Turn The Empty Space Above Your Kitchen Cabinets Into A Storage Statement Piece

It's important to put careful thought into your kitchen cabinets, as the right kitchen cabinet choices can help your home's value, while unattractive options will make the space appear off-putting. And, once you have stylish cabinets in a material, design, and finish you like, think about the empty space above those cabinets. To fill that awkward space, why not give some of your books and cookbooks a home there? 

Kitchen cabinets are ideal spaces for storing your books without using a bookshelf, and they'll benefit from successful and thoughtful styling. Does your kitchen have an elegant look and feature only neutrals instead of bright hues? You may want to only display black, white, brown, and gray books to fit the aesthetic instead of anything too bold that could appear out-of-place.

On the other hand, if you've been dying to add more color to your kitchen, book covers with bright hues from the rainbow will bring the space to life.Also, do you want to stack the books on top of each other or stand them up and use bookends to keep them in place? Furthermore, would you rather flaunt each book's spine for variety or have the pages closest to your viewpoint for a more understated effect? All of these considerations can add to the individuality of your shelf design.

The books and cookbooks will take the space above your cabinets from cringey to charming, but don't forget to keep them clean. If you never remember to clean your books and they end up covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies, your books will lose their charm, and you'll probably be less likely to want to use them. So, be sure to use a duster to keep the books and cabinet tops clean and classy, just like you would do with a traditional bookshelf.

Also, remember to protect your books from inevitable kitchen messiness such as grease. If cooking materials tend to end up everywhere in your kitchen, you may not want to put beloved paperback novels on top of your cabinets. Instead, add hardcover books that you see more as decorations than items you plan to read every word of. 

Once you have the books ready to display in the positions you want on the space above the cabinets, consider further embellishing it. For instance, if you still have extra space next to the books, a flower in a vase will be a lovely touch. Also, do you have your own favorite recipes, menus, or cooking tips written down on slips of paper? Keep them in an attractive box or basket by the books to add to the storage statement piece.