So I’m strolling through IKEA several weeks ago and I stumble on this:
A Kroken Rail, S-Hooks, & a Cutlery Caddy (not pictured above).
The wheels start turning and before I could stop myself, these items were in my cart. $10.97 plus tax later, the rail system was m-i-n-e. All mine. buwahahahahaha.
The grand plan is to attach it to the side of my kitchen island. You know.. for pots and towels and cute stuff. 😉
So I race to my island and bust it out of my big blue bag and…
Drats. Let me show you a better angle so you know-wut-I’m-sayin’.
The dag-gum rail ends hit the edge moulding on my cabinet.
So my first thought is, “I’ll saw the edges of the rail off.” I know, I know, my first thought should have been, “I guess I should take it back.” But NoOoOoOoOoooo, I don’t give up that easily! After talking myself off that bad idea, I decided it would be better to remove part of the moulding on the island.
I WISH the Dremel was mine. But nope. I borrowed it from my brother-in-law. (The one married to the Christmas Tree sista’).
I concocted this great plan that I would just carve out the sections of moulding that were in my way. I got a pencil and traced an outline of the rail onto the moulding (that’s what all the green tape was for. It held the rail in place while I leveled it and traced it).
I just turned on the Dremel and went to town filing down the areas I needed removed. I have no clue if I used the right tip attachment or not. I just used the one my BIL gave me with it. And when I say I “carved” out a section, what I really mean is, I “burned” out a section. That dremel spins so fast that it literally burnt the wood right out of the cabinet. It smelled like a bonfire, but it worked like a charm.
Now, this dremel was so powerful that it kinda slipped out of my hand and jumped a few times across the cabinet. Oops. But it got the job done and when the rail is put into place it will cover all my mistakes anyway, so who really cares, right?
Once I measured again with the rail and made sure it fit perfectly, I marked the screw holes with my pencil and drilled out some pilot holes.
And then I just got some screws out of my stash (nope, the rail did not come with screws! As if!! hmph.) and drilled that puppy into the island.
I sure hope I like this rail because I’ve pretty much ruined my island at this point.
Finally, I was done. And I stepped back to admire my handy work. And the Heavens parted. I heard Angels singing.
I named my new crush Mother Kroken, Saint of Kitchen Accessories.
Mother Kroken holds exactly what I need – the 3 pots and pans that I use most frequently, my 2 trivets (bought at Tar-jay like 3 years ago but they surprisingly still have them HERE), & to spruce it up, an IKEA plant and the Cutlery Caddy.
It’s just perfect. And it is surprisingly not in the way at.all.
I never bump into it. The Kroken line was created just for my house. I know it. As my mom frequently says, “I can feel it in.my.bones.” Haha, yes, she actually says that. I wish I were joking. She’s a fun one, lemme tell ya!
I’m not sure which I like more, the Dremel (Pope Dremel the 1st) I used to complete the job or IKEA for providing me my Mother Kroken System for ten bucksie. Definitely worth it.
Have you done any crazy awesome upgrades in your kitchen that just make you giddy? Do you have any accessories in your house worthy of Saint status?
Here’s where I give you my blah blah blah disclaimer that I was not compensated by IKEA or Dremel. All thoughts and opinions are my own, which may be good or bad – who knows?!. I am not affiliated with IKEA or Dremel. I was NOT paid or perked for this post. At all. Unless you count installing an awesome pot rack a perk. In that case, then yes, I perked my self, thankyouverymuch.
Lol – love the way it turned out, looks fabulous! Ikea is just awesome….sometimes. Did you pick up the swedish meatballs while you were there? lol
But of course! I actually bought two bags because my kids LOVE them.
You are a brave woman and it was worth it! I love how it turned out with the pans hanging there. Great idea!
Thank you! Definitely not for everyone, but it works for my family and I couldn’t be happier!
You really are She-ra with the power tools! I used to own a Dremel, but, not knowing how awesome it was, I traded a friend my Dremel for her something-else-I-can’t-remember-but-way-less-great. That was a dumb choice! By the way, the little flower pot looks so cute! Love it!
Beth, “She-ra”?… lol. Thank you! I LOVE doing this kind of stuff. It’s an illness I think. I’ll take a perfectly good house and my brain just starts creating new layouts for it. The house I’m in now honestly doesn’t need any work, but I’ve got a laundry list… rip out the half walls and replace with ballasters, rip out the staircase and make the treads open instead of closed, gut the master bath and come up with a better configuration of the sinks, tub, toilet, and shower… it goes on and on. What is wrong with me? If I could, I’d gut the kitchen and reconfigure it for the sole purpose of putting a little arch walkway from the kitchen to the dining room – in the wall where the oven is. I saw it on another house and I loved it. I need a little walkway, right?
WOW!! What a great idea. Beauty and function is such a fantastic combo!
