DIY Plate Rack Shelf

Try replacing one of your kitchen cabinets with this DIY plate rack shelf to make your work space beautiful and to improve the functionality of your cottage kitchen.

I first had the pleasure of designing a plate rack shelf for the kitchen when my man and I built our little cottage in the countryside. As a woman who spends incredible amounts of time cooking, baking and preserving in her kitchen, I really didn’t care too much about what the rest of our home looked like.

But our little cottage kitchen? I was all over that!

I married a man who understands my need for efficiency and artistic charm. So he was hands off with the kitchen and let me dream, design and plan my heart out. As long as I stayed within the limits of our very tiny budget, that is!

I knew there was going to be lots of natural light in my kitchen, with an airy and spacious vibe. And while I wanted lower cabinets painted in a French Pear Green with hickory hardwood counters, I decided to go for 100% open shelving above.

And there was one shelf that I took special care and interest in designing. Yes, you guessed it! The DIY plate rack shelf. I really liked the idea of displaying our random assortment of dishes in my new kitchen, and the old fashioned wall plate rack had captured my eye from the start.

I had the perfect place in my kitchen! There was a large blank wall on the west side that was the first thing you saw when you walked into the room. A plate rack shelf would draw the eye and instantly send the vibes I wanted for this space. After spending some time sketching, erasing and redrawing a design, my carpenter husband built the shelf for me.

Seriously? I think I was more excited about that shelf than I was about the entire cottage itself! I couldn’t stay away. And when he finished, I was captivated.

Oh yes!

This was it. The shelf was exactly as I had envisioned it. And once it was installed, it was more than beautiful. This functional plate rack shelf was charming. And to this day, it’s the thing everyone notices when they come into my kitchen.

Nearly everyone who enjoys the farmhouse cottage kitchen style thinks it’s lovely.

I agree. And it’s a double win, because this wooden plate rack shelf also contributes to the functionality of your kitchen.

So let me walk you through how to create a wall-mounted plate rack for storing dinner plates, dishes and whatever else you decide to display on top of your plate rack shelves!

Tools You’ll Need

Here’s a list of tools you’ll need to complete this project. Some of these links are affiliate links and I’ll earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Don’t worry! It won’t cost you anything extra!

• 1/8 inch drill bit
• 1/4 inch drill bit
• Elmer’s wood glue
• 1 1/4 inch wood screws
• 2 inch wood screws
• 3 inch wood screws
• beam level
• wood filler
• drill
• three 12 ft 1×6 boards
• Dewalt chop saw
• table saw
• paint colour or wood finish of your choosing

Cut List for Lumber

Before you begin, take a 12 ft 1×6 and rip it in half on a table saw, creating two 1×3 boards you’ll use for this project.

Shelf Frame

Side walls

• two 1×6 and two 1×3 cut to 35 inches exactly

Top & bottom

• two 1×6 and two 1×3 cut to 34.5 inches

Top shelf

• two 1×6 and two 1×3 cut to 34.5 inches

Bottom Shelf

• two 1×6 and two 1×3 cut to 34.5 inches

Back Wall Brackets

• two 1/3 cut to 34.5 inches

Shelf Brackets

• four strips from 1×6 cut to 1 inch W x 7.5 inches L

Dowels for front rail and back rail

• ten square dowels, 3/4×3/4 inch square by 12.5 inches L

Front Lip for Plate Rack Shelf

• one 1.5 inch W x 34.5 inches L

To create your wooden plate rack, just follow the directions below!

Watch the Video!

How to Build a DIY Plate Rack Shelf

Step 1: Choose a Place for Your Wooden Plate Rack Shelf

For the first step, you need to decide where you want to place your shelf. If you don’t have unused wall space in your kitchen, you may have to remove a kitchen cabinet!

If you plan to store everyday dishes on your wall shelf, position it close to the kitchen sink and dishwasher. Mine is just to the right of both, with the cutlery drawer directly underneath. Having everything in one place is very convenient.

Of course, if you plan to put the shelf in your dining area as wall decor where you display beautiful plates, ironstone platters and such, you don’t have to worry about it’s proximity to the washing stations!

Step 2: Take Dimensions and Adjust Your Plan Accordingly

Wherever you decided to hang your plate rack shelf, you need to take the dimensions of that space. The shelf we made is quite large, running 36 inches long by 35 inches tall. I had an entire wall to work with!

But you can easily create a smaller version. Just take measurements of your space, being sure to account for windows, cabinets and (if in the kitchen) the space between your counter and ceiling.

Step 3: Cut Your Lumber to Length

For your diy project, use a table saw and chop saw to cut the pieces of lumber mentioned in the list above. If you have scrap wood that is in good condition, go ahead and use it for this project! Just remember to adjust the cuts if you need different dimensions for your shelf.

