The Hanging Pot Rack Was Made for Cookware. Her Boyfriend Found Another Use for It
Hanging racks above kitchen islands have long provided a place for pots and pans that would otherwise fill cabinets and drawers. Hooks underneath keep cookware within reach, while the open framework puts unused ceiling space to work.
Alex Snyder’s kitchen takes the same overhead-storage idea in another direction. Snyder shared the setup with the Facebook group Houseplant Central after her boyfriend built a suspended rack for the kitchen. “My boyfriend made me a a hanging plant rack for the kitchen! I love it!” she wrote.
Instead of copper pans and stockpots, the rack holds a growing collection of plants.
Hanging Pot Racks Put the Space Above an Island to Work
Traditional pot racks make use of a part of the kitchen that cabinets cannot reach. This example hangs above an island, with copper pans suspended from the metal framework. Cookware stays off the counters while becoming part of the room’s design.
Placement above an island also keeps storage close to a central prep surface. Pots can hang around the perimeter without requiring another cabinet or shelving unit along the walls.
Overhead Racks Can Hold More Than Cookware
Another kitchen shows how the same structure can work as an overhead shelf. Baskets, glass vessels, and greenery sit across a wood-framed rack suspended above the worktable.
Metal bars across the center provide support without turning the rack into a solid shelf. The open construction also leaves several options for hooks or hanging storage underneath.
Her Boyfriend Turned the Idea Into Plant Storage
Snyder’s version combines a rectangular wood frame with metal bars and chains secured to the ceiling. Several potted plants sit across the top, while hanging planters attach underneath.
Its position matters. The rack occupies the open area above the kitchen rather than taking space from the counters or the small rolling island. Snyder already has plants around the sink window and along the counter, so moving part of the collection overhead creates another growing area without adding a floor-standing shelf.
Plants Fill Both Sides of the Rack
Viewed from the sink, the two-level setup becomes clearer. A fern and smaller potted plants sit on top of the wood frame. Three planters hang from the bars below, allowing trailing stems to extend downward.
The rack also sits near the window behind the sink, though the amount of usable natural light at this height will depend on the window orientation and conditions inside the room. One commenter raised the same question about whether the plants would receive enough light.
Snyder wasn’t the only person interested in putting overhead kitchen space to another use. Other commenters shared similar racks made for their plant collections, while one said she had even made one from old crib springs.
Cookware may have given the hanging kitchen rack its familiar purpose, but Snyder’s setup shows the framework doesn’t have to disappear when the pots come down. With plants above and below, the same patch of ceiling can hold an entire collection without claiming another section of counter or floor.
Would you give the space above your kitchen island to cookware, plants, or leave it open?