…begs for another. Ugh. I need your help. It seems every time I try to upgrade some component of our aging house, I hit a brick wall — and not the rugged exposed brick interior wall I dream of having one day.
This was my clever idea: install a pot rack inside the kitchen cabinet that was built around our fuse box and therefore does not function well for standard cabinet storage. Look closely in the back of the cabinet below. When we need to access the fuse box, we simply slide the pots to either side and reach through. Not ideal, but preferable to moving cereal boxes, dinnerware or stacks of heavy pots and pans. Are you with me? Kind of brilliant, I thought, given the set up. I even installed a lid rack on the inside of the door.
Now, it’s usually my fault when something doesn’t work the way it appears that it should, but I like to blame it on the age of the house, which isn’t actually all that old! Truthfully, I often blame the previous owners, which isn’t really fair either (with one or two exceptions that might include the kitchen cabinet/fuse box re-design referenced above). Sometimes (often) I think it would just be easier to move.
All excuses aside, I am clearly to blame for this one…
So now what I do? The panel is not hard wood — it’s whatever decent-looking, budget-friendly kitchen cabinets are made of. We have no intentions of remodeling any, so I can’t just ride it out. I don’t want to dismantle my clever pot rack and fill the hole, which wouldn’t work anyway because I don’t think you can fill particle board. And I hate chalkboards.* All of which mean I’m out of ideas.
So, what would you do, assuming you made the same ridiculous mistake I made? I need a clever idea to mask this not-so-clever oversight. Right now we have a removable (no screw!) hook for dish towels. Otherwise it’s a nearly blank canvas, but for an 1/8″ of a screw peeking through…
*I don’t really hate chalkboards. I actually love the way they look, especially considering how very popular they are right now. It’s the scraping of chalk on the board and the anthills of chalk dust below that I hate.
Tags: pot rack
How about cork board? U can pin recipes, notes, etc on there.
Or I see your cutting boards on the side of the microwave. Maybe you can hang your boards to cover it? The only con with that is it’ll be visible when the boards are in use…
I think priscilla’s idea is brilliant. Cork board thicker than the depth of the screw sticking out, of course.
I’m not sure what your kitchen looks like, but what if you put 1/4″ beadboard? You could carry that to other surfaces? Hmm… I’m digging the corkboard idea too!
LeilaMac´s last blog ..{out and about} gold-plated silverware score!
you could use a reciprocating saw to trim the screw, fill hold and paint. I like the cork board idea too. Really like the hanging pot rack idea, very clever use of space!
Emily´s last blog ..where I’ve been
Try magnetic paint, you can put magnets and notes right over the hole.
Wow! These are terrific ideas. By the way, my husband just noticed the screw coming through tonight! I told him, with confidence, that I had it all figured out. Thanks so much for these very workable solutions. I’m going to toy around with it over the weekend! I will certainly keep you all posted.
Cheers! Juliet
LeilaMac — the kitchen is very small, painted white, and has a graphic black and white roman shade over the kitchen window. There is very little surface area for paneling, which makes the idea very appealing! It could add a lot of dimension for a small space.
Lots to consider!
Preserve the brilliant pot rack at all costs! Out of a wooden block or a short piece of a dowel, create a peg just large enough to cover the hole. Screw the peg onto the protruding end of the screw.
If that works, make two additional pegs. Remove the dish towel and its hook. Add the other two pegs in a pleasing pattern, such as a “V” or a steep diagonal. Hang three attractive kitchen tools, long and narrow, on the pegs with twine. Or you could do less damage to the cabinet by creating three flat wooden bases for three decorative hooks instead pegs.
Nancy — I love it! I actually have the perfect remnant from a dowl rod (I have no idea what I originally bought it for!) that I will cut into pegs. I have some white touch-up paint in a jar that I will use to match the cabinets. And, perhaps best of all, I don’t have to wield a saw at an awkward angle to trim off the screw tip and risk causing more damage! Thanks for the great vision!
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