Sage Green Farmhouse Kitchen with Open Oak Shelves

Open shelves look collected rather than crowded when almost everything on them is one color. White ironstone against sage green walls gives this farmhouse kitchen a soft two-tone rhythm, and the oak boards add warmth between the two. Stack plates in piles of six to eight, stand a pitcher at each end of a shelf to frame the stacks, and keep one small crock of utensils for everyday use. A single trailing plant breaks up the hard edges. Leave the bottom shelf about eighteen inches above the counter so there is room to work, and resist filling every gap, because empty space is what reads as calm.