Open Shelf Install with Cascade Iron Co.

I have talked quite a bit about our kitchen design goals and how much thought went into each piece of the new space. One of those goals being to keep our new kitchen as functional and open as possible. We knew that we couldn't just add upper cabinets and call it a day. It would close in the space and make it feel smaller than it really is. We fell in love with the look of open shelving throughout the past few years and thought it would help us to really achieve the look we were going for. After looking into several open shelving techniques and products we partnered with Cascade Iron Co. for the install. 

Supplies:
8-Cascade Iron Co. 11.25" J-Brackets 
2- 2x12 Maple Boards
16-Toggle Bolts

The shelves we installed are 33" in length and required two brackets each, and each bracket requires two bolts to secure to the wall. Using a level as our guide we drew two parallel lines across the wall on each side of the window. The lower shelves are positioned 18" above the counter while the second shelf sits halfway between the first shelf and the soffit for a 17" spacing. Once the lines were drawn we used a stud finder to map out the best placement for the brackets. Given our desire of symmetry, there were unfortunately no studs to secure our brackets. While Cascade Iron Co. supplies both screws and bolts for install we went with heavy duty spring loaded hollow wall toggle bolts and spray painted the heads black to match the brackets. Each toggle bolt can support up to 70lbs and would be able to fully support the kitchen goods that would be on each shelf. The supplied bolts from Cascade Iron Co. would have done just the same but since we hit no studs and for the added peace of mind decided on using the toggle bolts.

The next step after plotting placement for each bracket and the bolts was drilling our pilot holes and beginning our install. The bracket and bolt install was seamless which can be attributed to the craftsmanship of each bracket. Throughout the process we continually checked our install with a level to ensure we were being as precise as possible given what the shelves would be holding.

The install went fairly quick and we had our shelves up in about an hour. It has been two weeks since install and we couldn't be happier with how our shelves look. I would recommend Cascade Iron Co. one hundred times over and already have plans to use their brackets again for upcoming projects.

Cascade Iron Co. provided brackets for partnership. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.