If you’re all for packing as much personality as possible onto your open shelves, then the eclectic look is your calling. Display your favourite artworks and recipe books – go big and bold with Frida Kahlo-esque prints and covers – and add sentimental pieces, such as heirloom crockery, grandma’s antique crystal glassware, and empty bottles of fizz from special occasions (or bottles yet to be opened).
Though the lack of open space in the eclectic style might seem busy to some, this doesn’t mean that the look isn’t as carefully created as any other theme. The whole colour spectrum is your playground but, to maintain a cohesive feel, choose a few strong shades that you will repeat across the shelves to keep it looking balanced and tie the accessories together. The materials you use are also key in this scheme. Keep the space feeling warm and inviting with gold and brass metal ornaments and plant pots, then bring a touch of fun to the shelves with coloured glassware including jugs, cups and vases.
Pasta sauce illustration poster, from £8.95,
Desenio
Pink granite and mango wood chopping board, £29.95, Mint & May
Brass leaf dish,
£19, Sunday Living
From colourful plates and crockery to Cava, Charlotte – founder of Jarega Interior & Designs – fills her eclectic kitchen with her favourite things
Azur wiggle stripe jug, £22.50, Oliver Bonas
Decorative brass plant
pot, £29.95 for two, Mint & May
With its pastel greys, greens and pinks, this look is an example of how you can create eclectic open shelving with a curated colour palette
Tropics teapot, £12; Tropics small melamine tray, £2; Avro dinner plate in Grey, £4; Avro dinner plate in Coral, £4; Avro mug in Grey, £3; Avro mug in Coral, £3; Stackable Coral hiball glass, £2.50; Stackable Green hiball glass, £2.50; Stackable Grey hiball glass, £2.50, all Dunelm ‘Arranging objects in odd numbers will always be more visually pleasing. I love to cluster objects in threes, whether it’s my favourite vases or my utensil pots. Open shelves are ideal for showing off cookery books and crockery, too. Stack similar-size plates and bowls together and arrange books by colour to give yourself a boost of kitchen colour therapy’ Zeena Shah, art director, stylist, author and TV presenter, on Instagram @heartzeenahome