When looking at floating shelves, these are an excellent means of adding character to a space and make rooms look chicer and trendier. Since these kinds of shelves attach via an internal bracket, they can seamlessly integrate into a multitude of rooms and spaces.
No matter if you are eyeing a wall in your living room, dining room, bathroom, laundry room, kitchen or somewhere else entirely, floating shelves can make a fantastic addition to any room. However, since they are so flexible, this means that there are lots of options to explore. Therefore, floating shelf placement planning can sometimes be necessary as they might be used for storage, decoration or both.
If you are looking for ways to integrate these ledges into your home, check out these 20 floating shelf placement ideas for inspiration.
Shop Different Styles of Floating Shelves for Every Room of Your Home
Floating Shelf Placement in Entryways
Entryways are often left bare and neglected, seen as merely a transitional space. However, you can use floating shelves to keep this area cleaner and more organized or just to make it more aesthetically appealing.
Some floating shelf placement ideas for your home’s entryway include:
1. Under a Mirror
Have a mirror in your entryway, as do many people? Then purchasing floating shelves for right below it can add a good amount of aesthetic value and functionality as well. For instance, you can store a few handy little grooming supplies on the shelf such as toothpicks and tissues to make sure that everything is clear before walking out the door.
2. Near the Door
If you don’t have a mirror but still want to place a floating shelf in the entryway of your home, having one near the door can really help to make the space look and feel much nicer.
For instance, placing some small houseplants or a couple of family photos on the shelf are a great way to immediately convey a homey vibe.
3. A Shelf with Hooks
If you are looking to help organize your entryway a bit, then installing a floating shelf with hooks on the underside are a great option as these can be used to hold coats, keys, handbags, umbrellas, hats and similar accoutrements.
Floating Shelf Placement in Living Rooms
Where floating shelf placement ideas are concerned, living rooms are likely one of the common locations for people to install this kind of shelving. Part of the reason for that is that floating shelves are a great way to declutter and streamline a living room.
This can be achieved with the following strategies:
4. Behind the Couch
One of the most natural places for a floating shelf in the living room is behind the couch. With this floating shelf placement idea, you can add a multitude of different kinds of decorations to help the space come alive or store things like candles or coasters.
5. Create a Picture Gallery
If you have a big blank wall in your living room, a very tasteful way to decorate it would be with several floating shelves adorned with family photos.
Since this space is used so often, it is wise to pick out some of your favorites to display. Plus, the use of floating shelves means that you will end up putting fewer holes in your wall than if you were to hang each picture individually.
6. Build a Library
Depending on how voracious of a reader you are, you might not have enough books to justify a full-sized bookcase. In this instance, floating shelves are an excellent alternative.
Naturally, the number of shelves you install will depend on the number of books you own. Outside of that, pick up a few classy bookends and you can have a fashionable library in your living room in no time.
7. Replace the Entertainment Center
The days of wall-covering, hulking entertainment centers are long over. In the era of minimalism, framing one’s television with floating shelves is a much more suitable and sophisticated option.
Moreover, since televisions have evolved to become much thinner and more streamlined, it only makes sense to have your entertainment area follow suit.
Depending on your style, you can accomplish this in several different ways. Firstly, you can hang two to four shelves on each side of the television, which is also mounted to the wall. Alternatively, you can mount one or two shelves (depending on their size) above the television. You can also put one shelf on each side and one above and one below.
Finally, if you want to go a slightly different route, you can instead opt to get a floating entertainment center, as this is an equally classy look that provides plenty of space for Blu-rays, gaming consoles, record players and the like.
Floating Shelf Placement in Dining Rooms
While many folks opt for more traditional storage options in their dining rooms, not everyone has the space for a large cabinet. This makes floating shelves an excellent substitute.
Some ideas for utilizing floating shelves in a dining room include:
8. Storage for Table Décor
If you like to dress up your dining room table for dinner, an excellent way to make use of floating shelves in the dining room is to house table dressings such as candles and candlesticks, glasses or even small baskets with pre-rolled silverware bundles.
Alternatively, if you have any decorative plates, jugs, bowls and similar items, this floating shelf placement can be ideal for such a display.
9. House Conversation Pieces
Around the dinner table is where many wonderful conversations have taken place throughout history. However, getting them started can sometimes use a little bit of lubricant.
This means that utilizing floating shelves to display pieces of art, antiques, family heirlooms and other interesting pieces can be a fantastic means of sparking conversation.
Floating Shelf Placement in Kitchens
For many families, the kitchen is the central hub of household activity since food is something that will always bring people together. Therefore, making a kitchen as functional and aesthetically pleasing as possible is an important task. Ultimately, this means that purchasing antique hardware, floating shelves, high-style faucets and the like are all worthy upgrade considerations.
