We love seeing our readers' kitchen solutions for storage and organization. This photo and email from a reader named Brent was especially inspiring. He and his wife organized nearly everything in their kitchen on one wire shelving unit — read a little more about it here...
Brent says:
We have an open kitchen with very little wall space (what space we have is taken up by our spice rack and knife magnet). We have a lot of pots, pans, and kitchen equipment, and hated storing most of it in cabinets. We wanted to display all of the nice kitchen equipment we've collected over the past few years, since it was a shame to hide the Emile Henry casserole dishes and Staub dutch ovens in drawers or cabinets.
Couldn't find an elegant solution for the space that we had, so we decided to make it utilitarian by using heavy-duty wire shelving. My wife made the brilliant suggestion to hang the pots from the top rack, and everything just kind of fell into place. Overall, I was really surprised and pleased with how well it turned out
Bought the shelving unit at Costco for just a bit over $100. Had tried a cheaper version from Lowe's, and found that the shelves did not have a center rib and would sag in the middle. Also, purchased Alera shelf liners from Amazon for the bottom 4 shelves.
Here's a look at the rest of Brent's kitchen (the wire shelving is off-screen to the left).
One last comment from Brent, who says: "I'm perhaps most proud of the collection of beer glasses that my wife was gracious enough to let me put above the cabinets!"
Here are links to the products they used:
• Alera Industrial Wire Shelving 4 Shelves Black - $99.79 at Costco
• Alera Shelf Liners (4/pk) - $19.38 at Amazon
I think that the hanging pots and pans are an especially nice touch — it makes this whole unit look so neat and put together.
Do you use wire shelving like this in your kitchen or pantry? Got any good tips for making the most of it?
Related: Kitchen Spotlight: Open Storage in Small Kitchens
(Image: Brent via The Kitchn's submission form)
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I want to know where you got your wine rack that you have mounted on the wall by the shelf? I have been looking for one like that for a while.
We have a similar setup...it is a lifesaver! Ours has filled out a bit since this photo was taken, but you get the idea.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48189042@N03/5492154713/in/photostream/
Nice! My boyfriend has one of these, but doesn't really have it organized well. Can't wait to put your example into practice.
The look is definitely not for everyone, and the wire shelving certainly imparts a more "industrial" look than some people will prefer...but those suckers are awesome to the max. Mine has travelled with me for years, through 3 apartments (for now) and is no worse for the wear.
Easy to break down and travel with, sturdy, and not overwhelming in the looks department, I think these shelving units are under-appreciated.
Husband and I just completed a 1,000 mile move where we had precious little space to spare on the moving truck, and now our rack is a media cabinet/TV stand. It's not a look I would pick for a living room, but the challenge of softening the industrial vibe it gives off is kind of fun and new for me. :) If you're like us and have either a frugal spirit or just lack the ability to get something more to your liking, I would definitely give these pieces two giant thumbs ups.
@SHADDP, Oenophilia has some great ones and they're conversation pieces:
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Mounted-Wine-9-Bottle-Capacity-Black/dp/B001EMDFH8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1344533909&sr=8-7&keywords=oenophilia+wine+rack
Terrific use of this shelving! I love Metro shelves and have one in my dining room.
Just curious as to how much the extra 2 shelves cost? The link to Costco shows a unit with 4 shelves including top and bottom. The above image has 6 shelves inclusive.
I use two small ones in my kitchen in NYC, they are great and easy to clean. For one, I wanted an extra pull-out drawer/shelf, so I bought two, pilfered the shelf and gave the rest away as a still-functiong kitchen cart. (here, but tought to see the lower portion:
http://www.thekitchn.com/9-franks-21510
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I used an old drawer from a metal cabinet that I tossed, placed it on the top shelf, and now it still functions as kitchen tool storage, while giving a little wink at the past.
I have something similar in my apartment, although mine is a rubbermaid shelving set. It's handy and includes my Microwave, Toaster Oven, and Toaster. It opens a lot of counter space in the kitchen that would normally be taken over by these items. I also have 7 storage bins to hold tools, and items that don't be used often; which reminds me I need to go through the kitchen and start purging items that aren't used often ;-)
I've been trying to convince my husband to get those ones from Costco for our kitchen forever. He's still unsure.
