An Alternative Solution For Open Cabinets That Adds Practical Hidden Storage

Open shelving has been all the rage for quite some time, and for good reason. It lets you display all of your favorite crockery, dishware, and knick-knacks, creating a small design moment in the kitchen. The trend has been going in and out of fashion for decades, but reemerged once again in the mid-2010s, right when farmhouse began to take off. Since then, people have gone to all sorts of lengths to recreate it in their own kitchens, including removing the doors off their cabinets and using the shelves inside as makeshift open shelving. However, if you're tired of that look, you can change it with the help of cafe curtains. 

There are so many places you can use cafe curtains, but one ingenious move is to hang them from the cabinets to help you conceal the more utilitarian or cluttered sections from sight, while still displaying your more curated sections. This allows you to have the best of both worlds. You can still have the look of the open shelving trend, but the utility of closed cabinets. And let's face it: The kitchen is a very hard-working room, and you need a place to store all of your not-so-pretty mixing bowls, measuring cups, old pots and pans, and pantry items. You can do all that behind the curtains. Here's how. 

To pull off this curtain hack, simply install a thin curtain rod on the front of your cabinet unit. This can be at the very top, or a shelf or two down from the top. It all depends on what and how you want to store your things. For example, if you want the top shelf to display your impressive glassware collection, then install the rod just underneath it. Then, you can either buy or DIY your cafe curtains. If you're able to find one in the exact measurements you need, then you can go the buying route. For example, if you have a farmhouse kitchen, consider Jinchan's Striped Linen Kitchen Curtains, which have bows tied at the top. Alternatively, if you have a minimalist style, try these KOUFALL Kitchen Curtains, which are simple, beige triple weave, without any flourishes.

If you can't find one with the measurements you need, you can simply DIY one. But don't worry, you don't have to know how to sew. Choose a fabric that fits your taste, and then cut it to the width and length you need it, adding extra inches to the length so you can make your curtain opening. Then, fold and iron two inches of the fabric, creating a crease that will mark the top of your opening. Add iron-on adhesive to the inside of the flap, and iron it once more, securing the fabric and creating an opening. Run your rod through the opening, and you have yourself a curtain!