Thank you! I love this rack. Now I need to install one near my sink for towels!
Wow, I can’t believe you ruined your island to put a rail up. That is crazy stuff indeed. Hope you’ll be able to find a wood marker to cover up the dings.
The rail actually covered the dings once I installed it, so now that it’s all put together you can’t even tell. It looks perfect. I was kinda scared to cut holes in my cabinet, but I just went with it. Sometimes you have to take a risk to reap a better reward.
we have a dremel and i saw the awesomeness that it can do first hand when i was sanding and refinishing a dresser. i needed in a crack, my husband busted it out and quickly put it away when i saw that it was decimating what i needed to be done! heehee, powerful little sucker, that dremel!
we have added pull out drawers to a few skinny nothing drawers in the kitchen and make them built in spice racks! we also added the same pull outs for a trash can and recycle bin, so they are both hiding and i love it!
Yup, the Dremel is awesome. Just another reason I NEED one! As for your drawers, that is really cool! I’ve been eying several drawers in my kitchen to modify, but I love that you changed yours into spice racks. What a perfect use of otherwise wasted space!
Nice! As I’ve been floating through blogland I wish more and more that I live near an IKEA…no such luck right now…
I’ve got a post on my blog on what we’re up to in the kitchen this time…hopefully in a bit we’ll have it done and I can post that too!
http://theadolffamilyfive.blogspot.com/2011/01/theyre-doing-it-again.html
Meredith, holy cow are you doing a renovation or what?!!! Your kitchen is going to look amazing when you guys are done. I can hardly wait to see it! Please let me know when you’ve finished it!!
Great job Allison! You made it work and it looks awesome!
Well thank you. Thank you very much!
Lurve. IKEA is da’ BOMB! We make a trip to Atlanta at least twice a year JUST to go to IKEA. Also, I stop at the one in Round Rock each year on the way to/from San Antonio.
IKEA IS the bomb, yo! So if you are traveling to Atlanta and San Antonio all the time where are you located? I’m about 15 minutes from the IKEA (don’t hate!) in Round Rock but I surprisingly don’t go often because if I do go I don’t get out of there for less than $100, so I have to ban myself.
I love that idea! Unfortunately I’ve got 3 major reasons why I can’t duplicate it. #1 I live 6 HOURS away from ikea now (BUMMER!). #2 I have an as of today 1 year old (pots at any level below eyes = huge messes!) and #3, there is only about 2 feet of clearance around my island – absolutely no room!
and your disclaimer made me laugh!
6 hours? That is just wrong. So sad! You should start a petition! I totally didn’t even think about baby proofing when I hung this rack. We are past that phase (thank goodness! It was rough!) and my kids tend to leave stuff alone now. About the disclaimer… I feel like any time I mention a product I have to make sure people know I’m not just trying to sell something, so the disclaimers are starting to get kinda boring. I felt like mixing it up a bit. Glad you liked it.
I love my dremel and you are darn good with yours too, thanks for the reminder of how wonderful this tool is. I’ll be thinking about this at Ikea later today, I’m sure.
I’m totally diggin’ this Dremel. Too bad I have to give it back. It’s definitely on my wish list though. Maybe one day I’ll make enough money off these dang ads to afford to buy one. 😉 Have fun at IKEA today. I just love love love that store!
What a great job! I’ve thought about making good use of my not so snazzy Island but I haven’t done it yet. Even with the mishap at least you took a risk and it worked out lovely!!
Manymomentsofme.blogspot.com
Thank you! Ya, once the rack was inserted into the holes I drilled with the Dremel it covered up any nicks and dings. It looks quite professional in real life if I do say so myself! Thanks for your compliment.
Take a bow, nice job!
Our dogs would have a field day with cookware at their level :O
Oh man, I didn’t even think of that either! Doh! Ya, obviously this system won’t work for every family situation. 🙂 Some kitchens don’t have room, some people have toddlers that get into everything (nothing like having your 3 year old get a hold of a frying pan!), some have slobbery dogs. You just have to do what works for you. I’m hoping my post will inspire people to think outside the box. I took a coffee/towel bar and modified it to fit as a pot rack. What items can you transform for another purpose? It’s all about getting organized and creating a home that works for your family.
I love your blog, I have followed it for about a year. Everything you do inspires me, but I have one request. I wish that you would add color and a border to your blog header…ever since you updated it it, it doesn’t stand out. It gets lost in the ads that are right below it. Just my opinion! Keep up the great posts, I look forward to them each day, Cindy
Cindy, Thanks your your input! I appreciate when I get feedback about my blog because it’s how I can continue to make it better. 🙂 The whole design of my blog has always been somewhat of an issue because I don’t want to pay a ton of money to get it designed, so I just have been learning photoshop myself. I’m going to keep browsing other blogs for header ideas so that I can make mine even better. Thanks!
sweet! that would be a great idea if 1. i had enough room in my tiny kitchen and 2. i didnt have an almost 2 year old obsessed with cooking, i’d loose my pans all the time!
