You'll have to put me solidly into the "loathe" category. I think the #1 thing that I love about magazine kitchens isn't the lovely cabinetry, or the lighting, or the efficient appliances -- it's the clutter-free look. I would not purposefully plan a storage item that'd keep pots and pans out in the open.

My mom had one years ago before she remodeled her kitchen. It was medium-sized and hung above an island. Being short, I never found it all that convenient, and it was partaicularly poorly planned, being placed directly below the light fixture.

I have a friend who has a huge pot rack hanging over her smallish prep island. I'm only 5'4" and I hit my head on one of the pots EVERY time I'm there. She laughs awkwardly and says, since she's shorter, she doesn't hit her head. I want to rip the thing down.

Edited to add: Ooops, I forgot you were talking about a wall-mounted rack rather than one suspended over heads.

This post was edited by linelle on Wed, Dec 5, 12 at 18:01

FWIW
Well, I don't consider my potracks small, but you may find some ideas here.

In my remodel, which although greatly enlarging the absurdly tiny ''one butt'' kitchen in our large home, still did not provide nearly enough cabinet space, I was left with one long blank wall. I found ''bookshelf potracks'' and hung two of them high enough that they do not interfere (well, not much. We occasionally ring them like bells) with the passage along that wall.

I am sure some would find them clutter. I find them a very good solution to efficient use of the limited space I have. I have no idea where I would have put all those big copper and iron pots and skillets without these racks.

I guess I would suggest that function and form must be weighed together. You have to evaluate what you need most.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Dec 5, 12 at 22:15

Bellsmom - Your pot rack was the one I thought off. My wall is brick and quite small (just 20 inches). However it is right next to the sink and the counter underneath will have washboard or runnels, so I can wash and hang pots to dry.

btw --> I have a teeny bit of lust on the wide round copper bottom pan on the right. Looks like a french jam pan :)

I agree with Bellsmom. I find our pot rack to be an efficient use of space. I love the wall-mounted crown style. I got this with a GC we got for our wedding from Williams-Sonoma. The manufacturer is Enclume. I hang the pots and pans I use most often here. I do keep some of the ones I don't use very often in the lower cabinet.

I had that pot rackand LOVED it!! I have shiny copper pots. I did not want a ceiling mounted rack in the middle of my new kitchen, so I don't have one at all. I do have the pots under the work table, but liked them hanging better!

Nancy

Mine was to the left of my stove up high, and it was the bomb. LOVED that pot rack and cannot wait until I get a new one in my new kitchen. It is the most functional way in the world to store heavy cast-iron pots and pans (which we use almost daily).

I put a ceiling mounted pot rack in both of the previous kitchens we remodeled. One was over the refrigerator (a somewhat short refrigerator and I am 5'7" so I could reach it just fine. The other was over the kitchen sink. I loved both of them and I think they are a very efficient use of space. Even if I had tons of drawers, I would ether have my pots and pans in easy reach.

That said, I was always a bit antsy about the pots hanging right over my head. In our current rental I have the pots on a wall mounted rail system and I love that.

In our just purchased old home I intend to install a small ceiling mount pot rack over some counter space in front of windows, but not right over the sink. I am hoping this will keep me from worrying about the pots right over my head in earthquake country.

In short, I love pot racks because I think they are very useful.

gsciencechick
Yes, that pan is lovely. But to me they all are. I chose to store here the pots and skillets and books that have meaning to me. I KNOW they are clutter. But I love their beauty and utility. Few days pass that I don't use one or another of them. I have different art on other walls, but to me, these are art on THIS wall. Each of them has a story. Some of the books and utensils span (incredibly) more than 50 years. Others are much newer. I am happy to have them where I can see--and pet--them. I think, if you install a pot rack (or any other visible storage), you should use it for things you love--for their beauty or versatility or history. What you do not love can go into the catacombs of cupboards and drawers. It won't be clutter if you love it.
You describe the pots and pans as if you care for them. Tactilely, visually, ergonomically, will they please you there? If so, go for it.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Dec 5, 12 at 23:06

