Storing Pots and Pans- in an NYC Studio

April 9, 2022 8:01 PM

How can I best store my pots and pans in my NYC studio for nearly daily use with no space?

As the title mentions, I've started doing a lot of cooking in my NYC studio. However, there is no room to store the pots and pans that I have. (Maybe two-three skillet/saucepans, smaller one, dutch oven etc.) I think I have to store them in my (main area) apartment (ie not in my tiny kitchen) so does anyone have any good suggestions? Racks? Thoughts? Thank you!

posted by bquarters to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

In the oven.
posted by praemunire at 8:08 PM on April 9, 2022 [14 favorites]

If you’re allowed to drill into the walls and have blank space, there are wall mounted pot racks (IKEA has a selection of them). I also used to have a ceiling mounted pot rack in a very small kitchen, if that’s an option—it required large screws into the ceiling joists but when I removed it later I was able to cover the holes pretty easily. I actually saved a lot of counter and drawer space as well because I was able to hang tongs and other utensils on the rack, and I had a hanging basket from it as well for onions and garlic and stuff.
posted by padraigin at 8:09 PM on April 9, 2022 [4 favorites]

My spouse made an IKEA hack vertical pole pot rack like this: https://pin.it/2e7ojdE
posted by Geameade at 8:27 PM on April 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

Would a Julia Child-style pegboard work on even a section of your kitchen wall? [Child's inventory was so large, "Behind each carefully shined copper pot hanging on the pegboard was an outline of the pot or tool that should be there, as well as a small Polaroid, to keep things organized." - Bon Appétit, October 2016]
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:53 PM on April 9, 2022 [2 favorites]

I saw a tripod standing rack with 4 round shelves, yesterday at Hobby Lobby, I had to buy thread and that was it. They have a lot of free standing shelves.This would go on a wall.
posted by Oyéah at 8:57 PM on April 9, 2022

Inside the oven is the standard solution for large and heavy items like cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens.

If you have space near the kitchen area, a kitchen cart/island can provide a good amount of storage while possibly giving you a little extra counter space as a bonus. Ikea has a wide selection at many prices points.

If the side of your fridge is exposed to some extent, there could be enough room to hang a couple items from reversible neodymium magnet hooks like this. One of these hooks can easily support the weight of a stainless steel skillet, and depending on the shape of the handles you might even fit two skillets on one hook.
posted by theory at 10:00 PM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

Will probably have to SEE the kitchen / kitchenette to offer ideas to see just HOW cramped it is and/or is there any space left unused.

One possibility is a thin utility cart that can be used as a pantry cart AND left a level or two for pots and pans. Put out of the way when not in use, pull close when cooking. Just wide enough to hold your pots and pans, or better, use hooks so you hang them vertically so you can use the space between the shelves to max use.
posted by kschang at 11:39 PM on April 9, 2022

My kitchen is literally a small rectangle with no counterspace. I bought two kitchen islands with bottom shelves and one three shelf utility rack (the ones you see in garages) and have them stand next to eachother, and I'm able to fit quite a few pots and pans in at least one of them, and it's worked out fine!
posted by yueliang at 12:54 AM on April 10, 2022

Could you have space somewhere for a storage ottoman or storage bench? I would put things like heavy pots and Dutch ovens in there, plus empty storage containers or maybe baking dishes, and then have pans and other lower profile things on pegboard or wall storage, whatever’s possible. Like, if you have a regular coffee table right now, could you swap that out for one with storage? Or maybe you have a couch but don’t actually need a couch and would be better served with a single comfy chair and some floor cushions for guests, and the space freed up could be where you keep a baker’s rack or similar. If you haven’t already, get risers for your bed and utilize under bed storage boxes for linens and towels so those don’t need to take up storage elsewhere. These days you can find pretty awesome rolling under bed storage carts. Heck, you might keep your pans under the bed, if your place is small enough and you aren’t dealing with a loft or something.
posted by Mizu at 1:31 AM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Is hanging a rack from the ceiling--not a wall--(maybe over the stove) an option?
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:36 AM on April 10, 2022

I have cabinet space for some pots and pans, but two skillets, a saucepan, a dutch oven, and, sometimes, a soup pot, live stacked on the two back burners of my stove. It's not the most attractive option, but they're out of the way yet accessible.
posted by snaw at 2:50 AM on April 10, 2022

I have this rack in a room near the kitchen for extra storage. It is 4 feet tall but does not take up a lot of floor space. The shelves are deep enough to hold pans up to the size of a dutch oven, but a very large skillet would not fit well; however, being a wire rack you could purchase some s-hooks to hang a few extra things off the sides.

It should be plenty of room for the amount of cookware you describe, probably with room left over to store other things.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:32 AM on April 10, 2022

We screwed a pegboard onto the window frame in a one bedroom with a weird kitchen. Several friends have copied it. (The biggest benefit was knowing that we we’re screwing into wood and the whole thing wasn’t going to crash onto the floor.)

I think I will always keep my two biggest soup pots in the top of the stove, which saves a bit of cabinet space.
posted by bilabial at 7:05 AM on April 10, 2022

My apartment may not be quite as small as an NYC studio, but this vertical pot rack (I bought two) has worked great to help me deal with a lack of kitchen space/storage.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:56 AM on April 10, 2022

Back in my old apartment I screwed a line of ceiling plates into the rafters and connected those with threaded bar to o-rings that held black pipe running the length of the galley kitchen. Then I used hooks to hang my pots and pans from the pipe. When I moved out I just unscrewed the ceiling plates and spackled the holes.
posted by slkinsey at 11:36 AM on April 10, 2022

I always leave my pans on the stove after washing, and the rest go in the oven.
posted by pinochiette at 3:54 PM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

My pans live on a multi-tiered pan stand, so they take up the floor area of one pan, and can live anywhere there's space for that. Same sort of thing as the vertical pot rack Greg Ace mentioned, but tall enough to accommodate saucepans.

Heavy-duty stacking lidded containers are also somewhat useful as a substitute for proper kitchen cabinets, but I have learned the hard way that I always, always end up using the top of the uppermost container as an additional flat surface, and then I have a barrier to getting anything out of any of them.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:41 AM on April 11, 2022

Does your stove have an overhead fan with a metal surround? For many years I have used small, powerful kitchen magnet hooks attached to the inside of the fan surround to hold the lighter Revere ware pans. For my three cast-iron skillets of various sizes, they are stored on one of the back burners of the stove.
posted by ragtimepiano at 10:04 PM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]