How to use IKEA cabinetry to build a spice rack in an IKEA kitchen

How to get great results in your kitchen with your IKEA spice rack

Quite often, either by request or necessity, the IKD design team incorporates clever storage ideas into IKEA kitchens.

For our clients who are serious about cooking, those solutions often revolve around storing spices. “We’ve found that our IKD customers who enjoy cooking are challenged by IKEA’s lack of options for storing spices,” says IKD designer Paulina.

And when one of our clients comes to us with examples of kitchen designs and their kitchen space – and budget – are limited, it requires us to really think outside the box, so to speak.

One fairly easy and budget friendly kitchen design idea is to create a “pull out spice rack hack using IKEA” SEKTION cabinetry framework and existing IKEA cabinetry.

Why is this so important?

From a design perspective, a good kitchen designer will leave a few inches at each end just in case the walls aren’t 100% plumb, the real measurements turn out to be different than the ones originally taken or there are base cabinets with drawers against the wall. So this hack is perfect for filling a large empty space in a cabinet run between two walls.

Wider leftover spaces can be covered with fillers, but large fillers don’t look professional. If more than 5” is leftover, you can put this space to work by inserting a custom 5” wide cabinet.

Also, any serious cook will tell you that they need their ingredients easy to reach and a pull out spice rack that functions well within the work triangle.
But, IKEA doesn’t sell one!

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Yes, there is the IKEA VARIERA drawer insert for spice jars and the BEKVAM spice rack, but these options are rarely adequate for the cook who wants to be creative in the kitchen without worrying about getting to their ingredients.

For the true DIYers, our solution is to create the pull out spice rack using IKEA’s SEKTION 12”-wide base cabinet frame with pullout organizers. Keep in mind that the cabinet will need to be cut to a narrower size.

After that, you’ll need to install the pullout accessory. (Just a note: IKEA does not sell the kind of pullout accessory you need. This is an example of the type you’ll need. The important thing is the accessory needs to fit inside a 3.5″opening as this is the available space inside a 5″-wide IKEA cabinet.

Remember: IKD’s kitchen design services allow for these customized ideas that make your space more efficient and provide storage with style.

Let’s take a look at ways you can accomplish a spice rack solution for the chef in your home!

Spicing Things Up

Every inch counts and if you have a few inches of unused space in your kitchen layout (at least 3” wide and 30” tall), that filler could become the perfect spot to keep your spice bottles organized with this easy-to-reach solution.

For our purposes, we’ll cut the cabinet’s width down to a 5” width. You can do this by cutting the back panel from a 12” width to the 5” width. After cutting the back panel, you assemble the base cabinet as you would any other IKEA base cabinet.

From there drill holes for concealed hinges for your 5”-high and 30”-wide drawer front. We’ll place this drawer front vertically and use it as our door. Install your pullout accessory and lastly attach hinges to the front and attach the hinges to your cabinet frame.

IKEA kitchen cabinet doors start at 12” wide, so where are we getting the 5” door? We’re taking a low drawer front and placing it vertically. The low drawer front is 5” high, so when you rotate it 90° you have a 5” wide door.

Unfortunately, IKEA does not sell a 5” wide cabinet. The narrowest cabinet is 12”, and the widest is 36”. But IKEA and third-party companies, like Semihandmade, do make a 5” drawer front.

So, to summarize, for a 5” wide wall cabinet, you’ll need: A side panel from the cabinet frame (15” x 32 1/2”); a back panel from the cabinet frame (cut down to 3 ½” x 28 1/2”); the top and bottom from the cabinet frame (cut down to 3 ½” x 14 3/4”); shelves (cut down to 3 ½” x 14 3/4”), and a 30”x5” drawer front.

If you’re making a base cabinet, be sure to include four SEKTION cabinet legs and a matching toe-kick (depending on your door style). This hack cannot be done with door styles that have wood tones because grain direction will look different than the rest of the kitchen.

Leave these open and use them without a door.

The spice is right

Obviously, the ideal location for spices is one that’s convenient for you and safe for your spices. That said, the best possible option includes: Next to a cooktop, or at both sides of a cooktop if you own a lot of spice bottles. In these cases, the heat is concentrated at the countertop level and upward, far enough from the contents of your spice rack.

If that’s not possible, then the gap between two base cabinets is a suitable alternative. That being said, storing them next to an oven is not recommended as the heat affects their flavor and longevity.

We also typically discourage clients from putting spice racks between wall cabinets because these spaces are too shallow to provide enough storage, and the higher shelves are often hard to reach. Of course if the clients are tall people we will accommodate that to make the kitchen as ergonomic as possible.

Ultimately though, this is a project that can be conquered over a weekend, and once done, you will have a much more efficient and stylish IKEA kitchen.