apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I used the Ikea one and found it dipped very low. I don't know what your kitchen is like, but my counter to sink space ratio couldn't handle this big metal thing hanging there. I opted to leave a cabinet open and put a smaller rack in there.

i was going to use something like that, but i felt like it would severely blocked the whole area. i was also concerned at the drip action - it would drip back towards the wall, down over tile toward the easily ruined butcherblock, etc etc.

ultimately, i didn't really want a dish drainer that's always out'n'about, so now i have a small drainer (simplehuman) that lives on a shelf under the sink, and comes out only when i need it.

I also had the Ikea one. Perhaps I had more space over my sink than Squeegee, but I didn't have the dipping-too-low problem. My biggest issue was that the drying rack didn't hold very much. I could balance a few pots and a plate or a mug but any more and I risked everything tumbling (and breaking) into my sink.

The idea of it was great though, and it my then tiny kitchen I couldn't have had anything else.

I have the Ikea Grundtal (above) as a back-up to another narrow dish rack, and it's just great. When folded it serves as a kind of decorative backspash.

I installed one of these in the kitchen of my last office, where ther was no dish rack and really no space to put one -- man, was I the big hero -- you'd think I had invented sliced bread or something!

I was very impressed how many kitchens in Spain had cabinets over the sink that were open on the bottom (with wire racks inside) -- essentially large dish drains AND storage behind closed doors -- so smart and efficient!

Unfortunately, IKEA may be it. I looked everywhere and eventually wound up at Tiny Living on Seventh Street, where the manager told me he hoped to design one himself someday as OTS racks suitable for an NYC apartment just don't exist.

The store "Sur La Table" (NYC location Soho) has an expensive German line of kitchenware (Rosle) that includes a similar dishdrainer. Very high end but very beautiful.

Here is the link:
http://www.rosleusa.com/
The drainer itself does not appear on the page, but it closely resembles the IKEA model. Quality is higher though.

I came up with a very cheap mimic of this, after I saw the real deal in action at my friend's house in Rome. I hung two metal shower caddies over my sink. It's just me and I don't generate a lot of dirty dishes, but dinner service for two plus prep utensils can dry comfortably using this system.

I built my own 3 tier rack modeled on the kind you'd find in England and France. It's integrated into the open shelving that runs the length of one wall. My style is more eclectic-utilitarian-tenement but it could be adapted in a modern way.

http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dryingrack2he7.jpg

I have what looks like this same IKEA model (inherited from previous occupant) and it does hang too low, so the faucet handle, which swivels up to turn on the water, hits the drainer when open, resulting in the handle's finish being rubbed off. I have a dishwasher, so the size of this drainer is fine--it's just for odds and ends. It also drains partly into the area between the sink and the wall, which is probably ruining the surface there. I like having a wall drainer so much that I want to replace it with something that works better in the space. I too remember cabinets in Europe - specifically, Italy - that had an integrated shelf on the bottom for drying dishes. I was very impressed with them.

I'm the one that posted the initial question, and the ikea one was the best that I found too...but not really what I'm looking for. Campari, yours is almost exactly what I want--more than 1 level, larger, heftier. Did you follow a plan? or make it up as you went along? thanks for the feedback everyone...krista

I designed it myself, or rather it designed itself; the size of the sink basin and dishes basically determined the measurements. Also, although it's hard to see in the pic, the bottom shelf rack has a flush inset panel of hardware cloth for cups, glasses, and the tomato can turned silverware caddy.

Hi, I have a dishwashing machine [came with the apt.] which I rarely use, but works great as a dish drainer. Funny, I also salivate every time I visit my friend in Rome and see the drainer above his sink, and a friend tells me that in Colombia where he is from, a kitchen is considered unfinished if it doesn't have one of these OTS drainers. Somehow in all our marketing ingenuity we here in the States miss some of the simple solutions.

I seem to recall an episode of Small Space/Big Style in which a guy lived in a TINY little log cabin. If memory serves he had a deep metal basket that he hung from four descending hooks in the cabinet above the sink. It was definitely DIY, but looked neat and efficient. I find I have the same problem as some of the posters above - too many dishes gravity = disaster.

This might sound crazy, but I have a long wire shelf sittng on my refrigerator that extends over my sink (which is right next to it) about a foot and a half or so. It's weighed down on the refrigerator side by a heavy decorative bowl filled with potatoes, onions etc. The wire shelf part is just enough to hold a small sinkload of dishes. Morning coffee/smoothie cups... the ever-present pyrex measuring cup... etc...

I have an Indian stainless steel dish rack much similar to this one:

http://www.conranusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=17334&cid=KitchenStorage&language=en-US

Mine is perforated at the bottom so the water can drip. I bought it off the street in Delhi for about $5 (that should give you an idea of Sir Conran's markups). It looks fantastic and it's incredibly practical.

Here is another Indian rack available in Europe and guess what : Sir Conran in not the best for markups

http://www.madeindesign.com/prod-Grand-Egouttoir-TseTse-refgrandegout.html

I do recognize they look beautiful and are so practical but is it not possible to get one of those for a decent price without going to India (not that I would not enjoy that) ?

I fell in love with those stainless steel dish racks from India when I saw one in an Anthropologie a few years ago. I think it was going for around $175. But I couldn't justify spending that much on a dish rack, plus the upright rods to hold the plates are on the front *and* the back which limits what one can dry and store there. I wanted to be able to dry mixing bowls and larger things too. That said, they are gorgeous.

Allegra, that's exactly what i want! Sadly, it's $350 to ship it to the US is another $175. I'm going to take this picture to a metalworker and see what they'd charge to make it. i'll let you know.

I know this is an old question but I just had an idea. I'm looking for something like this and I was wondering if one of those closet made type shelf coupd be put up.
I'm going to look at that tomorrow

I was also looking at the idea of pegboard and using lots of industrial tool holder things, but I don't know about the dishes themselves.