The personal, often beautiful, nature of open shelving needs no lengthy introduction – but floating shelves, (arguably) our favorite storage trend, bring this to new heights.
While floating shelves are no new phenomenon, they're continuing to appeal to celebrities and designers this 2024 – and Matthew and Camila McConaughey are among the most stylish pioneers. In their Austin home, the couple exhibits four marble floating shelves stacked with an array of bowls that tap into the rustic nature of their entire space.
Their twist on this ever-popular kitchen storage trend is one of our favorites to date (however, we do want to give an honorable mention to Cameron Diaz's shelving, which also masters this kitchen storage idea), but their style is replicable far beyond Texas.
'Open shelving opens up a whole range of possibilities for a design scheme so you can make as big a statement as you would like and even create a work of art out of your shelves,' comments Peter Erlandsson, the Co-Owner of String Furniture.
Erlandsson explains that, when designing our homes, 'we often forget the effectiveness of simply merging storage with the interior design scheme,' however some storage systems 'allow us to merge function with decoration' – and the McConaughey's is our current go-to starting point.
Peter Erlandsson is the co-owner and director of String Furniture – the Scandi-cool storage company hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. In 2020, String Furniture was awarded Furniture Supplier of the Year, but the basis of String's designs has shaped storage habits since 1949. In 1952, String shelves (now String Furniture) were ordered to decorate the newly built UN headquarters in New York City.
Plus, while we're sure the McConaughey's space is far from compact, Bo Hellberg, the CMO at String Furniture, explains that modular shelving (including floating shelves) has size-enhancing benefits in small kitchens – especially when paired with soft neutral paint hues.
'In a small home, it's great to be able to change the design once in a while. With the flexibility of modular shelving, you can achieve a completely new look whenever you like,' Hellberg begins.
'There is an age-old doctrine of using light colors on walls to make your home look bigger. This is true, and your shelves need not detract from this. Using minimal materials [you can ensure] your walls aren't totally covered.'
Floating shelves styled similarly to those in Matthew and Camila McConaughey's kitchen.
As hinted, floating shelves will continue to shape kitchen trends for 2024, but William Durrant, the owner of Herringbone, explains that we can take this look further.
'Simple storage is becoming popular in 2024. Floor-to-ceiling units and lower runs of cabinets are being designed with clever storage in mind. These, combined with the floating shelves and on-display units, look wonderful in either oak or stone with a stone splash back,' Durrant begins.
'They are beautiful, functional, and act as a lovely feature in any space. These shelves open up the kitchen and create a lovely sense of space, especially if you have high units or upper cabinetry.'
William Durrant has worked in the kitchen industry for almost a decade. After learning from powerful kitchen brands, he had a desire to manage all aspects of the design project, so he founded Herringbone Kitchens. He now owns the UK-based kitchen company, where he manages a talented creative team and creates kitchens while observing international design trends.
Shop the McConaughey-inspired edit
We can dress our shelves (floating, or not) like the McConaughey's with these finds below.
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