A farmhouse shelf that is well-styled can change the entire mood of the room in which it is situate. Furthermore, a well-styled farmhouse shelf have the potential to change the way in which people view the space in which that shelf is located. Farmhouse shelves are often comprised of simple wooden boards.
However, the objects that are placed upon those wooden shelves can evoke the idea that those items has been collected over many generations of the household. The best farmhouse shelves are those that dont look as if they have been decorated but instead look as if they have been lived in, they look as if they have been useful, and they look as if they are quiet and beautiful to look upon. It is more difficult than it might first appear to create such a shelf.
Consequently, many farmhouse shelves either appear bare and boring or they are overcrowded with items that have become dated very quick. The key to styling a farmhouse shelf is in the items that are selected for that shelf. Once you understand the items that will best create the feeling of a well-styled farmhouse shelf, the shelf will almost style it’s self.
The following eight items are some the best items to include on a farmhouse shelf. Each of these items bring a different texture to the shelf. Additionally, each of these items brings with it a story that can be told about that item.
Eight Best Items For Your Farmhouse Shelf
1. Old Enamelware
One of the items that can be included on a farmhouse shelf are items made of old enamelware. Such items can include enamelware pitchers, enamelware mugs, and enamelware wash basins. The speckled nature to such enamelware is a sign of its age, and it has withstood the test of time by enduring the uses to which it has been subjected on the farms for which it earned its keep.
Furthermore, you can place the enamelware at varying heights to create visual interest to the shelf. Because enamelware is one of the most useful of farmhouse shelf items, it can always be pulled from the shelf to perform its designed task of dispensing lemonade or flowers.
2. Wooden Cutting Boards
Next to consider as items for a farmhouse shelf are wooden cutting boards of varying ages and grain.
You should lean the cutting boards against the back of the shelf. This allows for the cutting action of the wooden cutting boards to be displayed, as well as the darkened areas of the cutting boards that have been subjected to the use of knives in kitchen countertops. The wooden cutting boards should be items that have been used for food preparation in the kitchen, rather than bought pristine cutting boards that might be used as décor for the shelf.
3. Old Books
Old books can be found on farmhouse shelves as well. These books should have hard covers with cloth bindings in muted colors. The cloth of the books tends to fade over time with use, as do the gold lettering on the spine.
Some books will be placed upright on the shelf, while other books will be placed on their sides on the shelf. Not only do the old books provide visual interest to the shelf, but those that enters the house can also read them. Another item that can be added to the shelf are baskets.
4. Woven Baskets
Items such as deep wire egg baskets can be placed on the bottom shelf to hold extra blankets. Smaller woven baskets can be placed on the shelf above to hold napkins. The natural fibers of the baskets provide warmth to the space, and provide warmth that wood alone cannot achieve.
The fibers could be of varying densities in the baskets. It is important for farmhouse shelves to incorporate these baskets into their décor, as they add to the idea of a lived-in, useful shelf. Baskets should always be imperfect to those that is placed upon the shelf.
5. Stoneware Crocks
Items made of stoneware crocks can also be added to a farmhouse shelf. The stoneware crocks can have a grayish-white color with cobalt blue decorations. These items can be used to hold wooden utensils, herbs, or they can be left empty.
Because these items are stoneware, they are heavy and keep the shelves from appearing too tall. Additionally, these items were created for storing lard or pickles, items that are similar in bulk to those used on farmhouse shelves. Items made of stoneware are useful and can be one of the most useful of farmhouse shelf décor items.
Use only one or two such items on the shelf; adding too many can make the shelf look like a collection of farmhouse kitchen items rather than a decorative shelf.
6. Dried Botanicals
Items made of dried botanicals can be added to a shelf. Items such as lavender, wheat, and eucalyptus can be hung from the underside of the shelf.
Such dried botanicals have muted colors that still display well with the wood and iron elements in the room. As the botanicals age, they lose their vibrancy but gain another dimension in their visual appeal. Replace the botanicals only when they begin to fall apart in dust.
7. Cast Iron Items
Items made of cast iron can also find their way to the farmhouse shelf. Items like cast iron skillets or Dutch ovens will add another dimension to the shelf décor. The cast iron items absorb the light in the room, but the cooking areas of the items may reflect the light in different manners.
Cast iron items that have been seasoned to develop a patina with time will be the most visually appealing on the shelf. In the instance that the shelf is painted, a scrap of linen should be placed underneath any cast iron items to avoid the transfer of cast iron residue to the shelf.
8. Unexpected Personal Items
Finally, one or two unexpected personal items can be added to the shelf to make the décor item feel more personal with the individuals who live in the house.
Items like a recipe card made by a grandmother or a blue glass insulator from telegraph lines of the past can be added to the shelf. These items will prevent the décor from appearing to be merely a catalogue of items for a farmhouse shelf. Furthermore, they will remind individuals of the lives that live within the house.
Use only one personal item per shelf décor item so that the personal story does not become the décor clutter within the house. When each item that is placed upon a well-decorated farmhouse shelf is filled with a quiet history of its usefulness, the shelf loses its purpose as mere decoration but begins to serve as a means of displaying the value of time, natural materials, and the lives of individuals within the home. While walking past the farmhouse shelf in the house on a Tuesday, an individual might smell the linseed oil from the wooden cutting boards, hear the enamelware items being set upon the shelf or the shelf closing in the doorway, or even notice the old book titles that appear to glow with the life within there pages.
This is, therefore, the true magic of a well-decorated farmhouse shelf. The shelf does not merely contain items; rather, the shelf contains the atmosphere of the lives that have been lived within that home. This is achieved in part through the consideration of each of the items described in this article.
