A Custom Plate Rack for Poplar
THE POPLAR COTTAGE
I may be indecisive when it comes to paint colors (understatement of the year), but not so with plate racks. Early on in the planning process for the Poplar kitchen, I whipped up a design for the plate rack I was dreaming of and found an etsy craftsman to build it. Guys, I LOVE it! Like all the heart eyes, full love. Have a look…
sources: light, hardware, cabinet color: F&B Old White
Isn’t it pretty?! My friend Ashley (of The Gold Hive) referred me to Dennis, the etsy craftsman she had build her beautiful custom plate rack. Because, as Ashley wrote last week, “friends don’t let friends miss out on great deals on custom plate racks!”
And since you guys are friends too, here is Dennis’s etsy shop. He sells both pre-fab and custom plate racks. And please be mindful that both Ashley and I have shared his shop this week, so he might be overwhelmed with requests.
Ashley and I are good friends but approach design really differently. She plans out every detail and models it, while I usually keep everything in my head and take more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-approach. So it was amazing to see her design process for her new plate rack in this post. I’m in awe of her methodical and thoughtful approach! My process looked a little different…
I’ve spent a lot of years oogling plate racks, so I had an idea of what I wanted in my head. And after measuring the wall where the plate rack would go, I whipped up the design in my notebook.
I sized the height of the plate rack shelf to fit the basic IKEA dish wear we use. I also made sure the bottom shelf could fit a 3.5” wide mason jar. When I sent the design to Dennis, I also sent him this inspiration image for the curved bottom detail.
design: Kitchens & Beyond, photo: @fannyradvik and @sophiabratt
Dennis quoted me both for a paint-grade pine plate rack and a white oak one. He quoted the white oak at $500-600 + shipping and the pine at half of that. I opted for the white oak because that’s where my heart was at and because I felt like this small kitchen deserved a splurge (we are saving on stock cabinets and DIY countertops after all). And now that the kitchen is starting to come together, I’m SO glad I went for the oak!
Dennis sent a simple hanging method for the plate rack. The wood piece on the wall slants at 45-degrees and screws into the wall. The plate rack has a 45-degree slant on the back piece (slanted the opposite direction) and it sits securely on top of the wall piece. It’s a simple and elegant hanging solution.
We may still adjust the plate rack placement a bit, but we’re waiting to install the backsplash first. I’ll also be finishing it with Rubio Monocoat in Natural to match the floors when we finally get around to finishing those (I finally opted for the natural color). And I’m on the hunt for some small brass mug hanging hooks to go below the bottom shelf too, but haven’t found them yet.
Thanks for making my plate rack dreams come true, Dennis!
