ShelfGenie: High Quality Custom Shelving for your Home

What’s your favorite room in your home? For me, it is my kitchen. No surprise to anyone who knows me or follows me on social media. In my houseware world and home design adventures, I learned about a company called ShelfGenie. And they really are!  

A Genie that is. They can magically make cabinets and drawers a place of organization and not dread. I’m sure you know what I mean. You need to find an ingredient in your pantry but it looks like a deep cavern of boxes, bottles and bags. In order to find what you are looking for, you have to take everything out. Yes, everything.To give you a perspective, I live in a big city. Kitchens are not the same size as what you might find elsewhere. There is no extra space. Every inch has a purpose. Now, it doesn’t help my case much when I have been in the housewares industry and have quite the collection of wonderful pieces. I just need to find a way to organize them so I can actually use them!

In comes ShelfGenie. I reached out to my local Chicago office and met my designer. We scheduled an appointment at my home where he could see how my kitchen is set up, how I move around in it and the way I would like to improve upon its use. He also walked me through the process of working together, explaining the three phases to get to our final result. 

Phase I: ShelfGenie Design Consultation

In this stage, I provide the designer a tour of my kitchen including how I use it. While my kitchen is bright and open, there are not a lot of large storage cabinets and no official pantry. He asked me a lot of thought-provoking questions that made me consider what my steps were in working in my kitchen. Since one of my roles is as a recipe developer, I am not just cooking daily meals but also using different housewares and ingredients for research purposes. I need places to put those items.

A very interesting question was asked of me as we talked about the kitchen design. What are my “pain points”. How could ShelfGenie help me utilize my kitchen in a more efficient and effective way? This is where I was shown the vast assortment of shelving and drawer options along with an organizational discussion of where I keep cookware, pantry, storage containers and other items.

There are options to have deep drawers which work well for all but frying pans. With a lower side, the long handle is able to rest above the drawer. One of those moments you don’t even think about but instantly realize when you do a test in the sample drawer your designer will bring along to your consultation.

Another important subject for me when it comes to cookware specifically was the drawer’s ability to handle the weight of the cast iron cookware I have. I was told that they can support up to a hundred pounds. Given my years in the cookware industry and subsequent collection, this was very good to know.A couple brand facts to be aware of. ShelfGenie products are made in the United States, in Alabama, in plants owned by the brand. That’s reassuring from a quality control standpoint. They also have design offices across the country which makes it very convenient for their clients. 

Once my designer had an understanding of what my style – both living and working – was, he created a three-dimensional layout of my kitchen. Within the picture were drawers and pull outs that he recommended to improve efficiency and organize my kitchen.

While this whole kitchen design process had me beyond excited, it was my designer’s observation of one particular space in my kitchen that was the icing on the cake. I have very few drawers for silverware or gadgets in my kitchen. With my love of colorful spatulas, that meant that I used canisters on my countertops to store my rainbow collection.

The truth is, I would have really preferred to have them in a drawer so my counters were clean and spacious looking. I just never knew I had any options in my current kitchen. Until ShelfGenie’s knowledgeable design consultant suggested we put a drawer in under my cooktop where I had a faux drawer front. Amazing!  Never even knew this was a possibility. This was a very creative solution that I am loving.

ShelfGenie Design Details

There are three different design plans when it comes to the drawer style that you can choose from. Basic, Classic and Designer offer options that include variations in wood finish, mechanics and drawer materials so you can make the determination of what look matches your kitchen design.

If you are wondering how ShelfGenie is different from the big box stores, the answer is key to their success. ShelfGenie CUSTOMIZES the drawers to YOUR specific cabinet/kitchen. Your neighbor could have the same exact kitchen layout but their choice of shelving will be based on their specific needs. PLUS, they do the installation to make it seamless for you. No third party contractors are involved. 

Here are some examples of how to build a design to achieve your kitchen goals:

DIVIDERS are ideal for organizing your drawers and cabinets. They use divider clips, grooves and binning strips to arrange the space to suit the items you have. Create spaces for your cookware lids, kitchen tools or pantry items by moving the dividers as needed. 

COLOR variations are available for the shelving in natural light hardwood, natural medium hardwood, stained dark hardwood and painted white hardwood.

HEIGHT AND SHAPE of the drawers will be determined based on what you are storing. This is an example that I shared above about a fry pan handle benefiting from a lower sided drawer. You can choose from sloped sides and scoop fronts as well. Note the pantry shelves shown above to see how all of these variations work to our favor in storing and finding the items we are looking for in the cabinet. 

ShelfGenie: Premium Details

ShelfGenie is looking to exceed your expectations. This means that they don’t skimp on the mechanics and parts that make this solution outstanding for their customers.

Interlocking L-Joints are used to prevent flaking and offer a clean look and finish.

The Glide-Out shelves are able to hold up to one hundred pounds when fully extended.

The material used on the drawers themselves is called Kerwin Coating. This keeps the boxes in beautiful shape aesthetically.

The bottoms of the shelves are made out of Melamine which is both moisture and scratch resistant.

Phase II: ShelfGenie Installation

Phase two of the design process is the installation of the ShelfGenie products. That will be shared in a separate post. However, I did want to make sure to highlight what I deem to be a very important part of investing in my home with this small renovation project. The warranty offered by ShelfGenie.  

Phase III: ShelfGenie Warranty

ShelfGenie takes great pride in the quality and workmanship of every aspect of the customer’s experience with their brand. They are looking for a long term relationship with you where you share your confidence in them to your friends and family. The exact reason why their warranties are so valuable. Depending on the series you choose (Basic, Classic, or Designer), your warranty will be either THREE years on parts and installation OR a LIFETIME on parts and installation.  That is so impressive to me. 

ShelfGenie offers a free Design Consultation where you can learn what options are available to you. They will get a look at your space and what your pain points are. Then the Designer will create a three dimensional layout that offers you solutions to the goals you have for your space. There is NO CHARGE for this meeting and deliverable. It is totally worth your time to see how these experts can make your home the most organized and efficient as possible. 

For more details and to schedule a design consultation, please contact ShelfGenie. They will create a custom home solution that will exceed your expectations and put everything within reach.  

To learn about more design ideas for your home, check out this article on 30 Organizational Ideas for the Ultimate Kitchen Design. 

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