Last Updated on January 4, 2024
Shelf liners are a great way to keep your kitchen cabinets clean and prevent damage. But with so many different types of shelf liners available, it can be a bit overwhelming. Read on for my 7 tips to ensure you choose the best kitchen shelf liner for your lifestyle.
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My Experience
Earlier this year I did a deep clean of my wooden kitchen cabinets both inside and out. I even cleaned the knobs! My kitchen cabinets looked SO shiny and new that I wanted to make sure they stayed that way for awhile. So I pondered the pros and cons of lining the cabinet shelves.
Long story short, I decided that I didn’t want to line ALL my shelves. Call me lazy, I just didn’t have it in me. But there were a few shelves that needed to be lined.
Before we bought our house, I had lived in several apartments with old kitchen cabinets with various liners. And they were awful. One had bright orange 1970s Con-Tact paper that no matter how hard I tried, wouldn’t look clean. Or cheap non-adhesive liners that continually moved every time I stuck my hard in the drawer. UGH!
I was determined to invest in kitchen shelf liners that actually worked for my kitchen and lifestyle. But how?
How to Choose the Best Kitchen Shelf Liner
As I started shopping for shelf liners online I was amazed! There are SOOO many different types of liners! Self-adhesive, non-adhesive, various materials, and styles. Yikes!
After a lot of research I discovered these 7 features that helped me (and now you!) choose the best kitchen shelf liners.
- Stickiness
- Material
- Size
- Design
- Shelf Type
- Cleanliness
- Price
1. Stickiness
This consideration is a major one that can make you either love (or hate) your kitchen liners. Kitchen cabinet shelf liners come in either adhesive or non-adhesive options.
Adhesive
Adhesive shelf liners are commonly the most cost effective option. Most adhesive shelf liners give you more product in the roll, so it’s a great option if looking to line a lot of shelves. Second, they are highly durable and don’t shift while you are using the shelf or drawer.
However, adhesive shelf liners (also known as “peel-and-stick”) are time-consuming and frustrating to install. If you can actually install an adhesive shelf liner without having any air bubbles, I commend you!
And once they are installed, you should be prepared to live with them for a long time. It can take an act of Congress to completely remove them. That adhesive that worked so well to secure itself to the kitchen shelf or drawer and avoid slipping? It will become your nemesis in trying to remove…
Non-Adhesive
Non-adhesive shelf liners tend to be a bit thicker and more expensive than the adhesive options. And they are more versatile. The non-adhesive feature allows you to remove liners to clean up spills (some liners are machine washable!).
While non-adhesive shelf liners have a non-slip feature, shifting seems to be a common complaint among homeowners. If you do go the non-adhesive route, be sure to read customer reviews. Otherwise you risk getting annoyed removing everything on the shelf to re-adjust the liner.
Side note: I wonder if securing non-adhesive liners with some mounting putty might help? Mounting putty usually easily comes off wood and doesn’t damage it…hmmmm……
2. Material
Shelf liners come in a variety of materials, including vinyl, plastic, fabric, rubber and foam. Knowing the pros and cons of these materials will help you choose the best shelf liner for your kitchen cabinets.
Vinyl
Vinyl shelf liners run the gamut on colors and patterns and available in both adhesive and non-adhesive options. Vinyl is usually one of the cheaper options, but the self-adhesive liners are a bit of a bear to remove (and still leave residue after removal).
Plastic
Plastic shelf liners are extremely waterproof, which is perfect for those high risk areas (aka under the kitchen sink). If you tend to have a problem with a leaky pipe under the sink, you may even consider spending the extra money for one with a lip.
The downside of plastic and silicone is that they are difficult to cut, so either you do battle with a pair of sharp scissors or must hunt for pre-cut liners that match the exact dimensions of your shelves.
Fabric
Fabric shelf liners come in a wide array of colors, are commonly non-adhesive and easily trimmable. And they are sooo soft! Another pro? Fabric shelf liners can be thrown right in the wash. Downside is depending on the cloth’s weight, they do tend to shift (although you could apply mounting putty, right?).
If you do buy fabric, consider is one with a waterproof barrier underneath so that it will absorb spills and not damage the wood underneath.
Foam
These liners are perfect for protecting delicate items in drawers and shelves. Foam liners are trimmable and have a non-skid texture that won’t leave sticky on shelves when removed. Like fabric, foam is softer than vinyl and plastic. But be aware that foam usually has little holes where crumbs and water can sneak through and create a mess.
3. Size
To fully protect cabinets, shelf liners should cover the entire length and width of your shelves. Most manufacturers are savvy enough to sell shelf liner in the similar widths and/or lengths as the dimensions of standard kitchen cabinets.
However, if you have custom cabinetry or an odd shaped Lazy Susan, you might want to measure your cabinets first to ensure you pick a shelf liner that will be relatively easy to install without a significant amount of cutting and modifying. Don’t buy a roll of shelf liner that is so short that you need to piecemeal multiple parts to cover a shelf. That doesn’t sound fun!
4. Design
Shelf liners come in SO many colors and patterns!! There are some gorgeous patterns out there! This is your opportunity to add some personality to your kitchen, especially if you rent or own but can’t afford new cabinets.
And not are shelf liners eye-catchy, some kitchen cabinet shelf liners actually smell to repel bugs! (I had no idea!) How great is that??
5. Shelf Type
For wood shelves, the sky is the limit with shelf liners. But if you have wire shelves, you usually only have one choice: plastic liners. Why? Plastic liners are the most rigid so smaller objects won’t slip through.
6. Price
The most economical shelf liners are typically adhesive shelf paper and cover more area per roll. Non-adhesive shelf liners usually priced higher as well as packaged with less square footage of material. And plastic tends to be the most expensive.
Like everything in this world, price is definitely important! My advice? When trying to choose the best shelf liner, set your budget in consideration with how many shelves you want to cover, but don’t be too stingy. Installing shelf liners are comparable cheaper than having to replace damaged cabinets!
7. Cleanliness
The point of shelf liners is to keep your kitchen cabinets nice and clean, right? To create a barrier between dust, dirt, grease, and moisture from ruining your kitchen cabinets.
You need to decide how you want to clean your shelf liners. Non-adhesive options can be removed and wiped down – some can be thrown in the washing machine! Adhesive liners need to be wiped down with a sponge and warm water mixed with dish soap.
And keep in mind cleanliness and color. Personally, I find darker colors accentuates dust, so if given the choice of black or neutral, I’d go with neutral.
My Solution
As I mentioned above I decided not to line all my shelves, but just focus on the two cabinets that are at the higher risk for damage – pots and pans, and under the sink.
Based on a previous experience, I did NOT want the adhesive type. I lived in a rental apartment that had lined shelves and they were dirty, old, and hideous. I tried to remove the adhesive and it was a disaster.
For material, I was interested in vinyl, plastic or fabric (as long as it has a waterproof backing).
I loved the idea of thick plastic mats with a lip for under the kitchen sink. These mats have a lip around the edge that reportedly holds up 1.5 gallons of water! But the location of my pipe coming up right smack in the middle of the floor made that difficult. I didn’t want to wrestle with cutting plastic. And honestly, I struggled a bit with the price.
I ended up buying two foam mats that were reasonably (and similarly) priced. Quite honestly, I liked both (they match my blue kitchen) and both have favorable reviews on Amazon.
Read more about these mats here Gorilla Grip vs Drymate Under Sink Mat Review.
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