Oh man, I never even thought of baby proofing! We are past that phase now, but boy was that a fun time. lol.
Dang, I wish we had in Ikea around here.
When I saw that it was too big, I thought the same thing “cut it somehow, make it fit!” LOL. we would have done the same thing.
PS nice kitchen!
Mother Kroken looks awesome! It was totally worth ruining your island for 🙂 I have a kitchen project that I know will achieve saint status…if I ever get around to it. I am so badly in need of some under the counter lighting, sometimes I can’t tell if I’m cutting an onion or an apple! It’s on my looooong To-Do list!
I just love reading your posts & seeing what mischief you are up to. You are a hoot. Keep it up and we might have to make you a saint someday. Heaven knows you can perform miracles.
Hey,
Harbor Freights version works great and is pretty inexpensive> I got that and the clock for Christmas!- The “cast saw” is my new favorite tool too!
Sometimes they have coupons on their website!
Allison, for heavens sake would you please grab some paint or a the very least a black sharpie and cover those silver screw heads!
🙂 hahaha
It looks cool. I’d knock the pans off every time.
OMG you are brave! There is no way in H-E-double-hockey-stick I would have Dremel-ed away part of the molding on my island (if I had one) to put up a rail, but you are a better woman than I!
I love IKEA and can never get out of there without spending an unholy amount of money. I used to frequently buy something and bring it home, only to find out it didn’t fit (d’oh!), so now I go to the site and see if I can find measurements before I even bother driving over there. Saves me a lot of frustration, but now I see that I can bust out the power tools and MAKE it work!
Kimberly
P.S. Why do I always end up being the blue-ink-spill-with-legs/alien life form when I comment on your blog? I’d prefer pink …
I love my Dremel too!! I do so much with it. Cutting out the molding was the perfect thing to do. I would have done that myself! Ha! And your new rail system is fabulous! It looks marvelous too!!
Well done!!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Don’t you LOVE that IKEA rack?!!! I wish I would have bought several last year when I was up there but I only got one that I put in my kiddos playroom. I just made one of my own for downstairs too because IKEA isn’t exactly a convenient trip for me. It was much easier to go to Lowe’s. If you have time, check it out! http://www.scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/01/organizing-kiddos-coloring-table.html
I really like your idea for it in the kitchen. Maybe I’ll pick up a few more next time I’m up there.
Jen
Scissors & Spatulas
I don’t have a blog and only really know how to use the computer for reading others’, emailing, Facebook and shopping! I kind of kicked myself for leaving the note as you are so brave in always putting yourself and your ideas out for all of us to see. Have a wonderful day!!!
Love the rail and your kitchen is gorgeous!!!
I was wondering if you could tell me where you found the little pot/bucket for the plant you have hanging on the rail.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m baffled as to why you would A) ruin your island just to put up an $11 rail and B) why you would choose to hang pots and pans in the middle of a high traffic area in a house with children??
First off, why wouldn’t I? I wanted it. As for the other comment, the area is extremely wide. No one has ever run into it. Our kids don’t mess with it. It works perfectly for our family. It may not work for everyone, but we have been 110% sastified with it so far.
I didn’t mean to upset you. I was asking in reference to long-term investments. If you decided to re-sell your house, as a buyer, I’d be a little disappointed to find the island damaged. The “Barney” walls were one thing as you knew you could always repaint but, you’ll need a master carpenter to repair the stiles on the island; and, unfortunately, the repairs will still be seen. My DH is in the industry and we also do our own cabinetry projects. You could always leave the rail though, if you did decided to sell. I just happened to see that they are only $3 on the IKEA website so, perhaps buy one to keep, just in case?
Wendy, I’m not upset. 🙂 I’m just saying that this is my house right now and I want to live here for me. If and when we ever decide to sell then I’ll deal with the island at that point; I’ll probably just leave the bar for the next owner. I’ve lived in too many previous homes “for the next owner” and this time I want to live here for ME.
Also, on a side note, the cabinets look great in photos, but if you look closely they are just basic builder grade cabinets from somewhere like Home Depot or Cabinets Direct. The sides of the cabinets are a piece of wood attached to the raw side of the cabinet that can easily be replaced. These cabinets are in no way shape or form luxury cabinets though they come across that way in photos. And honestly, I’m probably going to end up painting them white at some point in the future.
I agree, you have to do what you want in your home. I am the same! You cant live in a house thinking about who may one day purchase it. I actually have the same ikea bar on the end of my cabinets with 2 monogramed tea towels hanging on it. Also have one over my kitchen sink with the same galvanized buckets (3 of them) filled with artificial boxwood.
Good job! Looks great!