Oh my god that's stunning! Congratulations on creating both a usable *and* beautiful addition to your kitchen!

I think baby food jars would work really well here too - and cheaper!

Very nice. I'm trying to sort out the spice situation in my kitchen; this is getting closer to what I want.

I could see mounting this on the inside of a closet or cabinet door, to keep the spices in the dark.

I use these watchmaker's cases. They come in several different sizes and are cheap.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=44948&cat=1,43326

Neodymium magnets must be really strong, no slipping or sliding on there?

@Joan A. - Fortunately / unfortunately my kitchen doesn't get a lot of natural light, so I wasn't too worried about light, but it could definitely be an issue for others.

@shel & ShibaGirl55 - Indeed, there are many alternatives to the canning jars (I just happened to get a really good deal on them..)

@ladyofshalott - Yes! They are really strong and have no problem holding the jars (which are relatively heavy).

I've seen this done with watchmaker cases, too. I plan on snagging some and doing it myself.

I love love love love it!

In my previous rental I McGuyvered a similar set up using the side of my refridgerator and small glass jars purchased from the container store. I glued magnets to the lids as well.

I also love Joan's idea of placing it on the inside of a pantry door.

I love this! I've been looking for a way to do magnetic jars on the side of the refrigerator without buying the standard tins with clear tops because I've heard from multiple sources that the lids often leak. This looks much sturdier - thanks for the great idea!

From my own experience, a piece of cloth over the top of the magnet(s) goes a long way to prevent scratches on your refrigerator. I have a pile of magnets salvaged from dead hard drives that I've repurposed for refrigerator use and they're strong enough to leave a chip if I forget to put them back _gently_.

Also: Death to unnecessary URL-shortener links!
Thank you, Kitchn, for putting _real_ URLs at the end of the article! If I can't see where it goes, I ain't clickin' on it.

I've used watchmaker's cases before and I actually didn't like them very much. They look nice but the lids don't always fit perfectly so very fine ground spices get trapped between the lid and the body of the case and end up all over the place when you open the jar. Also, they only hold an ounce or two, which is fine for seldom used spices but not nearly large enough for spices used more often like sage, tumeric etc. I've switched to using the 4oz mason jar and I'm much happier with my spice storage.

Ikea actually has a similar system with the magnetic herb boxes, it's part of the grundtal series...

I forgot to mention: the magnet is included in the herb box, so you can even stick them to the fridge...

Magnets will not hold well on stainless steel.

@dzaks What kind of glue did you use? I love the look, and may replicate it at home. Thanks!

@thesamanthafiles - I used a standard epoxy. I considered using hot glue, but did not think it would be strong enough.

@zongo - The neodymium magnets are super strong and are holding great!

@dzaks Thanks!

great project. I've been saving the back of a pantry door for something just like this.

I assume from the price listed that the neodymium magnets used were the 1/4" X 1/16" discs? I'd hate to go too thick if I don't have to.

Also, I'm just wondering if you had a discussion on labeling the bottoms as well. Depending on the viewing angle, I might just label the bottoms.

@Stone Maison I used the 1/2" X 1/8" magnets. Depending on what kind of jars you use, you might be able to get a smaller magnet.

David,

Thanks for the info... one last question. Are the lids, by chance, attracted to the magnets?

@Stone Maison - yes, there is a slight magnetic attraction to the lids, but not enough to hold the glass container on its side.

@foxpolo2o
I agree

The watchmakers cases are aluminum, which I am careful to avoid for food & edibles.

This post shows a great idea with the 4oz jars! I can keep those on a wall and my bulkier spices in the 12oz with the same diameter.

I was wondering if the watchmaker's cases are actually food safe.

Looks great, my only concern would be that spices retain their flavors so much better when not exposed to light. Although it wouldn't look nearly as pretty, opaque containers would work better from a cooking standpoint.

Great idea! Going to make one!
Here is a good source for any sheet metal, laser cutting, custom cut metal orders, plexi, wood etc. He can build just about anything from metal. Small orders o.k

www. We-fab.com

My husband-John Burgardt runs this metal fabrication shop in Santa Fe Springs/Los Angeles, Ca. He is amazing and works with artists, designers etc, Everyone goes to him because his shop is affordable and he does the job better than other fabricators. And he is just a smart,good all around no hassle guy!

This looks great and would look really good in our apartment. only thing is the back splash to our stove where i would want to put it is tile. would it be possible to drill into the tile to attach the sheet metal? if so, is there special drill/screws i need to use? thanks

randywhe, you need to find out what the wall is made of behind your tile and use hardware appropriate to that material.

great job david and david's girfriend!

Since no one else has mentioned it, the idea was published here in 2004: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43894-2004May20.html

Again, since no one else has mentioned it, you can buy very chic, already made options here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GneissSpice

this is a place I found on-line too--- i have been looking to do this for a while now

Awesome spice rack! I might just try this now.

Also, that metal rack/shelf you have above - that's from Ikea, right? I was thinking of buying this, but the website doesn't give any indication of how much weight it holds? I was hoping to store pots on top and maybe hang a few. Would it be strong enough?

Specialtybottle.com has reasonably priced, food safe containers.

I just got all my supplies in to do this but for some reason the magnets are not attracted to the metal sheet at all. If someone could help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it. I got the same piece of metal from online metal supply as noted in the article and the magnets the same. The magnets are attracted to everything else I try th with.

I solved my issue. I did not realize there are different types of stainless steel. The only SS that is magnetic is the 400 series. I accidentently purchased the 300 series.

Read post above. Your steel is not of the magnetic variety. Make sure you get the 400 series.

