Open shelving is a small act of faith. Everything is on show, so everything has to earn its place — but the reward is a wall that shifts with the light and a kitchen or bathroom that feels lived in rather than styled. Coastal linen and handmade ceramics are the two most forgiving materials you can put on a shelf, because both look better slightly imperfect. Here is how to arrange them so the result reads calm rather than cluttered.

Start with the Shelf, Not the Objects

Before you buy a single mug, look at the shelf itself. Depth matters more than most people expect: 22–25cm holds a dinner plate stood upright and a stack of bowls without looking mean, while anything deeper swallows small pieces and leaves a dusty front edge. Check where the light falls, too. A shelf beside a window will make matte glazes glow; one in a dark corner needs paler linen and lighter ceramics so it doesn't disappear entirely.

Think about what the shelf is actually for. In a working kitchen, reserve the lowest shelf for everyday bowls and mugs you can reach without stretching, and treat the eye-level shelf as the display. In a bathroom, a single row of jars and folded cloths is plenty. Deciding this first stops you filling space for the sake of it.

Build a Base of Folded Linen

Linen is the quiet workhorse of a coastal shelf. It softens hard edges, absorbs glare and gives ceramics something to sit against. Fold napkins and tea towels to a consistent width — around 20cm suits most shelves — and stack them in threes rather than singly. A stack reads as a deliberate object; one loose cloth reads as laundry.

• Mix weights: a chunky waffle weave beside a fine washed linen adds texture without adding colour.
• Keep the palette tight: oatmeal, chalk white, washed indigo, faded sage. Anything brighter will fight the ceramics.
• Roll smaller cloths into a shallow bowl or basket to break the line of stacked squares.
• Hang one short length from a rail or hook — it softens a long shelf run and gives you somewhere to dry your hands.

Resist ironing everything flat. A little relaxed creasing is the whole point.

Choose Ceramics with a Bit of Grit

Coastal ceramics do best when they look handled. Look for matte glazes, speckled stoneware, visible throwing rings, a slightly uneven rim. Those small imperfections give the eye somewhere to rest, where factory-perfect china looks cold on an open shelf.

Group in odd numbers — three, five — and vary the height within each group. A tall jug, a medium bowl and a small dish make a triangle, which is the most stable arrangement in any display. Stack bowls two or three high where the shelf is firm, and lean plates at the back against the wall, propped on a stand or resting on their rims if the shelf is deep enough.

Include one glossy piece per shelf. Against all that matte texture, a single shiny glaze is a small, welcome surprise. And if you're building a collection, buy the mug you'll actually use before the jug you won't.

Add Found Objects Sparingly

Found objects should be few and muted. One piece per shelf is usually enough: a length of driftwood, a handful of sea glass in a shallow dish, three thumb-sized pebbles, a coil of weathered rope. Keep them to grey, bone, ochre and faded blue, and let the ceramics do the talking.

A single large object — a big shell, a piece of worn timber — can hold an entire shelf on its own, and often looks better than a cluster of small things. Resist filling every gap. Fewer objects mean easier dusting and a calmer shelf.

Get the Heights and Negative Space Right

Stand back and squint. You want the shelves to read as a rhythm, not a wall of objects.

• Place the tallest piece towards one end of a shelf rather than the middle; the eye travels better along a slope than across a symmetric bump.
• Where shelves sit close together, keep tall items on the lower shelf so they don't crowd the one above.
• Leave roughly a third of each shelf empty. That emptiness is what makes the rest look chosen.
• Break your own lines. Line up a few things, then deliberately interrupt with one taller or rounder piece.

Vary heights across the whole run, too. A shelf of identical mugs at identical heights will look like a shop display rather than a home.

Living With It, and Caring for It

Nothing here is permanent. Rotate pieces every few months — move the everyday bowls up, the display jug down — and the whole wall feels new without spending a penny.

Linen should be washed at 40 degrees, dried on a line where possible and never tumble-dried if you want it to keep its body. A light press with a warm iron is fine, though the soft creases are part of the charm. Handmade ceramics are happiest washed by hand, particularly anything with a crackle glaze or an unglazed foot. Dust the shelves every few weeks, and take everything off twice a year to wipe the shelf itself.

Seasonally, go heavier in winter — more linen, deeper glazes, a candle or two — and lighter in summer, when a few shells and a single folded cloth are quite enough. The best coastal shelving looks as though it has been assembled slowly, by someone who lives near the sea rather than someone decorating for it.