A Custom Plate Rack In The Kitchen!
/I’ve been working hard on the peeeerfect design for our open storage plate rack in the kitchen. I’ve been picky about how I wanted it, and it isn’t quite done yet, but I love where we’re at with it.
If you’re new here, be sure to catch up on all of the kitchen renovation progress from demolition to marble countertops here.
The intended vibe for our kitchen is for it to be simple, humble, utilitarian, lived-in, historic, and to have homestead amenities. I explain more of this style and share inspiration here. I don’t want a bunch of open shelving because I feel like it ends up creating surfaces that then require unnecessary things like art and plants and bowls that aren’t ever used. It sometimes becomes too much decor and not enough everyday items. Yet, there’s something so nice about having everything we use frequently at arm’s reach, and I like seeing useful items to make the kitchen feel more like a lived-in humble space. Ya know what I mean? So, enter the plate rack! The perfectly utilitarian open storage system that instantly adds charm and functionality.
For a refresher on the layout of the kitchen, click here where you can see the spot for the plate rack. Note my previous renderings included open shelving by the range, but I’ve since vetoed those and will do art instead.
I found a lot of inspiration for plate racks of all different styles and functionality. You can take a look at them all on my Pinterest board here.
I ultimately borrowed a bunch of elements from several of the plate racks to sketch out the design above. Spoiler, I ended up changing the design entirely - read along!
Side note: The paper I’m using is a notepad leftover from my days of studying abroad in France, and every time I use it, I remember how much I love it. The narrow horizontal lines paired with the vertical lines make for a great gridded sketchbook as well as a lined notepad. You can get your hands on this type of notebook here. And you can get a set of enneagram pencils here.
A common design for plate racks is to have vertical dowels in the front of the unit that hold up each plate (as seen in Lauren’s kitchen here) but I wanted something a bit different. The dowels provide so much charm, but they limit the storage if I decide later I’d rather have my glasses where the plates are. And I’m far too indecisive to commit to where I forever want to store my plates.
So, I shifted the design to include slats on the bottom that could hold up the plates, but could also create a level surface for bowls and glasses (see the mock-up above). I also liked that I could even use the slats to air dry dishes without them having to sit on the counter in a drying rack. I was sold and totally smitten with my design.
Then a month later, the cabinets went in and the lights were installed. Then I started second-guessing things. Ross pointed out that the top of the rack would block some of the illumination from the sconce above. Silly me, I should have realized this sooner!
So, instead of playing in software, I decided to mock up the rack using my trusty scrap cardboard and some packing tape. This way, I can visualize the scale in the room, and I can assess the shadows it will cast from the light above in real life. Never ever underestimate the power of cardboard in design!
All along the way, I was using our dinner plates and mugs as measuring tools. I know one day we’ll probably get new plates, so I did do some additional research on common sizes, but most plates/bowls/cups are roughly the same size, so I’m hopeful I future-proofed appropriately.
A hot tip for you: We only ever use salad plates. Yep, only salad plates for all of our meals. We do still have dinner plates, but only use them on the rarest occasion. I like the salad plate habit for keeping our portions a bit more reasonable and they're simply less unwieldy to carry, clean, and store. Shown above is our 9” salad plate, but I did scale the plate rack to be able to accommodate a 12” dinner plate if we ever want to size-up. Again, I’m all about future-proofing.
After 857 hours of fussing with my cardboard model, I drew the side profile on a big piece of paper - actually using an old scrap from our permitting drawings - then added all of the details and notations. I ensured it was clear where I wanted a 90-degree angle versus a curve, where I wanted the pegs mounted, where I wanted the shelves to terminate, etc. I took a ton of care to make sure that when I lifted the mug off the peg it didn’t hit the underside of the rack, yet also had enough of an apron that it felt like it wasn’t too low. I definitely got caught up in the specifics, and I’m really glad I did because I strongly believe good design is all in the details.