Hrm, either I'm blind or my post didn't actually post.
I made the one similar to the one shown above and put it behind my cabinet doors.
I LOVE IT.
http://found-a-peanut.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-new-spice-rack.html

I did this! I love it. However, the magnets that were suggested did not work for me. I ordered every size to figure out what the problem was and the magnets are just too strong that they wanted to stick to the metal which then just pulled the glue off. I did find some magnets that had a sticker back and they actually look better because they are discs that lay flat. It's finally working and I am so happy with it. It is a lot cheaper just to buy a magnetic spice rack already made but I couldn't open the lids on them so I took back and now have my homemade version which is so much nicer. Here is the website for the magnetic discs.

http://www.custommagneticspicerack.com/magneticoptions

I made one from sheet metal at Home Depot (1/2 sheet cut with metal shears for around $5) on top of masonite ($2 piece) framed by 1x2" painted poplar ($8 piece) and hung with a strong wire attached on the back like heavy gauge picture frame wire. I bought the magnetized containers on amazon.com for $9 for 6 (they have easy-to-dispense lids).
A magnetized spice rack can be made for much less than the price of the products suggested here.
Spice container link:
http://www.amazon.com/Piece-Magnetic-Spice-Rack-Decanters/dp/B001QSALF4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1274877634&sr=8-3

Why not just repurpose an old cookie sheet.

Also, do the watchmaker case lids screw on? If they only press on, they'd be a poor choice with the magnets. The magnets are so strong, they'll hold onto the lids, and you'll pull away the tin, spreading your spice all over the place as the lid comes off.

I did this on the inside of my pantry doors, but bought these containers from Container Store in stainless steel. They are magnetized on the back and hold a lot. I wrote the name of the spice with a sharpie on the plastic tops. The store also sells magnetic metal boards about 8x11" and I stuck those on the door with storng 3M double-sided stick as the base. It was SOOO easy!
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/spiceStorage?productId=10009864

Try this site for cheaper jars

http://fillmorecontainer.com/Jars/4-oz-Quilted-Crystal-Jar.htm

I love this idea! I have a magnetic knife block that I can attach to the wall (I bought it at Ikea) do you think that would be strong enough to hold the Mason jars without the magnet?

Also, for labeling it would be really cute to paint chalkboard paint on the bottom of the jars...then it would help block out light and also you can change the spice (if you wanted)...there is a great chalkboard pen that is not as messy as plain chalk.

Thanks for all the ideas!

The hand-made labels are a nice touch. I found this other step-by-step tutorial for making magnetic spice racks and it looks pretty easy. Inspired to make my own!

This looks great... love.. and you can easily modify if you need more room for spices.

The modern stainless looks great with your rugged kitchen.

What's up with all links attached to people's comments? Don't appear to be related to the comment. Spam???

@mauishopgirl, yep, they're spammers. You can report them by clicking "Flag this comment" and then selecting "spam."

OT, this is a great idea! I'm going to install something like this inside my pantry door. That will take care of the light issue. To the person (or anyone else) who is thinking about installing a DIY spice rack on their stove's backsplash, please be aware that heat is not good for the longevity of your spices. I've learned this the hard way.

This is great. I bought those little magnetic spice containers and they did not stick to my stainless steels sub-zero fridge doors-but they stuck to my stainless dish washer...where I don't want them:) I think I'll get a piece of stainless for my back splash and put them there. Thanks!

Where did you get the nice labels for these jars?

How is this stainless steel? Stainless steel isn't magnetic...??

CHEAP stainless steel is magnetic. The good stuff is not.

I made one with galvanized metal from Home Depot. A big sheet was around $5. The tins I got online with a thin magnetic base on each. I tried gluing magnet onto the base of tim I got from a website. Huge mess and hard to remove from the metal. Put a painted wooden frame around the whole thing using scrap wood. Very inexpensive and looks/works great!

... that would be "gluing magnets onto the base of tins"...

I just finished my version of this project. It wasn't cheap, but I think the results will last for a long time.
To check out photos and a shopping list visit these links:
http://dugateau.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/spicerack/
http://dugateau.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/spice-rack-operational/

I got mine here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/360301310727?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 since the ETSY ones aren't that cheap and don't even contain spices. I got 96 for the price they charge for 24. And used the link provided by the author for the magnets. Hoping the 1/8 X 1/8 magnets work since my jars are half the size. Have fun!

Hi, I made a spice rack like yours, only I did not glue the magnets - they are simply inside the jars, attached to cover - they hold and they stay in place without problems. I used 20mmx2mm magnets and 4oz jars, works even when full with heavy spices.
Unfortunately my fridge has too much paint on it, I had to mount steel on the side to attach jars.
Thanks for inspiration :)

So, found the magnets, but I do have one question, hoping someone can help. I have figured out what size to get (1/2" x 1/8"), but not what strength! I am using jars that are almost exactly like those used in this article. Some say if they are too strong the glue won't hold, but I don't want them too weak and slipping down the wall. There is anywhere from N35-N48 in this size.
I've spent hours online trying to figure out which strength. Help!

Yes these are great storage for spices. If you need s very strong magnetic bond for heavier stuff, check these out http://unusualgifts.ws/storagesmallparts/ similar concept but the can mount under a horizontal surface, such as a shelf. Just like the fridge version, and unlike others, the lid goes with the container to prevent spilling contents.

Tried making this spice rack -- followed all the recommended directions... with the neodymium magnets on the back of the 4" metal tins with clear tops, bought online. Glued magnets with the epoxy recommended, but it's now a disaster!

The batteries came off -- and they stay stuck to the metal sheet.

Anyone have any suggestions to remedy?

@Nancy S: I did not use glue at all. I just placed the magnets inside the lids. Works great!

@danniegirl13, great idea about the chalkboard paint!