I've loved our ceiling-hanging pot rack in three of our homes (ceilings = 7.5-10 ft), all of which had limited cabinet storage space. It's convenient. It's pretty (when we edit our gear for form and function). I love standing at the range, reaching up, and grabbing what I need without opening and shuffling in a drawer or getting on knees to search a cabinet. I like the air-dry feature -- wash a pot, hang it up, no wasted space in dish rack or dishwasher. It also appeals to my aesthetic, which (according to Dear Partner) is "DIY Craftsman-Gothic-Industrio-Modern with a hint of Sci-Fi". Our pot rack in our renovation-temporary kitchen is located in between sink and range, which is perfect for cook-clean-store without wasting a step, and we're taking that principle into the remodel. In addition to our six key cook pots/pans, we hang our box grater and primary colander on it. Nearly everything we use every day. That said, I love the "low clutter" principle on counters and everywhere else, but the hanging pots are key for functionality and feel in our kitchen.

I have pot racks on both sides of my stove. Mine are solely for decoration, the few pots I use are in a drawer under the stove. But I love the pot racks! In my mom's kitchen, however, there was a pot rack over the island. I hated that b/c it blocked the openness of the kitchen and it made for head-bumping. So, I think placement is everything.

If you decide to go w/ a drawer, you can always do a filing system for skillets....

Pot racks:

Filing system for skillets:

We heading in our last kitchen. I wanted to break up the long run of wall cabinets and it turned out that I really liked having my pots handy.

The column is blocking part of it but you can still see it back there. It was just to the left of my range. About 28" wide, shelf on top for cookbooks and teapots, a rail with hooks for pots, came from Pier One I think.

Think Julia Childs

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Julia Childs kitchen

As I started reading this thread I would probably have put myself in the "hate 'em" camp -- by the end of it here I've got the tape measure out and have found the perfect spot for that Enclume crown style, wall pot rack that gsciencechick has. I think I'm in love.

Love them(as long as they are not overhead).
A place to hang the 2 cast iron pans that I use 2 - 3 times a day was the one goal everyone in the family agreed upon. I previously stored them in the oven. Each of us has experienced the annoyance of preheating the oven only to realize later, when we went to put something into the now hot oven, that we forgot to remove them.
Now they will be on a pot rack next to the stove, just can't decide if I want one with a shelf above or not.

Loathe. Completely. The POs had potracks hanging in my tiny kitchen and they were ugly as a camel's butt.

Look closely at Bellsmom's potrack. Every implement is either copper or cast iron. Is that seriously what your pots and pans look like? Or would guests be treated to the sight of dirty stainless and scratched Teflon instead?

I'm in the "really????" category. You really want to display pots? You really want to have to clean all those dust and grease collectors? You really want all that visual clutter??? I'd much rather display things that have meaning to me...somehow pots don't and only remind me of work.

Fine in other peoples' kitchens where I don't have to clean them, but certainly not in mine....

I would rather see a kitchen display of stainless with the soft patina of use (not ''dirty'' of course!) than lacquered bright pink unused copper that looks like anodized aluminum. My 50 plus-year-old Revere saucepans would be out where I could see and reach them if I had room. (Now flaking Teflon is another story. Ugh.)
Seriously, the kitchen is a workshop for producing and consuming food. Someone makes stuff here. It's OK to have visible the most used tools, even if they aren't brand new or top of the line. AKA Julia Child's kitchen, as elphaba said. As I remember it after 30 years, my father's woodworking and clock repair workshop was as beautiful as many kitchens.

I think if you are going to use a potrack, what you really need is visual structure.

Bellsmom's potrack is a very structured linear element, with a big block of cookbooks over similar and attractive cookware. thirdkitchenremodel's potrack is boxed in by two cabinets and also features a set of pans in a consistent material.

I do not like the way the rack in the OP has been "dressed" with random items. And I particularly loathe potracks over an island, with all sorts of flotsam and jetsam hanging at different heights, blocking views and taking up loads of visual space.

Remember, this is from somebody who is getting all glass cabinets to display my baking powder to the world.

