I would have your bench top supplier cut a thin batten of timber in the same 40mm thickness, and fix this as a front to a white melamine shelf. For a couple of reasons. Melamine is easiest to keep clean, whereas a varnish or oiled timber will require constant maintenance and resealing if it is used often, it will discolour and even with the sealant it does not like moisture, being natural, all timbers expand and contract in temp changes. Melamine is stable, and won't be seen from the viewpoint, and the timber front will make it look more substantial. Secondly, this thickness will be necessary to avoid shelf deflection, where lengths over 900mm will commonly sag under weight. Reinforcing your shelf with timber battens will avoid this, and the timber edge strip again hides it. If all this seems a little too hard, just invest in solid timber shelves of around 40mm, but have the tops laminated.

petapea Thank you so much for the comments and research... I have thought long and hard about this .. for days! You know what I agree with you.. Shelving without any bits and bobs on it, above a window looks great, but I have visited a few homes with shelving (without windows) that is actually lived in and not a display home and it does look busy, and cluttered. I have decided to go a polytec black wenge, full height cabinets to the ceiling, sophisticated , warm, and clean. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. There I have jumped over to the dark side.

I think they look beautiful. You'll need to think about placement so they are not located where your grandson might be tempted to climb up to reach them or even try to climb them, but so they don't look wrongly proportioned for the space. I think shelves are a great idea for photos as you can change them around without all the hassle of measuring and redoing wall hooks, although I have to say I also love a well designed photo wall. Are you wanting to combine photos and other display objects on the same shelf or use specifically photo ledges with a groove for the frames? In the walk-in robe I'd guess you might have various possible solutions apart from floating shelves? dreamer is right, proper installation is the key. You need good quality shelves attached to studs. I've seen shelves advertised as suitable for attaching to the sheeting but with the proviso that they have less weight capacity. I'd go for attaching to the studs, which means finding them and hoping they are in a position which suits what you want to do. Which is why floating shelves are still on my 'to do' list.

After recently completing a large kitchen ourselves from scratch my advice is this - DONT SETTLE! If something is niggling you stay on it. With all the myriad of cabinet sizes now available there will be a solution to fit your space. Don’t be rushed into settling. Just because your kitchen designer is a ‘professional’ does not mean he knows better then you how you will use your kitchen. It’s YOUR kitchen after all and you will be the one cooking in it for many years to come when he is long gone. Your instincts are right - cluttering up a window is always a bad idea. A centred tap looks better and more regal.