These Open Shelf Kitchen Designs Will Forever Silence Your Inner Hoarder

Ditch those upper cabinets! These open shelf kitchen designs will inspire your next kitchen update.

Can we be honest? Upper cabinets are the giant tombstones in a kitchen graveyard filled with unused dishes, useless appliances, and forgotten cans of food you never liked in the first place. Alright, I’m being dramatic, but I used to always find myself fishing around in those upper cabinets and wading through a bunch of stuff that I should’ve thrown away, but instead tucked away. I took the open shelf plunge over ten years ago, and it totally changed the way I relate to kitchens, grocery shopping, and cooking. Open shelves brighten up an otherwise dark kitchen. You can actually see what you use and use what you see. Nothing more. Nothing less. Still not convinced that open shelves are life? Check out these kitchens and prepare to change your mind!

Interior Design Trends to Look For in 2018

Confession: My Christmas decorations are still up and I’m toying with the idea of just turning my place into a New Jersey-style restaurant to avoid taking them down. But with so much on the horizon in the world of interior design and home decor, I’m feeling inspired. There are so many cool ideas gaining popularity that I might have to get off my a– and pack this stuff up now. I haven’t made it a secret how much I love those Scandi, mid century modern, and minimalist styles. I’ve even learned ways to spice things up a bit with a Bohemian twist. Still, the lack of bold colors present in these design trends really gets to you after a while. Seriously, who doesn’t cheer for Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Macguire when all those beautiful colors start to wash over Pleasantville? Apparently, everybody cheers because 2018 is going to be all about color! Check it out!

2018 Interior Design Trends

Maximilism

Yeah. This is becoming a thing. Mixing contrasting patterns and prints, Maximilism, marks the moving away from the mininmalist and Scandinavian design aesthetic that’s been on trend for some time now. Be honest. Haven’t you been getting a little bored scrolling through Instagram and seeing all the uniform colors and patterns? Well, Maximilism is the antidote.

Cubism

Apart from the neutral color palette that’s dominated design, form and function has been super popular. We’ve been looking at sleek and functional designs in furniture and home decor for so long that sooner or later we knew there had to be some kind of backlash. Enter Cubism. Cubism celebrates the complexity of perspective. It’s like looking at one thing from many viewpoints all at the same time in one piece. I mean, I’m no art historian, but I’m pretty sure that when Picasso finished painting the Sistine Chapel, he was so excited that he accidentally cut his ear off. You gotta respect the art coming from a dude like that. This year, expect to see a lot of colorful wall hangings that are perfectly imperfect.

Ceramic

Subway tiles have been trending for what seems like forever, but this year expect to see something moodier, darker, and more dramatic in design. Handmade, painted tiles are going to take over kitchen backsplashes, while handmade ceramics will be a prominent feature on counter tops. Also, if subway tile has taught us anything, it’s that more grout = harder to clean. This year you’ll definitely see a trend toward bigger tiles.

There are so many exciting things abuzz with design, and I promise I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you guys. Check back with me often and be sure to follow me on Pinterest.