Making the Cut: 2-Tier Dish Drying Rack
Making the Cut is a series on the smart and simple solutions that have (or have not) earned a place in our home.
Executive summary: I’ve become a dish drying rack person again, but this time I don’t want to compromise on either form or function.
I’ve gone back and forth on dish drying racks for many years now. My parents always had one filled to the brim (they aren’t good at putting things away in the cupboards), plus they used the dishwasher as an extra drying rack. (I swear this is a Chinese family habit: do all the dishes by hand, then put them in the dishwasher to dry). So when I moved into my first apartment in college, I got a standard plastic dish drying rack. I wasn’t hung up on the aesthetics back then - interior decor is only a more recent obsession of mine. But at some point during my late-20s “adulting” years, I decided I wanted a more attractive way to air dry my dishes. I even tried the dishwasher tactic, but didn’t like having to keep the door cracked open for airflow. So for a while, we had one of those wooden “x-shaped” racks, which looked decent, but which I felt lacked capacity. And this was when we were only cooking for two. So then I forwent the drying rack altogether and just laid out dish towels on the counter. When the dishes were dry, I’d put away the towels. But I did not like the look of all our pots and plates piled up on the counter for a few hours a day, plus it took up a lot of counter space, which is especially at a premium in a small kitchen. That’s when I started searching for attractive dish drying racks again.
Behold, I found a compact, two-tier, minimal rack that comes with hooks too. It fits a common theme of small space design: go vertical! It ain’t cheap (you know you’re a victim of lifestyle creep when you’re willing to dish out almost three digits for a drying rack, pun totally intended), but the beauty of living in a small space with few possessions is that you can spend your greenbacks on nicer items. Quality over quantity is the motto. Measuring approx. 8” deep x 16” wide (and 13” tall), this is the smart and simple answer to my dish drying conundrum. It comes with a draining tray and utensil holder that I don’t use – I’ve never liked how gross they get, and instantly too. So I use a folded up dish towel underneath to catch the drips (not pictured), and periodically throw it in the washing machine with the other towels.
Dish rack: Yamazaki Home
We use the hooks to hang our Swedish dishcloths, which we use for washing dishes and wiping surfaces. I’ll write a follow-up post about those, as they deserve their own moment in the spotlight. For now, this post is an ode to my minimalist drying rack. I’ve spent years searching for a solution, and I think the kitchen is difficult because everything gets sticky and wet all the time, so there’s often a trade-off between form and function. I feel that I have found a happy equilibrium, and am thrilled to tell people all about it!