this is one of my favorite blogs! seeing a normal couple update their entire house makes me think i can do most of it too! the kitchen is one of their best rooms. from wood panneling to bright and happy! (clara is a cutie too)

Yes I love this blog and their open shelves are pretty cool!

I've been reading their blog for years and love it, yet I'm so disappointed in this kitchen! The open shelves would have been so appealing to me if they were floating shelves, no brackets. To me, the brackets just look really clunky. I'm hoping they repaint that 'grellow' color too, which to me is just too cold against the silvery gray tile. It'll be interesting to see how this space in their house evolves.

I've been an avid reader of YHL for years and I, too, am pretty disappointed in this kitchen.

The chunky brackets make the shelves look and feel so heavy and weighed down. Especially since there is so much space between the top shelf and the ceiling.

And the vent hood cover seems to be missing a certain, "je ne sais quoi"....just seems a bit unfinished (aside from crown molding missing at the top because this is obviously an in-progress photo) but I will definitely keep reading YHL to see how this kitchen turns out in the end.

I thought I was just cranky for not liking the shelf-brackets, but it turns out I'm not the only one! And although I know the photo is styled, it seems silly to put in two functional outlets and then put things in front of them.

On the other hand, if you look at the "before" photos, it's light-years better than that ickiness! And they're going to put in brown cork flooring, which should warm up the room a lot.

YHL is wonderful, and I LOVE their writing style, but I feel like their decor is a little one-note for me. However, they have since added crown molding, which definitely makes the range hood look a LOT more seamless.

I, too, was a little disappointed at the end result of the floating shelves - I think the brackets make the whole thing look really crowded and busy.

The best part of their renovations so far, IMHO, was the guest bedroom - I was thrilled to see them break out of their generic, beachy, "grellow" vibe and inject some color into the house (although the stencil they used in the office comes in at a close second - it's just so chic looking and has a wonderful texture to it that the rest of their house lacks a bit).

It's not my house, so I don't care that much. :) I'll keep reading for their wonderful tutorials and excellent explanatory powers, even if I'm a little "meh" on their design choices from time to time.

Love the gray penny tile, agree with the dislike of the brackets: they make the shelves look too heavy. And I'm sure this room will change over time, but I think the brackets will end up staying: John and Sherry drilled through the penny tile to put the brackets in, and I don't know if there's a way to fill/cover those holes if they decide to ditch the brackets.

I love YHL too. AND --- I love the brackets. I think floating shelves would be boring and a bit too cold and modern for this space. To each her own though. As long as you like *your* kitchen, all is well in the world.

Hmmm... I love the brackets! I think they add the right amount of charm, rather than keeping the whole thing more sterile and modern. I think they are doing an awesome job on their reno, and on a real world budget, too. I had my doubts about the vent hood at first, and I might've picked one of the more elaborate designs they considered and rejected, but that's a matter of personal taste and I was really surprised at how much I liked it after they got it painted and had the shelves up around it. The grellow isn't my favorite in the kitchen pics, but I have a strong feeling it's one of those things that's better in person than pictures, because I do love how it looks in their office stencil. This kitchen looks so sweet, cheerful, and functional now, and it's not even done yet--I'd be thrilled if my kitchen were half that great--I'm jealous!

I don't know what it is but I also adore their blog even though they're taste is a bit different than mine. I appreciate that they aren't professionals or expert designers so you get to see things unfold like they do in real life and they admit their mistakes/share the defeat too.

I don't mind the shelf brackets, though I think perhaps using three on the left side rather than four would have been better. The color isn't my cup of tea but I do like it for them. The only thing I don't like in their kitchen is the hardware on the cabinets, something just seems off about it.

Thanks for sharing this post though, somehow I missed the video on YHL.

Open shelves serve a purpose - you can locate and grab something easily when busy cooking. Surely it would make more sense to have frequently-used ingredients (oils, condiments) next to the stove, and not 'decorative' crockery or artfully arranged pictures and fruit? I recently cleaned on top of the cupboards next to my stove, and the amount of dust and grease was phenomenal (even though I rarely fry). If I were to redesign my kitchen, I would have cupboards that go up to the ceiling for less frequently used items, and underneath the cupboards, an open shelf for ingredients and things that would not collect dust. Kitchens need to be functional.

OK, I've had a look at the original post on YHL, and I can't believe they ripped out perfectly functional (and not at all ugly) cupboards that went all the way up to the ceiling for these shelves.

they took out the cabinets and used them to make a bar so they still have the space plus an eating area. they saved a lot by doing so

love the blog, but not this kitchen. the colors are not working for me. but that is thier personal style, so whatever works for them. I do think they improved the functionality of the kitchen quite a bit.

Glad I'm not alone.

I used to follow YHL but I was wasted so much time reading the niggly-diggly details of the how-to's I couldn't enjoy the actual results. I checked back to see the kitchen results, saw the wall treatment and those horrible shelving brackets instead of simplified floating shelves I'm now turned off the whole blog.