Way back in 2013, when we started working on this kitchen of ours, we knew we wanted open shelving for our most used dishes.  And this spot right above the dishwasher was perfect, not only aesthetically, but functionally as well.  


To recap where we started in the kitchen, we moved in to this builder-grade land of oak.  I had also removed cabinet doors to give an open shelving feel.  


Then, I used gel stain to completely transform the cabinets, and we added hardware.  But, we left one of the cabinets as-is so could take it down and add open shelving.


When searching for our materials, we actually stumbled along these 48" stair treads at Home Depot and they were perfect.  And they were only $10 each!  We liked that they were already finished nicely and just needed stain, and we really liked the rounded edge. Note my much younger, pre-kids, self, here:


We gel stained them with some leftover stain we had on hand.  And I gave them a few coats of poly as well.


We also picked up three 2-packs of these brackets.  They were also about $10 each.

The installation of the shelves was actually done 100% by Matt, so he filled me in on the process.  He measured out the space and marked the center to place the brackets.  Unfortunately, because of where the studs are in our wall, he was only able to put one of the three brackets per shelf, in a stud.  For the other two brackets per shelf, he used these Toggle Straps with Screws.  He had never used them before, but said they were really easy to use.  Plus, they have a weight capacity of 80 lbs.

Once you attach the brackets to the wall, you can attach the shelves to the brackets.  Make sure you are checking that everything is level before screwing them altogether.  Since we added these, we've updated the paint, flooring, counters, and appliances.  And today, 7 years later, we still love these open shelves! They've held up so well.  I've never once had to touch up the stain, even with all the dishes being pulled down and put back constantly throughout the day.



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