Love how the pots and pans are hung.
this wouldn't work in my house with a toddler though :)
This is really nice (actually, the entire kitchen is very nice). But I don't think the kitchen is that small, mine is lot smaller.
I have a terrific pot rack that I got as a house warming gift at my previous house but unfortunately, I cannot use it now. The previous house had much higher ceilings (plus a beams in the kitchen so it was very easy to hang the pot rack) but my current house has fairly low ceilings (and I am 5'9"). But I can't part with the rack for sentimental reasons and so it sits in the basement.
I love how this not only looks fabulous but is functional as well. It's not always easy to combine the two. I especially like how you have hung the pots from the top shelf - just great!.
I get their catalog for my job, but ULINE has a lot of options for wire shelving: http://www.uline.com/Grp_263/Wire-Shelving
Here's another shelving unit in a kitchen like that one:
http://www.bhg.com/kitchen/storage/organization/kitchen-storage-solutions/#page=13
I LOVE my wire shelving. It has followed us through two moves, and we always find a use for it. I have had a wire desk work space, a wire sewing room, and, of course, various configurations of wire shelf storage. We've recently incorporated the use of S-hooks to hang things from wire shelves in our apartment, further expanding their use. I love your example of using them for pot storage--thanks so much for the tip!
This looks great, and I especially like the use of the shelf liners.
@SHADDP I think it is this one? I really like it as well.
http://www.wineenthusiast.com/8-bottle-stainless-steel-wall-mounted-wine-rack.asp?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=ppc&AFID=ZFRG&SRCCODE=PGGL10&gclid=CKTU4-D127ECFUff4AodpScAqw
Whoa, I have one of these and I feel like I've really been using it the wrong way. Well done!
I use this as a closet organizer in our mud room closet (holds my bulk food purchases) and I love it! It can hold ten adults with no problems and is a lot cheaper than built-ins! In this case, though, I'd get rid of that Tupperware on top, kinda kills the look a bit.
I love it.. but what do you keep in the closets?
I've had the exact same set up in my kitchen for a few years and I love it. The only con is the dust, but its worth it because I love the look and the extra cabinet space. I also have the pots hanging and white dishes stacked underneath. Love the idea of filing the lids on the top, I'm going to try that!
While we're on the subject of wine racks and wire shelving... the Container Store sells a "wine shelf" for their metro shelving units. I have one and it's great!
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/shelving/interMetroreg/components?productId=10008148
It looks very neat and tidy, but the equipment is stored so far away from the work area of the kitchen! Not only would you need to walk across the room and around furniture to retrieve a pot or strainer, but things are so packed in, they are not easily grabbed.
An inspirational idea, but with many AT photos, not exactly real life practical AND aesthetically pleasing.
I have a unit like this, but on heavy duty casters so I can move it easily - closer the where I am working, then away when not. Yours is much more well organized and looks terrific
I have a similar unit in my little kitchen too. I was given a large convection/microwave oven and had no wall to mount it on and no cabinet space so I got a floor-to-ceiling rack to put it on from precisiontools.com (at the time, cheaper than any of the other options I could find). What's great is the sizes of many of these types of racks are standardized so I was able to use accessories from the metro line at Container Store with it. I put a 30" wide mobile kitchen island under the shelving unit with drawers for pots and pans in it (hacked an Ikea kitchen base cabinet from their as-is with some casters and a butcher block top) for an additional, pull-out work surface.
Again, how did you get 2 extra shelves for this from Costco? I saw a very similar setup recently in Domino with the pots hanging from the top shelf. Have been obsessed with doing this since! With a new roomie who loves to cook we are just way too crammed into our city size kitchen. I tried a hanging pot rack and it pulled out of the wall. This is what I really want!!!!!
Agreed with the previous post - how did they get two extra shelves? Is the link above really the correct link to the shelving unit shown?
Are the pots at the top hanging from a pot rack or just another shelf?
I placed pegboard on the ends of my metro shelving to hang things on..love it I used zip ties to attach it....all of my utensils hang and also pots and pans...comes in all colors...