Some ways that homeowners can create a more utilitarian and charming kitchen include:
10. Build a Coffee Bar
For many, the morning doesn’t start without coffee. Therefore, coffee makers and all of their accompanying accessories (cups, sweeteners, etc.) deserve their coveted spot in the kitchen. This can easily be created with a floating shelf.
A floating shelf can be placed directly above a coffee maker (or espresso machine, if that’s your style) and used to keep all of the coffee equipment close by and handy.
11. Install Corner Shelves
Kitchen corners are typically one of two things for people:
- Completely empty
- A place used to stuff rarely used items
A great way to make kitchen corners more appealing and useful is to turn them into small storage spaces by adding triangle-shaped floating shelves. This floating shelf placement idea can turn disorganized corners into stylish little crooks. Alternatively, in the case of an empty corner, it can be used to add more character to your kitchen.
12. Create a Dish Display
One of the most popular and logical uses of floating shelves in the kitchen is to create a dish display. The fact is that many kitchens don’t have enough cabinet space to store all the pots, pans, gadgets and accessories that people own.
However, by installing floating shelves and using these to tastefully store plates, bowls, cups and the like, a considerable amount of cabinet space can be created while simultaneously infusing a kitchen with charm and character.
Moreover, you can even create more space on the shelves themselves by hanging mugs and cooking utensils on the underside.
This use of floating shelves is a fantastic technique for upgrading just about any kitchen, no matter its shape or size.
Shop Our Selection of Antique Hardware to Infuse Your Home with Vintage Charm
Floating Shelf Placement in Bedrooms
Given that bedrooms are primarily used for sleeping, they can sometimes get overlooked as far as style is concerned. However, this doesn’t mean that bedrooms shouldn’t have elegance or sophistication.
Some ways you can use floating shelves to upgrade your bedroom include:
13. Install Some Nightstands
Since floating shelves come in a wide array of sizes, you can pick up shelves that are the perfect size to use as a nightstand.
In fact, this floating shelf placement idea is extremely useful because finding the right size nightstands can sometimes be challenging if you don’t have a terribly spacious bedroom. However, fitting a small floating shelf to the left and right of a bed is a feasible option for most folks.
14. Over the Bed
Let’s say that you don’t have the space to put a shelf on either side of the bed. That’s okay because you can instead opt to place a larger floating shelf above the bed instead.
However, if you are going to go this route, it is imperative that you place the shelf high enough that you won’t hit your head.
15. Put Up Corner Shelves
Just as floating shelves can be a useful and visually interesting addition to a kitchen, so too can they serve the same purpose in a bedroom.
Therefore, installing triangle shelves or L-shaped corner shelves can be an appealing addition to any bedroom.
16. Above a Desk or Work Area
Given that many people work from home these days, lots of people have desks in their bedroom or have created a dedicated office from a spare bedroom. No matter which situation is true for you, placing a floating shelf above your desk or workspace can make the area much more appealing without taking up additional space.
Floating Shelf Placement in Bathrooms
Bathrooms are usually the smallest room in a home, which means that they have comparatively little storage space. However, floating shelves can change this situation.
That said, some bathroom-related floating shelf placement ideas include:
17. Above the Door
Maximizing the storage space in small bathrooms is essential, which means that placing a floating shelf above the door is an excellent option. This space can be used to store towels, toilet paper or just display some plants to add a bit of greenery to the space. However, if you are going to use that last tactic, it is best to know which houseplants are best for bathroom environments.
18. Near the Mirror
Having everything you need within reach is essential when getting ready in the morning. This means that having a floating shelf near your mirror to hold all of your grooming materials will help you get out the door quicker.
Additionally, this will help to keep your bathroom looking neater as you won’t have a bunch of things cluttering up your countertops.
19. Over the Toilet
A floating shelf above the toilet is a common and classy means of storing things like toilet paper or just making a bathroom look nicer with certain decorations. However, if you are going to install a shelf in this location, make sure that it is at least two feet above the tank so that you don’t hit your head.
20. In the Shower
Shower racks can often appear cheap and unappealing. Therefore, installing triangular floating shelves in the corner of the shower is a much more stylish and dignified way to hold your shampoo, conditioner and other grooming supplies.
Floating Shelf Ideas for Every Room of the House
No matter which room you are considering upgrading, these floating shelf placement ideas should be a good guide to give you the inspiration needed to significantly increase the aesthetic appeal, utility or both of the rooms in which they will live.
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