We received a counter-top spice rack as a wedding gift. It was great for a little while, but it only held 16 different spices. At first, I started buying more bottles that would fit in it and changing them out seasonally. Eventually, I just shoved things into this lovely spice bin.But when we moved to our current house I was dazzled by all the kitchen space. I wanted an attractive, easily-accessible spice rack that would hold all my spices in one place. And this girl’s got a lot of spices!
So I made this super-easy magnetic spice rack. The best thing about it is it holds 36 spices (almost as many as I have)! You can adjust yours to hold as few or as many spices as you need. I recommend having room for a few extras. You never know when you’ll discover an amazing new spice rub!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Spice tins (I have about 42). These ones are the perfect size- just big enough to hold the contents of a standard 2- or 3- oz. spice jar. Whichever tins you choose, be sure to look at the diameter and ensure you will be able to fit the number of tins you want on your rack.
small paint brush & paint tray
paper & scissors
fine-point chalk pen or white paint pen
Spice Tin Wall Base (to mount to wall)
wall anchors
screw driver
Here are the products I used and recommend:
the spice tins
I removed the lids, and made a little template so I could paint just 1/2 of the clear window with chalkboard paint.
I wanted enough room to write, but also to see the colorful spices inside!
They may need two coats. Let them dry for a few hours, and then you can write labels on them, either with a chalk pen or paint pen.
Meanwhile, fill all your spice jars. If your lids are still drying, be sure to label them with post-its so nothing gets mixed up! This isn’t somewhere you want surprises later:)
Like I said, I have a lot of spices… and now my lovely Indian neighbors are teaching me to make Indian food… so even more spices!
The Spice Rack
The first time we did this, we used a steel plate from Home Depot. It quickly rusted when it came in contact with the spices and kitchen humidity, so we just replaced it with this new 12″x24″ magnetic stainless steel plate. There are other sizes available if you need a different number of tins. Just remember that not all stainless steel is magnetic!
The new spice rack base came with pre-drilled holes, so we put it where we wanted it, marked the holes on the wall with a sharpie, and installed wall anchors.
Then we drilled the screws into the anchors.
The strange-looking lines in the photo are from the under-counter LED lights. This won’t show up once the project is finished.
Finally, I alphabetized and lined up all my beautiful spices!
The girls like to put cinnamon in their applesauce, and I want to be really sure that cinnamon doesn’t get mistaken for cayenne pepper.
As you can see, this fits perfectly along the back splash (standard distance between counter tops and upper cabinets is 18″, but as always MEASURE).
These are the products I used & recommend:
Check out my recent pantry organization project next!
A Messy Girl’s Guide to an Organized Pantry
I love this! We have two cabinets full of spices and I would love to free up that space…maybe a future diy project!
Thanks Jenny!
This is such a brilliant idea! I have very little counter and cabinet space and my spices just end up in a mess all over the place. I’m going to try this, thank you!
Thanks Emily! You can also stick these tins to the fridge or a magnetic knife strip if you want fewer spices- or I’ve even seen people stick them to a metal range hood!
Great idea! Thanks!!!
I need to do this like now! I love it! You are a pure genius ^^. Thanks for sharing such a brilliant idea and walking us through it ♡
Awww thanks! Let me know how it turns out!
This is super cool and practical! I never would have thought of skiing this. Thanks for sharing how to do it!
Thansk Brittany!
Thanks Brittany!
I love how you labeled your lids. Very cute and DIY. And I have so much of everything, so I love that it’s big.
Thanks Mary!
This is so clever and I love the way it looks. It’s homemade but stylish and must make it much easier to find the spice you need instead of rummaging around all of the pots in the cupboard like me!
Thanks Rachel! Yes it sure does!
Great post jessica! Keep up the great job!
Thank you!
What a neat DIY. My husband would love this, he’s the one who cooks and uses all the spices!!
What a fun idea, I love this a lot! Would be great to get my spices more organized like this. x
I love this! I’ll be updating my kitchen this next year and I think I’m going to find the space to do this!
You should totally do it! Let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Love it! I know what I need in my new kitchen that’s being remodeled soon. Love the walk through it explains perfectly.
Thanks Tosha! A new kitchen- sounds exciting!
This is such a great idea. How very creative this is and it looks so expensive and classy. Love it.
Great project. I’m always looking at ways to organize my spices better.
I love this so much! My spices take up so much room in my cupboards, so this is a godsend.
What a great idea for organizing spice all in one attractive place! Thank you for sharing.
Such a great idea. I have an old cabinet and wanted to turn it that way. Thanks for sharing this with us.
This is a really clever idea! I think it would be perfect for us if I didn’t have kids who would try to get at it. Maybe in a few years lol.
You should totally do it- very worthwhile! Thanks Kayla!
This is awesome. I love how creative you are. This could be really perfect at home.
Thank you!
This looks so helpful – we have too many spices to keep track of and it would help me to have a bit more of organization.
I had these same containers once and I loved it! it was so great and I had so many spices! Except I just wrote the names in sharpie on the side, of course it never stuck and was hard to read but the chalk idea is fabulous and so chique!
Thank you!
This is such a great idea. I laughed out loud when I saw the pic of your spice basket. I no longer feel alone. I have a spice drawer that is out of control and need to do this project!
Haha well I’m glad it’s not just me!
This looks so cool! Brilliant idea!
Thank you!
This a fantastic system! Thanks for the great instructions, might have to do this for my awkward pantry 🙌
Thank you! Yes you should totally do it!