Words Hoard & Heath
Photography Galina Kolonitskaia and Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels
Small lights run among the glasses, while greenery hangs below the shelf. In Galina Kolonitskaia’s kitchen photograph, a wreath takes some of the decoration onto the wall beside them. We would use that separate patch of wall before asking the glassware to share more of its ledge.
Choose the shelf by how you use it. Take down a plate, lift a glass and put each back before choosing a place for greenery. Leave a clear approach to the objects you use every day; keep stems and cables out of the way of the glass as you lift it.
One place to lift
White jars labelled coffee, sugar and tea surround a faceted vase in Tima Miroshnichenko’s photograph. The vase repeats their pale colour, while the branches spread in a loose outline above the labels. That change of outline is enough for us; we would leave the rest of the shelf to its containers.
Try lifting each jar and removing its lid. If you have to hold a branch aside, move the vase to the end of the shelf or reduce the spread. We prefer that small gap to weaving greenery between the canisters; it leaves fewer things to disentangle when you want the sugar.
Keep the worktop working
Above the sink, a stack of white dishes shares a shelf with small lights and hanging green tips. The tap rises into the space below. Check the reach to the plates and the movement of the tap before fixing anything in this space. We would leave the sink stretch unlit and choose a separate dry place for decorative lights.
Electrical Safety First identifies water, hot surfaces and trailing cables as risks in a kitchen, and advises against touching electrical equipment with wet hands. A photograph cannot establish whether the lights are suitable for use near the sink. Follow the light maker’s instructions rather than judging a safe arrangement by its glow.
Leave heating appliances out of the decorating scheme. London Fire Brigade advises keeping toasters away from anything that could catch fire and avoiding positions under kitchen cabinets. Check the appliance’s own instructions and keep greenery and ribbon clear of the cooker and hob too.
Food Standards Scotland advises washing worktops before preparing food. Choose a display you can lift out of the way for that job. A clear piece of counter is part of the arrangement: leave somewhere the chopping board can go straight down.
