It is an illusion shelf.....hello out there? It is a creative idea and a great one I believe. You can use pink braided ribbons for a little girls room. I am thinking I will use this in my bedroom bathroom and instead of a chain, I will use grosgrain ribbon with shells glued on them, along with the shells around my mirror. After all I live in FLORIDA and I think it is a great illusion idea!!!

Liberace says the only thing missing is a candelabra!

Ah, toni14, are you channeling me? ;) Not all of the ideas I see here work EXACTLY for me, but they're often a great jumping-off point for other ideas -- and when I saw this one, I immediately envisioned a nautical/beachy theme, including your suggestion of sisal rope, and hey, how about a ship's wheel mirror? And soft greens are among my favorite colors. :)

I was floored to find that this was a recommendation from the MSL staff. This is a hugely tacky, ugly, oh-my-goodness-the-worst-of-the-60s-lives project. Not in my house. Not even in my tool shed!

I am happy some people like this, but I agree with the Elvis comment. The colors are hideous and not at all like the usual "classy and quiet" Martha Stewart tones. Perhaps white with soft greens and an sisal rope instead of gold chain.

I love this, so unique and clever. Using it in my apt!

I love this, so unique and clever. Using it in my apt!

Who was the assistant on this one...Elvis? No way that is going in my house!

Who was the assistant on this one...Elvis? No way that is going in my house!

Besides which, it is very unattractive.

Come on guys - this is from Blueprint and their target market (which included me) is not the same as the one for regular old Living (which is, I guess, some of you) :)

Come on guys - this is from Blueprint and their target market (which included me) is not the same as the one for regular old Living (which is, I guess, some of you) :)

I had no idea what a plumb bob was. i have only seen it on the Sims

I love the corny and the over the top shabby shik but this is a flash back to the pole lamps of my youth, yucky, I just istalled some cool floating shelves from IKEA way contemporary and provide contrast to my eclectic mix in the room, I hate seeing any brackets on shelves except in my basement, so this was perfect for me,
come on Martha you are better than this bring back vintage classic MSL

Stringing flowers thought the chain loops sounds both tacky and lovely at the same time. I like tacky stuff. When I visited apartments in Carlsbad CA, I saw a bathroom arrangement in one of the show-bathrooms where they had strung up garlands of flowers and strings of artificial pearls. I thought the overall effect was very pretty. Others might find it over-the-top, but I am no fan of understatement.

I agree with Vjudd. Some small english ivy running through it, or some type of floral decor. It would go nicely in a little girls' princess room or perhaps in a bathroom above a garden tub. Good idea Vjudd. : )

I think it as a nice and creative idea. I don't think that I would use the bulky brass chain myself, but it is very nice.

you could thread fake roses or flowers through the chain??? could be shabby chic or tacky???

Probably just having a plain suspended shelf without the chain would look much better.

I have have to agree with most of the comments I've read on this one. Not a very pretty idea, and not something I can see Martha using in her home.

Ick. Tacky. And all the styling in the photo looks like something straight out of JR's living room.... Brass, mauve, white plastic.... I agree with Juliesong1, sleek cable system would look bette. Anything other than bulky brass..

I thought it was attractive except for the hardware you are going to see from the bottom of the shelt, but the most important part is what MIDDLEKID said. You elbow those chains and you've got a major construction repair project on your hands. It's like that table cut in half, not useful enough.

oh boy, what a mess -- come on Martha! floating shelf is one thing, but icky (and useless) chain looks like a garage sale reject

Actually, it really is $60 per yard for the chain. I just checked the link.

A really bad idea........

This looks like a disaster! Not only is it unsightly, but one errant little whack with an elbow would send everything on it flying....several times a day. If those candles were lit....I shudder to think!

to kimattb:

go toi the ikea website to see the "shelves" listed as "lake" there are about 20 in different colours as well as shapes. i have no idea where i would go to actually find $60.00 chain...i think it was probably a booboo and she meant $6.00. rachel

That would look great with either a sleek cable system instead of the chains, or some other kind of rope or silk cord, because the shelf is also supported by the brackets underneath.

This would be good out here in Calif, you can see when the Earthquakes happen. Ha Ha

I think if it was painted and maybe use something besides the chain.....that chain is nasty looking.

I did not like this when I first set eyes on it, but I have to say it is interesting. I think it is borderline tacky, but very vogue and stylish. I don't think this belongs in the home, but maybe more so a small shop or stylish clothing store? This is definitely not a normal MS piece, and I could never see her using this in her home.

Ugly!

This is beyond tacky to me! Certainly not up to Martha Steward standards!!!

Since the chain won't actually be holding up the shelf - floating shelves are designed to hold whatever is placed on them, within reason and based on the shelf specs - I think $60 per yard is a bit pricey and decorative chain is available for far less money at most hardware stores. I LOVE this idea, however, it is very striking. My mind is racing to find somewhere to put one of these in my house.

and a third time:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/10/hanging-display
-shelf.html

please add the '-shelf.html' yourself when copying
and pasting

here is link again:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/10/hanging-display-shelf.html