[yankeelawyer]

I am thinking about installing some floating shelves, similar to the lack shelves, instead of upper cabs. So, they need to be able to support plates and such. I understand the concept of building a box (the shelf part) and attaching it to cleats. Here are my questions:

(1) Would 2 x 4s, used as cleats and lag- bolted to the studs, suffice to support the shelves?

(2) If so, what is the best way to attach the shelves invisibly to the cleats? and

(3) Is there a good way to install recessed puck lights in the shelves, without the wires showing?

Thanks!

[fisheggs]

Oooh...in your kitchen, that will look really nice. I'm thinking through the carpentry/shelf stuff I've been reading...

On the other hand - it'd be so neat if you could somehow have marble shelves to match your counters! Too heavy and difficult, I'm sure. What color scheme are you imagining for them? Would they be over near the peninsula part of your kitchen or along all the wall areas?

[yankeelawyer]

Hi,

I was thinking of putting the floating shelves to the right of the sink (towards the range end of the kichen). They would continue straight across the wall , all the way into the corner. I was also thinking of putting tall cabs that go all the way to the ceiling on either side of the range hood. The cab to the left of the hppd would intersect at a right angle with the shelves. Or, I could forego the upper cabs entirely at that end and just do shelves.

To the left of the sink, I am planning on stacked horizontal cabs, with abstrakt white doors. I really would like to incorporate some lift-stay hinges, such as those on the Varde cabs, but unfortunately the ideal spot for that option would be for stacked cabs located to the right of the sink.

My backsplash is likely to be marble, all the way up tp the underside of the upper cabs/ shelves, so I think marble shelves might not provide enough contrast. The slabs are really heavy, also, so I would be afraid they would fall and injure someone. If I end up with floating shelves, I am pretty sure they will be stained to match the floors (i.e., dark brown / ebony).

[fisheggs]

Ah, I get it. The "around the corner" version would be very unique-looking.

Most of the resources I've seen for shelves fall into these categories:

1: Build the inner brace and outer box, put a bunch of wood glue on it and slide the box onto the brace

2: Don't bother with glue, just use some finish nails to tack the shelf onto the brace. The only tensional stress is right at the top near the wall.

3: sideways french cleat: This seems to involve having pegs on the top of your inner brace, and matching l-shaped notches on the box top, so that the shelf slides onto the peg and then you tap it to the side at the end. Wouldn't work for a corner shelf very well.

4: Build the outer box with an open top, secure it to the inner brace, then pop the top onto the outer box, either with or without glue. This seems to involve shelves built with separate pieces of wood for the sides, top and bottom, where the edge of the top is hidden by the side pieces. This is a nice plan because you can use screws to attach to the brace from above and then just pop the top on. If you leave a finger hole near the back to pop it of again, the shelf is removable.

[DesignDiva]

There's an article on an Abstrakt White kitchen that the homeowner installed with custom floating shelves that wrap around corners. Details are in the article. It's exactly what you're talking about I think.

[NBeth]

We will have a floating shelf any day now, running around the inner corner to the right of our sink and above our backsplash. The shelf is shallow, meant for oils and spices--about 4.5" deep. It will sit on a cleat that's about .75" thick and about 1.25" tall. The cleat will be attached to studs with horizontal screws and the shelf will be attached to the cleat with vertical screws and glue. There's a built in lip (Pax shelf from As-is cut to size) so you won't see the screws along the back upper edge of the shelf. I don't think you'd see them much anyway since they're at the back, will sit flush, and stuff will be on top of them.

After we get all of that installed, if we're still nervous about how it's sitting, we have some L brackets we can use to "hang" the shelf from above. They may show a bit but again, there will be stuff in front so it's not a big deal. When we're done I'm going to try to take pictures--our kitchen will finally be just about "finished"!

[yankeelawyer]

Ooh, NBeth, that sounds cool. Please post pics when you get your shelf up!

