i dont think you have enough space to do a useful shelf below the cabinet without either sacrificing counter usage (or just having not too tall items.)

but barnwood: you do need to be able to clean it easily and completely, not sure how barny the wood you have in mind is.

open shelves in general, are not nearly so bad as a lot of people think *if* they are not adjacent to the cooktop. i dust mine down every other month, they've never needed it more often than that.

you might consider having a full sized cabinet without doors, thats what i have in this section of my kitchen, the doors can go back on if it doesnt work out for you:

Sounds like 1 vote for white then! ;)

(I'm not getting a different cabinet, or removing that one... this is the last step in this reno and I'm kind of over it at this point, and over budget) ;/

Looks great, but I am sticking with what I have. I was thinking of turning the corner to get a little more length out of the shelf. Here's a pic of similar ones from the guy I am buying from. and here's the link. Barnwood floating shelf

here's the thing, corner wise.... you wont get that much more space turning the corner... and imagine how it will look with part under the cabinet and part sticking out....your cabinet doesnt turn the corner, and i think it would look awkward.

anyway, don't put it lower than your other cabinets, generally 18" off the counter.

and you might consider taking the doors off your cabinet, adding the shelf below. just throwing that out there.

I'm not a pro but I actually like your barnwood idea since it looks like it would coordinate with your wood countertop, if I'm seeing that right? I don't think I'd go around the corner though. I think it might look odd extending farther than your cabinet does.

i agree probably won't look great turning corner. ok under cabinet only. or remove cabinet and do the whole corner in those shelves,

I think the barnwood would look fine, wouldn't go around corner. If you have to clean, you have to clean, not that big an area to do

The counters are actually laminate "Old Mill Oak" by Wilsonart. I think I'll try the barn wood. If I don't like it, I can reuse it somewhere else in the house. Thanks for the responses!!!! Big help!

I vote barn wood too!

Barn wood - under cabinet only.

How about removing the cabinet totally and then putting it over the fridge? That will incorporate the fridge into the kitchen, instead of it being on that wall alone. You will then have a completely open area for shelves at a height that will look right and won't be under a cabinet.

great idea!!!

Yes NancyD! The cabinet looks like the exact size that would go above the fridge. Then you've got more room for open shelving on that wall; White or Barn-wood. And technically, you would gain storage space that way. Plus it would look better visually.

Hmmmm... great idea! But creates more work darn it! :)

That's brilliant Nancy! Kevin it will be worth the work!! :)

Well... The bummer is... That cabinet is too wide for that wall. So moving it isn't an option. :/

I like the barn wood idea. Here's my stipulation: if you have something in mind to put there, go ahead and custom-fit it to whatever you want to store on it. Don't just float the shelf and then try to find something to fit. If you want it to look custom, then you'll need to make it bespoke.

I would suggest that you tie in the barn wood somewhere else in the kitchen, as well. What about doing it as a valance over the window? Something like this:

Now, Kevin, you're doing this as a DIY project which I greatly admire. How about this: you take the too-wide cabinet and remove the door on the left side, trim off the excess so it fits the space above the fridge, and use the open side to store cookbooks, for example.

I'll bet you could finagle that cabinet somehow!

Ha ha... This shelf was supposed to be the FINAL thing! (Along with a tile back splash) I just refinished those cabinets last spring (originals from 1955). I think I'm going to stick with what I have for now, and do a single barnwood shelf below the existing cabinet. I like the idea of new cabinets above the fridge though, so I may just find some that fit the space and put them in at some point.

Here's a before pic, if anyone is interested

It might look cleaner to remove the cabinet there altogether and put one shelf or many. Refer to our designs below for visual help.

Great idea!

Kevin, thank you for sharing! The remodel looks great and thank you for using Wilsonart!!!

Kevin, I love the wall color and am wondering the color/brand?
I've looked at so many greens for an accent wall I'm painting in my kitchen and really love the way this looks.

Thanks... I picked it out after about 16 different sample shades of greenish/gray.... It is 'Heavy Hammock' OL173 by Olympic, but I found the swatch at Lowe's. HD couldn't make it, but Lowe's did. I got in in the Valspar Premium. A single coat did the trick really well!

The problem with barn wood is....it is barn wood. A lot of people are having a lot of problems with bugs, etc. from using reclaimed wood. If you use it, you will need to seal it well.

Can you remove the cabinet and put a longer cabinet there?