After we swapped our kitchen open shelving for the DIY storage cubbies hubby and I made, I wanted a modern spice rack to hang above the stove. At first I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted, so I designed a metal one and bought the supplies. But at the last minute I spotted these acrylic art ledges online. They fit the clear spice jars from my spice carousel perfectly – plus they were cheaper than my DIY supplies!
Done. I returned my supplies and added these art ledges to my cart. I was a little worried about what the quality would be like, but they are so nice! The acrylic is really thick and feels substantial – not cheap or flimsy at all. I actually wanted to use them for awhile before sharing (just in case), so it’s been months and I have zero complaints.
Aesthetically, I like how the acrylic catches the light and doesn’t feel heavy or stand out too much. There’s a LOT going on in the kitchen, since adding the tongue and groove paneling to the cabinets and building my DIY storage cubbies. So I didn’t want to add any unnecessary visual clutter, or draw the eye too much to my spices. I just wanted them close at hand with minimal fanfare. The new acrylic ledges blend in nicely. And if one day I want to go back to spices stored in a drawer or carousel, I can always use these as storage in the bathroom – or for their intended purpose as an art ledge.
But, alas, it turns out I’m not that genius, because after I ordered my picture ledges, I found this acrylic “spice rack” that looks identical. I can’t speak to the quality, but it looks like a better price than mine and it’s designed for spices, lol.
I still like my idea. Let’s just say, great minds think alike. Because I had a heck of a time finding a modern spice rack, I decided to round up a shopping short list!
This curvy wall mounted spice rack comes in a two pack and is perfect for small spaces!
This modern metal and wood spice rack has room for olive oil bottles, a tea towel – it’s perfect for everything you want close at hand, but not cluttering up the counter:
This modern black spice rack is made from sturdy steel:
I’m going through a phase where everything that’s copper appeals to me – which is good, since we invested money into a copper painted metal roof, haha! Let’s hope I never tire of copper. This spice rack is simple, plus the copper is pretty and it offers lots of storage:
For a more rustic, farmhouse vibe, this copper chicken wire spice rack is nice too! Just a bit more country than the one above, but even more storage space.
Leave it to West Elm to design the most stylish looking spice rack. It’s midnight blue. I need it (wouldn’t it be cute for storing loose leaf teas too?). This powder coated steel spice rack is a thing of beauty:
You could totally make this simple spice rack with a Scandi vibe, but it comes in a four pack and sometimes it’s just easier to BIY (buy-it-yourself, lol):
This cast iron spice rack looks like the furniture we like to weld! This is kind of what I had in mind, for a million dollars in supplies (it’s only $30 to buy):
These white wall mounted spice ledges are a nice simple choice! Spices won’t fall off the front and they’ll blend seamlessly into white walls or tile (or inside a white cabinet):
It’s a silly little thing, but I LOVE having the spices over the stove – it makes cooking just that tiny bit easier, which is nice. I saw this quote or comic somewhere online about adulthood really being about the fact that you need to cook something every day, from now until forever and ugh, I feel it! We used to coast on leftovers but these days I cook 1-2 times a day. I don’t know how or why that happened, but it’s a good thing I love my kitchen decor so much!
I actually have the smaller version of those acrylic ledges in my bedroom–I use two of them to hold all my makeup palettes. 🙂 They’re so handy! You can use them to corral just about anything.
I love the look of your kitchen. It’s so fresh, unexpected, and airy. <3 How do you deal with the dusting, though? Do you do it daily/weekly, while cleaning up the kitchen, etc? I have a hard enough time keeping my multiple gallery walls and glass bookcase clean, so I'm curious what kind of routine you have set up for it.
I'm a single college student who eats more processed foods than homecooked meals, so I guess I don't qualify as an adult yet. 😉 There was a time before I moved out when I cooked three meals a day, every day… but I lived out in the country with limited access to the grocery store and no delivery services, so moving to the city created some bad habits. Sigh! I enjoyed cooking, I need to get back into it.
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That’s such a good use of those acrylic ledges!
And thanks for your kind words about my kitchen! I actually find that my books and tops of pictures get dustier than the kitchen, I think because I’m constantly using stuff in the kitchen. What rests, dusts, lol. So for cleaning it, if I’m dusting the rest of the house with a swiffer duster, I’ll do the kitchen too. Or if all of the plates are in the dishwasher, I’ll quickly wipe down the shelf. Here and there I clean it – haven’t done it in weeks and weeks though (#summer). A few times a year I take it all down and give it a good wash, but I’m always surprised at how little dust. BUT I am a lazy cook. I do a lot of “toss it in the oven” and go kind of cooking. I even cook bacon in the oven! So I don’t do a lot of pan frying and stuff that would make a kitchen greasier. So I think it depends on that: how often the open shelving is used and how someone cooks.
That’s a really good point. I love being able to see tchotchkes, but always wondered about keeping it relatively clean. I never cook anything greasy either… would just have to make sure my stuff got used and rotated regularly. Thanks for answering my question so thoroughly! 🙂
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You’re so welcome! Before I had open shelving, I always wondered the same thing too. Of course, I think it makes a difference about homes too. I think some older homes without modern ventilation, etc., might get dustier? If you’re curious, try adding one open shelf somewhere in your kitchen and put something you use often on it and test it out. You can always take it down and replace it with art if you find it’s too dusty :).
Here’s a nice dup of your acrylic art ledges that’s at IKEA for about half the price. We looked at them the other day for a project and they seem pretty sturdy. https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/melloesa-picture-ledge-clear-60446239/
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Sweet! Thanks for the link, I wish I still had an IKEA where I live! Just note that the IKEA shelf seems to be a single and the one I bought is a two-pack. Plus the shipping was free for mine and it came with all of the hardware (even a screwdriver!), which IKEA doesn’t include, so I’m not 100% sure IKEA would have saved me $$$ in the end. It would need to be shipped really cheaply and to where I live, it’s never cheap shipping. But if you have an IKEA in your city, then it’s a good option to check out. It’s also about an inch deeper, I think? Just something to think about – I chose mine because it fits the jars perfectly.