How Deep Should Floating Shelves Be In The Kitchen | It Depends

How Deep Can A Floating Shelf In The Kitchen Be

Floating shelves have been in trend for a long time & people who want to add a unique touch to their kitchen add open shelves for beautification.

However, you need to keep in mind some specific things like the depth of the kitchen shelves and also other factors related to it.

Throughout this article, I will discuss how deep floating shelves in the kitchen should be. Let’s start.

How Deep Can A Floating Shelf In The Kitchen Be?

The standard depth of a wall shelf like a floating kitchen shelf is between 10 and 15 inches.

However, the best way to determine the depth of your shelves is by measuring the space available in your kitchen and then choosing the right size and depth for your shelves.

Floating Kitchen Shelves Need To Be A Particular Depth

If the shelves are too deep, items will get lost in the back and it will be difficult to reach items on the back of the shelf.  If the shelves are too shallow, items will fall off the shelf. The depth of the shelf should be proportionate to the size of the items you plan to store on the shelf.

When choosing the depth of your open shelves, also consider the height of your ceiling. If you have a high ceiling, you may want to add deeper shelves so that the shelves do not look too small in the space.

Another factor to consider when choosing the depth of your shelves is the type of brackets or supports you will use. If you are using L-brackets to support your shelves, you will need to take into account the thickness of the bracket when choosing the depth of your shelf.

However, the depth of your shelves depends on your kitchen space, decorations, and your particular needs.

Floating Kitchen Shelves Need To Be A Particular Depth

Depth For Displaying Stuff

If you want to keep a dinner plate which has a size like 12”x12” then the shelf should have a depth of 16” to 18”.

For the kitchen, open shelves with a depth of 12 to 20 inches are best. 

This allows you to display items such as dinner plates, tea trays, cookbooks, and coffee-making machines, while still having enough space for a blender, salt sprayer, pepper sprayer, and even flower vase.

Depth Of Floating Kitchen Shelves For Storing Items

Coffee mugs and drinking glasses can be stored on shallower shelves, as they do not need as much depth. Shallow shelves also work well for display purposes.

A low-depth floating kitchen can have 6-10 inches if you don’t have the intention to keep big kitchen stuff or display stuff.

But they won’t be able to accommodate bigger items like dinner plates and coffee machines etc.

Kitchen Floating Shelves Dimensions

To make the fitting of the floating kitchen shelves in the following I am giving you a measurement which you can follow if your ceiling height is the standard size.

Position Of Floating Shelves On The Wall

The first row of shelves: 6″ above the counter

The second row of shelves: 18″ – 24″ above the first row

The third row of  shelves: 30″ – 36″ above the second row

Determining the depth of your open shelves is an important part of both function and design. Consider the items you plan to store on the shelves, the height of your ceilings, and the type of brackets or supports you will use when choosing the depth of your shelves.

If you plan to keep a tall thing like a blender machine or coffee machine then you can increase the distance between the second row and the third row.

The Thickness Of Floating Shelves

While focusing on the depth of the floating shelve is crucial you must ensure it has proper thickness. The experts in this field recommend a 2’’ thickness when it comes to open shelves for your kitchen. Anything more or less thick is not good for this job.

Moreover, for selecting wood types, you can choose different wood like pine wood, oak wood, maple wood, etc.

The Bottom Line

By now you have got an idea of how & why you should keep an ample amount of depth. You also know what the dimensions should be and how thick floating shelves should be.

After all, your counter height, size of the kitchen, and the thing you going to store or display determine the depth you should go for.

Hopefully, you can go for DIY floating shelves in the kitchen as you know exactly how deep they should be.

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