She Didn’t Have Any Spice Storage — This Bar Staple Maximized It Immediately

Whether you have a big kitchen (sometimes large enough to accommodate double islands!) or a smaller one, spice storage can be a challenge. Still, I occasionally come across clever solutions, like a gorgeous DIY cabinet and what Sophie Kihm and Jacob McCarthy did in their contemporary Chicago home. They looked to how bars store their liquor for a solution.

“Jacob’s stroke of decorating genius came when redoing our pantry. I am an avid home cook, and needed to maximize the narrow storage space for all of our spices, dry goods, and kitchen appliances,” Sophie said during the House Tour. “The door to the pantry is biased almost all the way to the left, making it difficult to put normal shelves on that side of the room.”

So Jacob mounted 12 stainless steel speed rails, aka the shelves that hold liquor bottles in bars. The shelves cover the entire wall (three across and four down), look sleek and contemporary, and make grabbing ingredients a breeze.

Although Jacob and Sophie used the stainless steel shelves in their kitchen, I imagine they can be used in other rooms too. For example, these shelves from The Home Depot are 32 inches long and can hold up to eight 1-liter liquor bottles (which can get pretty heavy!). They’d be perfect for extra products in the bathroom, and the stainless steel likely won’t rust when the room gets a little steamy (although I’d verify the manufacturer’s guidance on moisture exposure before installing them in a steamy space).

What makes the stainless steel shelves stand out is that, to me, they look like they were always supposed to be there. Rethinking how an item — traditionally used for another space — can be used gave Jacob and Sophie so much easily accessible storage that looks really good, too. It looks like a luxury department store! To see more of this apartment, visit the full House Tour.