Time to shelf this idea
Dear Sam: I don’t know if you answer small dilemmas. I am a foodie and an amateur chef. My kitchen is a mess of cookbooks. I know I should keep them in the cabinet, but when I can’t see them, I don’t use them. They always end up on the counter, table and dining chairs. Ideas, please?
Naomi
Dear Naomi: No problem is too small. I used to work with a decorating editor who called small problems “serenity busters.” Truly, it’s the small problems like a leaky faucet ( I’m listening to mine drip) that will drive you bananas. My first suggestion seems elementary, but in my magazine styling days I went to many a house where a messy collection of cookbooks just needed to be stacked neatly. An easy- to- access cookbook collection needs room, so put away any appliances that you are not using daily. You don’t really need 24- 7 access to the bread maker. Once you’ve made some counter space, stand all the books that you reference most straight up and secure them with a bookend. A utensil crock makes for a great bookend. If you want to go really Martha Stewart, wrap all the grungy or softcover books in paper and label the spines. Brown parcel paper or even chopped up paper grocery bags will give you a homey look. Another solution is to buy a kid’s book rack where the books face forward. If you have the space, hang one large rack, or three vertically on a narrow wall; you’ll have access to your books, and wall art to boot. Any books that you display should be in good shape, otherwise you’ll have, well, a wall of dirty books on display. A bigger and perhaps the best solution, however, is a cookbook shelf. I stumbled upon this idea while reading Lindsay Stephenson’s Little House Blog ( aubreyandlindsay. blogspot. ca). Stephenson’s fabulous kitchen features a cookbook shelf above the sink. If you have a kitchen from a bigbox store where you can alter the bank of cabinets above the sink, or you’re starting from scratch with a kitchen reno, a cookbook shelf is practical and pretty. “Cookbooks on display remind me of family and give our kitchen a pop of colour,” Stephenson says. On the practical side, she likes having books at “eye level where you can easily find a cookbook to grab a recipe.” A bookshelf also provides a visual break from the wall of cabinetry so that it doesn’t feel like a kitchen showroom. These days, so many of our kitchens are part of a great room or open- concept plan. Books and accessories will integrate your kitchen with your living space. So keep those books out of the cabinets, but maybe not on the chairs.
Sam
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