If you don't like the look of well-used pots, honestly, you don't like cooking. It's not a display! It's part of the very function of the room. And it's truly more handy to just swing the heavy thing down to the stove then bend over and haul it out of a drawer or cupboard.

I don't get the "dirty" argument. If they're dirty, why on earth would you use them even if they were stuffed in a drawer? If you have a decent ventilation system they get no more dirty or dusty than any other part of the kitchen. And provided you actually use your pots and pans, they really don't have much time to get dirty between washings.

This is another arena where good editing and self-honesty can really help - what do you actually use and what is just wasting space? The once-a-year holiday pans can be stored away, of course; I'm talking about regular daily or weekly usage.

If you can get the rack over a sink, even better for immediate drip-drying for the ones that can handle it, like our colander.

I like them for the functionality they provide. It really depends on the kitchen though and the layout. I think one should be added if it provides a benefit to do so. Ie it works with the layout and makes sense from a usage standpoint.

If you don't like the look of well-used pots, honestly, you don't like cooking.

Um. Srsly?

Yeah, sorry M & all. Regretted that snark right after I posted it! I now have strep throat on top of Lyme disease and the number of pills I'm on is legion. Not to mention the roofers pound pound pounding over my head all day. Grouchy is the current watchword. Please forgive?

Until this very, very second, I am a "LOATHE" person!

Then I saw how it looked with Bellsmom against the wall rather than clanking overhead. I like the way they're layered kind of by size than all over the place.

I think the neatness fits into my OCD hate-visual-clutter personality. I don't care for shiny copper, but I do love my own and my grandmother's Farberware!

BTW. She taught me when I was little, that if they get burned on stuff on the underside of the pots, put oven cleaner in a disposable or unloved pot, set it on the bottom of your oven. Coat the bottom of your Farberware with oven cleaner and set them in there at the appropriate heat. 10 minutes or so later just rinse. Frankly, I'm rabid about cleaning the pots, so I've never had to do this, but I thought I'd share!

I think pot racks can be very functional and attractive if well thought out. I've seen more than a few that were neither. In my kitchen I chose to store my most-used pots and pans in open shelves next to the range. Doesn't address a shortage of space, but works for me.

marcolo's comment prompted me to google images of a camel's butt. They are, indeed, decidedly unattractive.

Finally: get well soon, circuspeanut! You've got more than your fair share of cruddy stuff going on.:(

Thanks four! And indeed, this pretty much captures it:

Circuspeanut--that's a great pot/drying rack setup--what's it made of? Where'd you get the hooks, or did you bend those yourself, and if so, what gauge/type of wire? Is it screwed in to the beam that I think I see above it, or...what?

For us--we have the Julia-Child option (on the wall), but using one of those wire racks with the white coating & hooks in it. Works great! But--there's substantial evidence that I like visual clutter...

Megan - I hacked off a few feet of a leftover piece of copper bar (from making our DIY countertops) 1.5"x1/4", drilled two holes in the ends and attached it with stainless hooks to stainless eyes screwed into the beam. The pan hooks were commercially purchased. It looks bigger and more intrusive than it actually was - no risk of head-banging at all, and the over-sink placement was a very happy accident.

Here's a shot from stove-side to see how handy it was (ignore the hood design sketch):

I have a wall mounted potrack hanging over my sink in front of a large window. The pots are high enough not to obstruct the view through the window and I hang my frequently used, scratched but clean pots there. I do not have any pots for display only and no copper. It's very convenient to wash and hang dry or to grab a pot or pan to use. They are only the frequently used pots so they don't get dusty. I wouldn't have it any other way. I wish I had a better pic but we still haven't finished the last 5% (crown molding and painting trim)...

From Kitchen

Awww, circuspeanut. That's no fun. Lyme is nasty and strep on top of it?
Hope the roofers leave and the pills kick in soon.

Marcolo,
I agree. I don't remember ever seeing a rack over an island that tempted me. Convenient, but far too visually disruptive for my taste. (And mine is more isolated on the wall than I wanted, but this was the best I could do visually with the constraints of narowing passage and table access.) Good point.

