'm a messy person! Lol

Kaillean, if that's messy, then I'm a complete slob. Sigh.

Love, love, love the shiplap. Not sure that I can get my husband to go for it, but I will certainly try. Anything out of the ordinary is usually a no go for him unless I work at him for a while. It took me a while to sell the open shelves. He hates subway tile so this might be an alternative. Though I may have a problem as our hood is already installed. Have to find out how much work it is to reinstall. Also may have a problem with flammable services with our stove. Need to check that out.

Love the marble but the etching is an issue. My love for marble may overcome etching but Hubby could never handle it. He gets so upset from a scratch on the floor. Etches would cause a heart attack.

Thanks everyone for pictures.

These are our former shelves, removed and soon to be replaced in the remodel. I don't recall them actually looking quite that orderly, but I guess they did. A quick run of a duster every now and then kept them and their contents clean--I didn't think it was particularly problematic at all. The new shelves will be by the stove though, and I'm wondering if that'll be a lot worse.

As for your shiplap, ascorsonelli, did you run into any code concerns with wood behind the stove? I initially wanted that look but was told that we had to have non-combustible material to 36" above the stove.

Walt, no problem with code as we're outside city limits.

ascorsonelli can you show us more of your kitchen. My range wall will be very similar.

Here's my etched marble. The etches fade with time. I USE my marble and it's still my favorite thing in the house!

No recent ones on hand this moment, but sure!

OMG you almost have my dream kitchen. Blue island, walnut counter top, white perimeter and open shelves. Too funny. What is your perimeter countertop. If marble, then you do have my dream kitchen.

I still don't have countertops. Hubby vetos any wood, which includes shiplap and wood countertops. Still working on what I can do to change his mind. It took me over a decade for the wood floors so I may have to give up to finally finish my kitchen.

Well thanks! You made my day :):)

Perimeter is Silestone. Which cracked a month in from thermal shock (crock pot). I really wish I'd gone with Corian, to be honest.

Do the wood! Our top is actually quartersawn white oak. Waterlox the mess out of it, and you'll be golden. Why's he so opposed??

His mother must have hated wood also. She covered all the hardwood in the house with carpet. Almost 25 years of marriage and I haven't broken him of that. I usually get my way with almost everything as long as it isn't wood. He thinks it can be damaged too easily. He really gets upset when any of the floors or furniture gets scratched. Two kids and two dogs later we have lots of scratches.

I could probably get my way this time also, but I can't live with the crankiness when he notices damage. Cranky husband is worse than cranky wife. At least I think so.

So I have to ask. What color are your walls?

Also I have to give my husband credit. I did get a 48 inch range and a 240 advantium oven out of him. But he loves to cook so it was a fairly easy sell.

Here are mine before breakfast....

Here are mine IRL, breakfast in progress...

Not a bad deal! But keep working on him ;) Walls are SW Crushed Ice

Love the window seat Rebecca! I can imagine kiddos hanging out there while you cook.

ascorsonelli, where did you buy your island wood top? did you DIY? I love it!

Thanks! Ray with Texas Woodworks made it. He's based in Magnolia. Check out his Houzz page! I can sing only praises for him and his craftsmanship.

http://www.houzz.com/pro/texaswoodworks/texas-woodworks

Here are ours. We just did tiny ones because I don't love clutter and most of our stuff doesn't match. It's super handy for our most used oils and salt/pepper. I'll be honest and say that we recently hired a cleaner so the bottom shelf stays clean now which is a huge novelty. I used to have to wipe it down every few weeks. Not bad given how small it is but would be annoying if they were big. Our house gets dusty really easily especially if windows are open at all.

We only have one small shelf (my wife is not a fan). Staged, yes, but I'm obsessive about keeping it that way. These our are daily mugs and wine glasses, so they are used all of the time.

Have to say that I love all these shelves. I can only hope that mine look that good on a daily basis. I had no idea how much dog hair was on my floor until I changed from light to dark hardwoods. Wow it is a wonder that my dogs still have fur. Each time I vacuum I swear I just vacuumed up a whole dog. Hopefully it will stay on the floor and not get into my shelves.

Thanks everyone for pictures

rebeccamomof123, thank you for posting your IRL pictures! They made me smile so much.

I remember when I'd zip around tidying the house if I knew a visitor was coming and one of my sons commented, "Mom, you live a life of deception." to which I retorted, "It's not a deception to have it look like what I want it to look like."

Now that the kids are almost grown, the house is orderly and I MISS those days!!! I want a time rewind!

I agree with those above who have said that there is a place for everything on our shelves. My shelves stay cleaner and more organized than my old cabinets ever did in our old house. And, my husband and four children put things exactly where they go overtime without any nagging from me!

This photo was taken this morning before I've emptied the dishwasher or cleaned up after my kids and husband left for the day. We use all of the items on the bottom shelf everyday. The items on the upper two shelves do get used but less frequently.

This is shelf is where we keep our glasses and cups, although there are more cups (those that aren't very pretty) in the drawer below this cabinet. These are all used on a daily basis as are the creamers on the top shelf.

I know you didn't ask for plate racks, but I find that this is really useful as well. We've been in this house for almost a year and I'm so glad I went with open shelving and the plate rack. I'm not sure I would ever go back to having upper cabinets or lower for that matter, I also love my drawers!

barncatz that photo intrigues me, do you have more pics of your kitchen?

Like Corie Hall I have open shelves with multicolored Fiestaware. I love seeing the Fiesta, but the shelves are never clean or uncluttered. Sigh.

Here are ours unstaged. We use the toaster oven every day, and the poutine bowls just for, well, poutine :) so a few times a year so the top shelf doesn't really get used.