This Little Trick Will Add a Bit More Storage to Your Open Shelving
Open shelving looks amazing when it’s well-curated, whether that means super-edited stacks of simple white dinnerware, or an eclectic, colorful mix that just works together. One thing that’s not amazing? The fact that you can’t exactly jam stuff onto the shelves the way you might if you had cabinet doors.
Despite what some open-shelving fanatics insist, you will almost always lose some storage space when you switch from closed-door cabinets to museum-like shelves.
If you’ve been torn on the idea of making the jump, consider this little trick that will help create a tiny bit more storage. Because every little bit helps, right?
The trick is to add under-shelf hooks, which you can find at hardware stores for just a few bucks each.
Available in a variety of styles, from industrial to glam to kitschy to bistro-ish, they’re a great way to add storage to your open shelving. They’re just simple pieces of hardware — usually featuring a single or double hook — that screw up into the bottom of your shelving.
Under-shelf hooks come in a variety of sizes, and you can use them to hang small things (like mugs, utensils, or dish towels) from the bottom side of a shelf. Mugs are our favorite idea — especially because they are usually pretty bulky to store with all those handles sticking out! If you have a shelf that’s high enough, you could even hang larger items like pots, light cutting boards, or colanders.
If you don’t find yourself dying for more storage space, you can even use these hooks to dress up a backsplash. Look how just two funky mugs complete the design of this space. Although we’re guessing you’ll want to go the opposite route and hang as many hooks as you can fit.
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Do you have open shelving? How do you maximize your storage?