Build More Shelves
Building or installing premade shelves from floor to ceiling is a great way to open up space in your kitchen, adding an architectural element in addition to extra storage. We broke up the space using different-length shelves. Vintage measuring cups and colored bowls you’d kept hidden can now double as decoration.
We scored mesh bags from the Container Store to create a recycling area on the bottom shelf, and bought a vertical letter organizer as a more convenient way to hold baking trays. (Thanks to the Chowhounds who gave us this tip!)
- Shelves with brackets for mounting (we used shelves from Ikea with these brackets)
- 4 wood screws or wall anchors per shelf (check with your local hardware store to find out what type of anchor works best with your wall)
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Stud finder
- Drill
- Level
Measure the wall from floor to ceiling. 
Divide the space by the number of shelves you have, and measure and mark where you want each shelf to hang. Take one bracket per shelf (say, the left-hand side), and align each one with the marks you made. Make dots where the screws of the left-hand brackets will go.
With your stud finder, check to see if there are wooden studs behind your pencil marks. If there are, you can use a simple wood screw to attach the brackets: Drill a slightly smaller hole than the size of your screw. If there is no wood (there wasn’t in our wall), install wall anchors to attach each bracket.
Attach your left-hand brackets to the wall. Temporarily slip your shelves into the brackets, and lay a level on each shelf to ensure it’s straight. Mark where the right-hand brackets need to go. Slip the shelves off again for the time being.
Drill holes for the right-hand brackets. Slip the shelves back into the left-hand brackets, then into the unmounted right-hand brackets. Screw the right-hand brackets into the wall.
Researched, written, and photographed by Lessley Anderson, Michele Foley, Chris Rochelle, and Eric Slatkin
DIY Kitchen Fixes
Class Up Your Clippings
Rather than stuffing recipes in drawers where you’ll never look at them again, or messily lodging them under magnets on the fridge, organize and display them with a homemade bulletin board that has clip-holding lines made of ribbon.
- Cork tile (as many pieces as you like; we used six in rows of two), available at most hardware stores
- Strong double-sided adhesive tape
- Ribbon
- Super Glue
- Cute push pins and clips such as these and these
- Attach the cork tiles to your fridge, wall, or door using the double-sided adhesive tape.
- String the ribbon horizontally across the tiles, and Super Glue it to the sides.
- Attach attractive clips or vintage safety pins to the ribbon for hanging recipes (think of it as a mini clothesline). Or tack up recipes with interesting push pins or t-pins.
Researched, written, and photographed by Lessley Anderson, Michele Foley, Chris Rochelle, and Eric Slatkin
Make better use of tight quarters and precious counter space by installing a small drying rack that doubles as a soap holder above your sink. Also try putting up a dishtowel rack next to the sink for easier access when washing up.
- A piece of shelf board, to fit the area above your sink
- Half of a wooden dish rack with the legs cut off, or something similar to use as a grate
- 10 escutcheon 1-inch-long brass-plated pins
- 2 wood screws or wall anchors (check with your local hardware store to find out what type of anchor works best with your wall)
- Two brackets for mounting the shelf
- 6 1/4-inch wood screws plus 4 more for the towel rack
- Towel rack (we used this one from Ikea)
- Krylon spray paint in your choice of color
- Measuring tape
- Handsaw
- Pencil
- Drill
- Electric jigsaw
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Hammer
- Level
- Stud finder
- Measure the area above your sink where you want your drying rack to go. Buy a piece of shelf board from your local hardware store, and use a handsaw to cut the board to fit the space.
- For the wooden grate, we took apart a standard wood drying rack and hacked off the legs with a handsaw. You could also build your own grate.
- Center the drainage grate on the shelf board. Use a pencil to trace around the grate.
- Using a 1/2-inch drill bit, drill holes inside all four corners of your traced rectangle. Then cut from drill hole to drill hole with a jigsaw.
- Sand all surfaces of the board, then apply four coats of spray paint, allowing to dry for approximately 10 minutes between each coat. (You may also paint the grate. We left ours natural.)
Insert the grate in the cut-out board, flush with the top surface of the board. Using five brass pins per side of the grate, nail the grate into the board.
