January 2018 YHH Mag

We did a partial update of our kitchen a couple of years ago, and left some
projects on the back burner. So,we still had a few things to take care of before
we officially declared the kitchen “done.” Since we actually lost some
storage space with the redo, one thing that we needed was a place to store
our pots and pans. I knew wanted a pot rack of some sort, but was looking
for something cost-effective and unique. Pinterest to the rescue!
I found an idea on Pinterest for repurposing an old ladder as a pot rack.
Luckily, we had an old ladder -- it was either free or dirt cheap…I can’t remember
exactly because we’d had it that long! The only thing it really needed
for this transformation was to be cut to the size we wanted, varnished,
and hung from the ceiling. This last part was the tricky part.
Since we have an almost century old home with aging plaster ceilings, my
husband wanted to be confident
that the ladder could be hung
securely without falling down or
causing the plaster to crumble.
His solution was to secure two
parallel pieces of wood to the
ceiling (painting them to match
the ceiling color) and make sure
they were firmly in the joists.
That way, when he bolted the
hooks for the ladder in place, he
knew the ladder would be secured
into a pieces of wood and
not just some plaster and thin
lathe. It worked perfectly!
Originally, I envisioned using S hooks for the pot storage itself. However,
my husband used sturdy J bolts instead (the same kind he used for hanging
the ladder). I actually preferred this solution since the S hooks probably
would have slid back and forth as we tried to hang the pots or retrieve
them from the rack.
I love the way this project turned out! Not only does the ladder pot rack
free up storage space in our cabinets, but it goes beautifully with the rustic
style of our home. It was also an inexpensive solution (I think the entire
project cost us less than $20!) and filled in the dead space above the stove.
If you would like to make your own ladder pot rack and don’t have a ladder
that you can repurpose, try getting one for free. Facebook market groups
or Craigslist are all great resources. With a little ingenuity and a few supplies,
you too can create one of a kind pot rack for your kitchen with loads
of character!
Andrea Anderson lives with her husband, four children and their hamster, S’mores, in a
near-century-old home in Cleveland, Ohio. As chief recipe creator and author of wildberrypress.
com, her plant-based food blog, she’s constantly putting her kitchen through its paces. She also
is passionate about renovating homes with integrity and helping women kiss their sugar crush