How 15 Cooks Organize Their Cookbooks in the Kitchen

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
updated May 3, 2023
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(Image credit: Emily Billings)

We have a lot of thoughts on how to organize cookbook collections. (See: Some Thoughts On Organizing Your Cookbook Collection.) You can go by subject, author name, book size, or even color. How you choose to store and organize your cookbooks is all about personal preference, of course, but if you need some visual inspiration, where better to look than our Kitchen Tour archives?

Here’s a quick peek at how 15 different cooks find ways to store their beloved cookbooks in the kitchen.

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Where I Cook: Abby Ruettgers of Boston’s Farm & Fable (Image credit: Cambria Bold)

Cookbook Organization in 15 Real Kitchens

  1. Abby Ruettgers of Boston’s Farm & Fable: By keeping all her cookbooks lined up on a counter, Abby has easy access to any book she wants — whenever she wants it.
  2. Hannah and Nathan’s Carriage House Kitchen: A stack of a few, frequently used books looks super casual yet purposeful at the same time.
  3. Where We Cook: Caroline and Jeffrey’s Elegant California Kitchen: A pantry is for ingredients and supplies, yes, but also for some cookbooks! This is especially true if your pantry door is see-through like this one.
  4. A Great Customizable Kitchen Cart (with Drawers!): The bottom of a kitchen cart (or even a bar cart) is a great place to store your favorite cookbooks. It’s kind of like a library cart, but in the kitchen!
  5. Brian’s Practical Logan Square Kitchen: Any available surface — like a radiator cover, as long as it doesn’t get too hot! — can be a cookbook shelf.
  6. Julie and Andy’s Bright, Happy Kitchen: A few neatly stacked books on a hutch will keep kitchen tools and gadgets from making shelves look too cluttered.
  7. Tara’s Hardworking Writer’s Kitchen: Here’s another example of a pantry-slash-library (this time set up on a shelving unit with lots of cubbies).

  8. Garden Writer Willi Galloway’s Resourceful, Reclaimed Kitchen

  9. Chef Ludo’s Magically Delicious Kitchen: Forget upper cabinets! This butler’s pantry has rows of bookshelves instead.

  10. Sophie and Iain’s Elegant Yet Family-Focused Vegetarian Kitchen: These minimalist shelves still pack a ton of useful and necessary things. We just love how books look when paired with dishes.

  11. Kimberley’s Food Blogging Haven

  12. Clara’s Sweet and Stylish Rental Kitchen

  13. Jenny & Asmund’s $4000 Renovated Kitchen & Garden

  14. Lauren Scott’s Charming Petaluma Kitchen: This little bookshelf is something you’d usually see in, say, a kid’s room, but it looks totally at home in a nook in a kitchen.
  15. Caroline and Jeffrey’s Elegant California Kitchen: One more look at a pantry-and-library combo. This brings up another point: We love a door with chicken wire!

How do you store and organize your cookbooks?

Filed in:
Cookbooks
Interior Design