Hang It Up
Design: Gabrielle Blackman; Image: Michael Paul for Living Inside
You know that old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? I decided earlier this week that that had to have been said first by a frustrated resident of a house with insufficient storage. I had this stroke of genius while I was rooting around in a vast lower corner kitchen cabinet—my problem is not a lack of space, it’s a general unfamiliarity with anything that happens in my kitchen, other than where to find the wine—trying to find a specific pan. After succeeding in my quest for the cooking implement, I began to wonder if there isn’t a more convenient place to store my husband’s seemingly exhaustive collection of pots, pans and lids. Not that he asked for my help, mind you—I’m just a giver in that way. And, as with all things I wonder about, I started searching online for a solution. (By the way, Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher—who may or may not have been a frustrated resident of an ancient Greek house—originated that old saying.)
Decorative
I saw a lot of image of pots hung up against kitchen walls. These were typically shots of the kinds of items that should actually be kept out of site, often hung on ugly pegboard. Then I saw this image, which convinced me that well cared for pots and pans that fit the color scheme of your kitchen can actually look great hung from a simple rod.
Linear
Design: Bill Albright; Image: Björn Wallander
I really like the idea of open shelving throughout the kitchen—it seems so practical and efficient to me (a non-cook, remember). In this case, the cookware is hung from a plumbing pipe, which is completely in keeping with the style here.
Shelves
Design and Image: Brent
Our kitchen doesn’t have a lot of linear space that would work well for hanging pots, but we do have open wire shelving hung from one wall, which could be a great solution, much like this image shows.
Retail
Image: Aristocrator
For anyone who has an island that allows this kind of arrangement, I’m inspired by this retail example of a large industrial pot rack.
How do you store your pots and pans?