Eva, I saw the kitchen in the abstrakt article (gorgeous kitchen, wow). The gentleman who did that one has the shelves wrapping outside corners, I think, on either side of the window above the sink. Mine would be making an inside corner if I do a similar style, but is essentially the same concept. I will have to double check if he mentions how he supported his shelves. I am concerned about the weight of dishes/plates, Ultimately, my shelves will probably just go straight across the wall, with a tall cabinet intersecting with them on one side. It is a little hard to explain, but I have a hard copy pic of a similar kitchen that I should try to scan and post. It is one I saw in a magazine recently, and coincidentally the kitchen is very similar to mine (same cabs, same counters; very similar floors, same appliances, and same range hood).

They had incorporated the floating shelves and I think it looked really cool. They did use wenge shelves and wenge upper cabs, but I would like to try the abstrakt (which I could always swap for NBB for a similar look to the magazine if it turns out the abstrakt combo looks bad).

I like the concept of open shelves because I think it is nice for guests to be able to see where the plates and glasses are without having to peak in cabinets and hunt around.

[kisaacs]

I like the concept of open shelves because I think it is nice for guests to be able to see where the plates and glasses are without having to peak in cabinets and hunt around.

Just a warning - this won't actually work. I thought it would too. I have precisely 1 glass cabinet in our kitchen. It houses ALL our glasses. I cannot count the number of times someone has been in my kitchen, looked around, and then asked, "Where are the glasses?" It's really pretty funny. I think when you have things out, people think they're for display rather than for using

Kristen

[Emmie9999]

YL, the concept does sound realy neat, and if it is what you want to do, then I think you can make it work. A sleek line of shelves over your cabinets would look really lovely. Kristen has an excellent point...I think some people are so used to opening doors, when there are none they cannot figure out what to do! However, if all of your dishware is out on the shelves, it won't take long for people to figure things out.

The Abstrakt kitchen that is in the article has some very specific instructions for mounting the shelves they used. The owner manufactured brackets or mounts for the shelves and installed them before the drywall went up. He then drilled holes into the IKEA butcherblock he used for shelving, so the mounts went deep into the shelves. He was using them for almost all of his dishes, and so he planned things to make sure there was enough support.

With that in mind, my biggest concern for your idea would be support. I wonder if a cleat would hold a shelf that was loaded with dishes? Your room is done, so digging into the drywall would be a huge project. However, maybe you could mount the shelves with more conventional brackets, then do a "laminated edge" of material matching the shelf so the hardware doesn't show? If done properly, it could look like a very solid piece of wood on the wall, which would be very substantial and rich looking.

[yankeelawyer]

LOL re the guests and the dishes hiding in plain sight! I am not sure my glassware is fancy enough for people to mistake it for a display (hmm, maybe I should let my husband keep those plastic mardi gras cups after all ; ), but I will report back if we do the shelves!

Emmie -- thanks for the tips re the support. That is my biggest concern, also. I was thinking of essentially building boxes that are open on the back -- each box would be one shelf. I thought for cleats maybe a 2x4, turned on its side so the 2-inch part is touching the wall, and lag-bolted to the studs with a 6-inch lag bolt, *might* work. That would be about 4 inches of wood cleat, nearly 2 inches thick, that would then slide into each "box" (shelf). The shelf could be glued and nailed. I would feel better if something were extending farther into the shelves, but I am not sure where to find something like that unless we cut our own steel rods or something and have it welded to a hanging rail-type piece that could be hidden by the box shelf. The shelf would not be very long -- it would be 52 inches wide -- and would get a little additional support on one side, where it would attach to the wall in the corner. But it would be 13 inches deep, which makes me concerned about not having support greater than a 4 inch deep cleat.

I don't have to put all my dishes on the shelves, I will still have 4 30 inch wide horizontal cabs, at a minimum, that can house tableware, and I have a 30-inch 4 drawer unit that currently does a nice job for my plates. But I would like some nice white every day dishes and a set of glasses, as well as my wine glasses, on them. Or maybe some bowls, I have some pretty ones..