Take a look at the plastic trough style planters. These can often be found at big box store garden centers for cheap (2-8 dollars). Sometimes they are even self watering containers. They should fit really well without breaking the bank. As for weight, water is the main factor. It's approx 8lbs per gallon. A plastic trough and dry potting mix probably don't weigh more than a pound or two, but wet can get heavy. I am thinking of a 6" wide by 6" deep by 30" long self watering container I have and when filled including the 1 gallon it holds in the reservoir I don't think it is more than 15 pounds or so. I think your 150lb limit per shelf would be fine.

Wow, thank you, everyone, for your kind and encouraging words. Having spent countless hours, taking notes from this site (even when I knew some things were impossible to achieve in this kitchen) and quietly admiring all of your beautiful kitchens, from the big, jaw-dropping ones to the smaller, but oh so lovingly personalized ones, it means a lot to me and my SO that so many of you like what we've done so far. As newbies to all of this, we questioned every single small decision we made, and then questioned it some more, never quite sure if we made the right choice--especially going with practically the same color floor and cabinets--so it's great to get some positive feedback. Except the soffit. We never questioned that decision. We knew those had to vamoose! You should see the ones we took out of the bathrooms! EEEeeeeek! Anyways, thank you so much!

Hi Juno - from what I've learned, it really depends on how big the shelf needs to be and how much weight you'll be putting on it. If its just a few tchotchkes then you should be fine with an "off the shelf" shelf and mounting hardware. There are quite a few places that sell these kinds of shelves, link below. You can also build the shelves yourself with a little elbow grease - google "torsion box shelves" for instructions. That seems to be the popular choice and would give you a lightweight alternative. Also look up "french cleat" for mounting hardware - that also seems to be a popular way to attach them. If you do decide to go with solid wood, that Hafele hardware at the top of the page is for solid shelves and would provide the invisible support you're probably looking for. They have an option for masonry installation and it looks like they come with pretty detailed instructions. We're going to have to DIY the hardware for ours because our shelves will be so deep and long and I want triple assurance the things won't pull off the wall when I load them up. I placed an order yesterday with a local saw mill - they're going to give us ripped and planed boards to glue together ourselves, and then we'll take them back so they can plane them again to the correct thickness and clean up the ends. I'll sand and stain them myself, and then according to ctycdm's instructions above we'll affix them to the walls. Hope this helps! EDIT: Also, FWIW, I calculated the weight of our longest shelf (approx 75"x12"x2") to be 32 lbs. I also found this online which gives you the approx weight of lumber depending on how dry it is... http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/green-kiln-dried-pressure-treated-lumber-weights-d_1860.html Here is a link that might be useful: Prefab shelves This post was edited by Swentastic on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 13:17

pudgybaby thanks for that photo! That set up is similar to mine and it really helps seeing the decorative corbels in that pic. I love it! I wonder how long the shelf is? You can see the whole shelf if you scroll down and I think it looks about as long as mine, a bit over 4 feet. bmorepanic thanks for the info on load and support. The shelves will hold quart sized antique canning jars filled with grains, dry beans, rice, etc. I don't plan on putting super heavy stuff up there but it's a consideration. oldhouse1 I agree on having them the same color as the cabinets. I bought the shelves through the cabinet company so they are already the color of the cabinets (BM Cloud White). The walls are Martha Steward Milk Pail diluted at the paint store to a 33% formula. But to be honest, I also have Ellen Kennon Gustavian Grey and the color is almost identical. farmhousegirl thanks for the compliment : ) I recently posted photos under the thread called "Kitchen Works Well!" Farmhousebound I love your kitchen! And your antique touches are just marvelous! What is that chrome unit hung on the left side? I've never seen one of those? Are those drawers that slide open? Thanks for all your help, everyone!