For your reference, I’ve included the dimensions that I sent to the custom plate rack maker. While I spent a lot of time measuring the details, I did leave some measurement specifics open for the builder (as noted by my “rough” dimensions above). I did so because I didn’t want him compromising on one dimension because I was a stickler about another dimension that shifted once he added support pieces.
He kindly sent me the pegs to install since he knew there could be variation in what I wanted, so I installed those myself. Well, I installed 4 of the 6. I stopped because I want to drill through one into a stud when I do my final install, which I’m not ready to do just yet. (I’m also going to countersink the top screws, too, so don’t mind those either.)
What’s next, you ask?
Well, I’d like to give the plate rack some uumph. I think I want to paint/stain it a dark green hue? I’m open to a lot of colors, so I may change my mind, but I do want it to have a more dramatic look rather than the pretty, soft look of the raw wood.
I purchased my plate rack in pine because it’s cheaper. The lumber costs are lower, and it’s lighter weight than dense woods so shipping is cheaper, too. I initially asked him to make it in white oak in case I didn’t want to paint it, but ultimately decided to save on costs. My friend Cathy of The Grit and Polish on the other hand ordered hers in white oak, which I’m sure will be stunning! She and I ordered our own custom-designed plate racks from the same Etsy seller because I had such a great experience with the guy I found. And friends don’t let friends miss out on great deals on custom plate racks!
Here’s a good view of the slatted system. Initially, I wanted it to be slatted from a solid piece of wood, but then I shifted to dowels, and I’m really pleased with the adjustment. It’s so much softer and fits the curves of the side profile nicely. I also had the builder add dowels on the backside, too. I thought it would help support the plates, but they don’t need to hook into the backside dowels at all - and admittedly, with the extra support he added in the back, my little salad plates don’t reach the back anyway.
You can see here how versatile this slotted system is because I can move the plates to the top rack, or stack them on the left of the lower shelf, or I could pull them all together. I’m able to move the glasses around and modify the storage as I see fit. I’ve already been making adjustments actually! When I first mounted the plate rack many months ago, I put our wine glasses on the top. But since becoming pregnant, I replaced them with more bowls (you know, for ice cream). One day we can put sippy cups up there, too.
One of my goals with the design was to allow us to air-dry dishware as well. I don’t mean that we would put sopping wet dishes up there to swell the wood and damage the wall, but rather dry items that aren’t quite bone dry. Think a plate that’s still steamy from the dishwasher, or the washed Ziploc bag that seemingly takes 58 hours to completely dry, or the Pyrex lids that have water in the crease after coming out of the wash. I imagined the plate rack as an opportunity to reduce the clutter of drying dishes on the counter. In truth, we haven’t used it for drying any dishes other than the ones that we store there on the daily - just because it’s so full with the mugs, cups, and plates.
The truly best part of this plate rack is the placement. It’s directly above the dishwasher and above the silverware drawer, the overflow plate drawer, and the Pyrex storage drawer. We’re able to unload an entire load of dishes without moving from this spot because (almost) everything gets stored on the wall or in those drawers. Yes, we do wash other things that require stepping to the other side of the kitchen, but almost all of the dishes are right here. Don’t think this was an accident - I definitely planned this!
Want to order a custom-hand-made plate rack for yourself? You can reach out to Dennis right here. He also has pre-fab plate racks so you don’t need to laboriously plan a custom one as I did! Note that Dennis doesn’t know anything about my blog (or that I referred fellow blogger Cathy!) so please be mindful that he could get overwhelmed if lots of you inquire with him. But feel free to tell him I sent you!
Before finding Dennis on Etsy, I planned to make my own plate rack - and I was pretty excited about the idea of it! But, all-in, I spent less than $400 on a custom plate rack made by someone that is well versed in the construction and dimensions required to make it perfectly functional. I certainly would have spent that much on lumber and extra tools and on mistakes along the way. Yes, there’s value in learning the process, but at the end of the day, I’m a very happy camper.