Step 4: Whitewash, Paint or Stain Your Wood

I recommend finishing your wood with stain, paint or (as I did) whitewash before you start assembling your shelf. It’s the easy way to go about it, with all those dowels and corners! You can always finish over the screw holes later, or leave it for now (like we did).

Step 5: Assemble the Frames

That’s right! This shelf actually has 2 frames that you’ll space 3/4 inch apart before joining them with wood cleats from the inside of your shelf. Assemble your 1×6 frame and also your 1×3 frame at your dining table, gluing and butting the top and bottom pieces into the sides before screwing them in place with 2″ screws.

I do recommend pre-drilling your screw holes (use an 1/8 inch drill bit). If you want to sink the screw heads into the wood so you can cover them with wood filler, go ahead and make a shallow hole after drilling the initial one, using a 1/4 inch drill bit.

While it might seem like extra hassle, pre-drilling will keep your wood from splitting and save you lots of hassle in the end.

Feeling tempted to use a nail gun for this project? Please don’t! An air gun is forceful and will likely split the wood. You could use nails, but we found that wood screws were the easiest to deal with.

Step 6: Fasten Your Cleats to the Shelf Frames

To join your frames together, set the 1×6 at the front and the 1×3 you created on the table saw at the back. Space them so there’s a 3/4 inch gap between. You can pop a few blocks of wood into the gap to hold it.

Working from the inside of the frames, measure the position for your cleats and mark the place with a pencil. The first pair should rest 7 3/4 inches above the bottom of your wood frame. And the second set should be 21 1/4 inches.

Position your wood cleats with the top edge at your pencil mark. Push cleats back until they’re flush with the back of your shelf frame. Then glue and screw them into place with 1 1/4 inch screws.

These cleats are crucial as they carry the entire weight of the front frame.

Step 7: Insert and Glue Down Your Shelves

Leave a gap between your 1×3 and 1×6 with the inner shelves as well. You want these shelves to sit back in from the frame, so go ahead and decrease the crack size to about 1/3 of an inch.

You don’t need to screw the shelves down. Not with the strong brackets underneath! Just run a bit of wood glue along the underside and put them in place. You can weigh them down, if you’d like.

Step 8: Screw Wooden Dowels Into Place

Take 5 wooden dowels and evenly space them along the near edge of the 1×3, right at the end of the crack. Add a daub of wood glue to the top and bottom of each, then screw them down, both from the shelf above and the bottom of the board shelf below.

Line the remaining 5 dowels up on 1×6, running them flush with the front edge. Use wood glue and screws to fasten them down, as you did with the back set.

Step 9: Fasten the Face Board into Place

In front of your wooden dowels, run your 1 1/2 inch x 34.5 inch board. Bring it flush with the bottom of the shelf, so you have about a 3/4 inch lip extending past the shelf’s width. This is your plate stopper that will keep your dinner plates from rolling off the shelf!

Step 10: Go Over the Whole Thing and Touch Up Rough Spots

Want to hide screw holes? Now is the perfect time to do so. Cover the holes with wood filler and then daub them over with paint, stain or whitewash (whatever you used for the rest of the shelf! Need to add another coat of paint, whitewash or varathane? Now is the time to do it!

Step 11: Screw Your DIY Plate Rack Shelf to the Wall

You did it! Now it’s time to screw your backing into place and hang the shelf! Fasten your 34.5 inch wall brackets to the shelf frame by setting the first one on top of the bottom shelf. Screw it down from underneath.

Set the other bracket underneath the top shelf and screw it down from the topside.

And then, you just have to figure out where you want your shelf and fasten it to the wall using the two wood brackets! A level is always the perfect solution for straight lines and a perfectly centered shelf.

Step 11: Add Dinner Plates, Dishes, Large Platters to Your Shelf

Once your diy plate rack shelf has been hung, the fun part begins! You now have extra storage space where you get to display dishes, crocks, serving platters, mixing bowls and whatever else you’d like on display. Go with whatever suits your cottage style kitchen!

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FAQ

Can I use round dowels for the dividers in the plate rack?

Most plate racks you’ll find online do use round wooden dowels, but we didn’t. I like the chunky look of square dowels. Plus, they’re sturdier and make the shelf stronger too.

Is it ok to use scrap lumber for this project?

If you have extra boards sitting around, you certainly can use them for this project! Just make sure you’re using solid lumber, that it’s clean and in a good condition!

Can I use any paint color for this project?

Yes, of course! In this tutorial, I whitewashed the wood and sealed with Varathane. But you can use any type of paint you desire. Because it’s going to see quite a bit of wear and tear, I would recommend putting on 2-3 coats of paint.

Do you offer building plans for this DIY plate rack shelf?

I don’t currently offer plans, simply because everyone’s empty wall space is going to be different and plans have to be adjust accordingly! If you’re at all handy with wood, you should be able to easily adjust this plan for one of the blank walls in your home!