Lalitha,
One of the great things about GW, is that it provides so many differing but informed opinions and observations--sort of a smorgasbord of ideas. I am curious to know what you will decide. I look forward to seeing your kitchen.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Thu, Dec 6, 12 at 17:21

Wow.. Looks like this is definitely a topic that elicits divided opinion. I would never do a pot rack over an island as I am short and most people are not. If I can reach it, others bang their heads or else I have to jump :).. And I don't have an island.

gschiencechick - I have been looking at the enclume potrack.. I like that the "visual structure" that Marcolo mentions is important to balance the form and the function. I could not find a good image of a shelf style potrack that I liked well enough.. Yes I agree my original picture is a bit iffy and the GW upload stretched it up all fuzzy. I think I will have to make this call after my kitchen is done and I unpack all my cookware that I haven't seen for close to two years. Definitely no to peeling teflon..

Circus: Hope you get well soon!

Lalitha: I am not sure if you want more posts on this...but I have experience in this area so I thought I'd add one more post...

So, important consideration is whether you want it for form or function (ideally both, but what is more important to you). If you like the look, then you have the issue of making your pots look tidy all the time, and arranging them in a nice balanced form.

If you need the function, then consider hanging them inside the kitchen cabs (such as tall cabinet etc). There was at least one GW kitchen a while back who had this and had a picture posted. That way, you do not worry about looks but you get all the convenience.

And, here's where my experience comes in: I have a couple of pot racks in the kitchen, and I hang my pots there all the time. Also trivets, lids, mittens -- just anything that has a hole through it to be hanged. I have to say, this is the one feature in my kitchen that I'd carry over to my next kitchen (for those who do not know me: my kitchen is inherited and very dated in look and function.) -- with the improvement of enclosing them inside a cabinet. Of course, my racks look atrocious, pots have patina etc. But not having to bend down and grab the pots from cabs is not only more comfortable, it is more efficient too.

Hope this helps!

If you haven't hung pots that are wet before, beware that the dripping water finds it's way into places you never would have guessed it could drip into, down your shirt sleeves all the way, to, well, never mind. That said, I do like the convenience of hanging things, especially the colander, as long as they're not in my head space.

It is not correct that a pot rack that allows for pots a short person can reach results in head banging for a taller person. I have an over the island pot rack, but the pots are toward the center of the island, not where someone's head will be when that someone works at the island. In 7 years, no one has banged a head. I'm under 5'4" and the guys who have cooked here range up to 6'3".

Mine is like that but stainless. Matches my AllClad. I keep all the lids on the shelf using a stainless 'dish' rack. I have a small kitchen and no other place to store much of the larger pans.

I really enjoyed this set up that I had...wow...six kitchens ago. My $5k tax refund kitchen before I was married. Loved that kitchen, but I've learned a lot about design and function since then.

Mine are not wall-mounted because in my last kitchen there wasn't enough wall space, so I opted for two free-standing wrought iron ones. I have one on each side of the window by the kitchen table. Kitchen is still a "wip " (work in progress), so forgive the mess!

I love potracks so long as they only include my most-used pans...I am one that believes in having a few great pans and tossing anything extraneous. Big potracks with half a culinary shop full of unused pans seems like visual clutter.

In our last kitchen, which was small, we had them right next to the stove.

In this one, we have more room but I still like my go-to pans to be hung up. So a few S hooks later, we were in business:

It's all about function for me.

I have all of the pots I use on a wall rack and really love it. BUT - I actually love copper and don't mind polishing it. I find if you use copper all the time it does not require much polishing. Some are 40 years old though, so they will never have that pinky new copper shine again!

My wonder is if I lengthen the bar and add more pots - could it pull the rack right out of the wall? The rack has very deep concrete screws that go into a firewall. The Enclume people say they have never had that problem, but we are talking about well over 100 pounds of pans. Anyone know? Thanks and Happy New Year.