Screw the brackets onto the shelf using six 1/4-inch wood screws, three per side of the shelf. 
Position the shelf on the wall evenly using a level. With a pencil, mark where the screws will need to go to affix the brackets.
Using a stud finder, first make sure there are studs behind where you want to drill. If there are, use a simple wood screw to attach the brackets: Drill a slightly smaller hole than the size of your screw. If there aren’t, install wall anchors. Mount the brackets.
Screw the towel rack into the adjacent wall, and hang attractive dishtowels.
Researched, written, and photographed by Lessley Anderson, Michele Foley, Chris Rochelle, and Eric Slatkin
Dishtowels, potholders, and aprons stuck in drawers become ornamental elements when hung on a homemade rack with funky, colorful knobs.
- A piece of wood (ours was 35 inches long by 2 inches deep and wide)
- 2 wood plugs
- 2 wood screws or wall anchors (check with your local hardware store to find out what type of anchor works best with your wall)
- Mismatched, colorful knobs with long enough bolts to go through your piece of wood (we found ones we liked at Anthropologie)
- Wood stain (any color you like)
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Rag for staining
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Hacksaw
- Drill
- Level
- Stud finder
- Sand and then stain your piece of wood.
- Measure and mark with a pencil where you want your knobs to go on the wood.
- With a hacksaw, cut off the length of the bolts so they’re flush with or a little shorter than the depth of the wood.
- Drill holes in the wood to insert the knob bolts using the appropriately sized drill bit. We used a 3/8-inch drill bit for our Anthropologie knob bolts.
- On the back of the board, where you’re going to screw on the nuts for the bolts, drill wider holes a 1/4 inch deep inside the original holes for the knob bolts, to inset the nuts. These holes should be three times larger than your original holes. (We used a 3/4-inch drill bit.)
- Attach your knobs and screw on the nuts.
- To mount the board, drill one hole through the board on the right side, and one through the left side, using a 3/8-inch drill bit. Just like you did on the back of the board, inset a larger hole a 1/4 inch deep, on the top surface this time (which you’ll cover with a wood plug so the hole isn’t visible from the front). We used a 3/4-inch drill bit for the inset holes.
- Measure where you want your board on the wall, using a level to make sure it’s even. Mark where the two holes in the wood are.
- Using a stud finder, first make sure there are studs behind where you want to drill. If there are, you can use simple wood screws to attach the board: Drill a slightly smaller hole than the size of your screw. If there aren’t, install wall anchors.
- Mount the piece of wood.
Insert the wood plugs by simply pushing them into the inset holes on the front surface of the board.
Pegboard, a hole-filled particleboard typically used in garages to hang tools, can be just as useful for dangling kitchen items. Pots, utensils, and even jars of spices can be attached to hooks so they don’t fill up limited drawer space. It doesn’t look like it came from a garage if you paint the board to match your décor.
- Pegboard (as many sheets as you want for your potholder area; it usually comes in standard 3-by-4-foot sizes that can be found at most hardware stores)
- 6 1/2-inch nylon spacers per each 3-by-4-foot pegboard
- 6 wood screws or wall anchors per each 3-by-4-foot pegboard (check with your local hardware store to find out what type of anchor works best with your wall)
- Spray-paint primer
- Paint of your color choice
- Hooks for hanging pots and utensils on the pegboard
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Paintbrush or roller
- Level
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Stud finder
- Drill
- Sand, prime, and paint the pegboard to match your kitchen.
- Hold each piece up to the wall where you want it, using a level to make sure it’s even and a measuring tape to make sure it’s centered.
- Using a pencil, mark each corner hole of each 3-by-4-foot piece of pegboard on the wall, as well as holes in the middle of each side.
- Using a stud finder, first make sure there are studs behind where you want to drill. If there are, you can use simple wood screws to attach the pegboard: Drill a slightly smaller hole than the size of your screw. If there aren’t, install wall anchors.
- Mount the pegboard, sliding the nylon spacers onto the screws between the wall and the pegboard.
- Attach hooks to the pegboard, and hang your pots and utensils.
Researched, written, and photographed by Lessley Anderson, Michele Foley, Chris Rochelle, and Eric Slatkin