Love pot racks! All shapes and sizes. They provide a valuable service and keep pots and pans right at hand when needed. Have always had racks in all of our homes. I don't need to walk over to the cabinet or drawer to get one to use on the stove. It's right there hanging next to it. Just reach up and there it is. The more the better on a rack as long as it can hold the weight. Mine is ceiling mounted. I have everything from woks to saucepans to fry pans hanging. They truly are a space saver and serve their purpose well.

I find a pot rack to be the absolute height of convenience and would not ever want to do without one.
My kitchen is about 1)cooking and 2)making life easy for the cook and a pot rack just might be the poster child for function over form, although in most cases I find the form quite nice as well.

Course I have a teeny kitchen and must be quite discerning with regard to what pieces I keep but the day I "decorate" my kitchen with useless cookware just because it looks pretty for guests is the day I hang up my apron and head for Sweet Tomatoes, LOL.

To follow up with the OP lalitha or kris_ma, did you end up getting the crown model?

If anyone is not sure about the sturdiness of it, it came with two large "vampire spikes" to mount it into the wall. With the spikes solidly in the paneling, there is no way that is falling down despite that I have even more pots on it now than the photo above. If we ever move, I'm not even sure it would be able to be removed.

I love the look of hanging copper pots, but we have induction and copper will not work at all. I really need the rack for storage in our small kitchen. I can shine my pots up with Barkeeper's friend.

This post was edited by gsciencechick on Tue, Jan 1, 13 at 11:24

Dislike. Major dust catchers, for one thing, and pet hair if you have indoor pets. My pendant lights over island taught me that. ;-)

They look beautiful in photographs, as do many things I don't want to live with in real life.

We have a pegboard (like Julia Child) and love it. We don't have a lot of cabinet space, so it was a necessity for us. We have the pots aligned in a straight rows.

I have and reread all the posts here. I think I am going to finish the kitchen and see how everything fits and looks before deciding this. If I do, I think I am liking the small semi circle domed look by enclume/ Williams Sonoma better than than the shelf rack I posted. As DH pointed out, for my few good pots project, anything I store on shelf will be too high for my 5ft self and that means it will be something I have to dust on a regular basis.

Thanks for the follow up info, gssciencechick! I have the crown model in my shopping basket on Amazon.com and visit it regularly, ha. Because I don't actually have any wall space in the kitchen, it would have to go on the side of a pantry, directly above the prep sink which would mean it is projecting out in front of a window. I think I need to build a cardboard model to see how it looks before committing to putting permanent holes there -- DH says he could reinforce it with a board mounted inside the pantry, so no issues with strength. It's mostly a reluctance to block the window. It is pretty though..... I'm still kicking the idea around. Thanks again for the additional info!

I love my pot rack over this island. I love cooking and pots take up so much room and cabinets that it made sense in this kitchen. However, I’m moving into a condo with a small tight, dark kitchen and I’m thinking of getting one of those cabinet pull outs where you hang the pots in the cabinet. Small kitchens don’t do well with clutter and I am a clutter person so I have to figure out how to deal with this.

I don’t like the typical crowded, “ inspo” type pot rack photos- both from clutter and practical, as for me there would be lots “ out” that I’m not using every couple of days, and I thing would get dust/ grease.

I could easily see hanging 1 or 2 that I use nearly every day or at least twice a week. But I prefer using my range warming drawer for 2-3 skillets, and a drawer form 4 most used smallish pots. The thing I think is important is to MEASURE your cookware and think how best to use different storage options. Skillet with handle may be near 20”. If on a wall above counter, will it hang low and impede counter use of cleaning? And how much linear wall space, which maybe cone used otherwise? If keeping wall above counter free of cabinets, do pots confound the look? I could see that being ok because pots & pans are shallower depth. Or maybe you have a strip of open full height wall that is a good target , again because generally floor space is still open and cookware may be pretty shallow so doesn’t crowd a walking zone.

Or is there an ok cabinet storage place for large skillets, but you’d like a few small pots handy? Do you plan to keep utensils out on the counter?

So, just be noodling on your options for open vs closed storage, priority of use, or balancing ease of access with enough “ pretty” and openness . Not for a “ show kitchen”, but for what makes you feel inspired and happy to be working in your kitchen.