Woodworking Project - Kitchen Rack

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In late 2002, my brother-in-law moved into his own apartment. Like most apartment kitchen's, his is pretty short on cabinet and counter space. And, since he is not the prototypical "crash on your couch for months at a time" kind of brother-in-law, I was more than happy to help out.

Shari suggested that we give him a baking center to provide more counter space. I thought that a set of shelves might provide more storage. This piece is a compromise of the two. Shari calls it a "baker's rack", but to me that implies that it has either a stone or stainless steel countertop. So, I just call it a "kitchen rack".

On top of making a nice gift, this project gave me a chance to exercise my mortise and tenon chops. If you're looking for mortise and tenon practice, try this on for size. The frame of the rack contains 40 M&T joints! But, all of that work is definitely worth it. The select pine frame is light but very strong and very stiff. The shelves are made of the same select pine. The countertop and top shelf are made of clear oak, for a nice warm effect. The whole thing rests on a set of heavy-duty industrial swivel casters to make it easy to move around. The finish is milk paint on the frame and stain with a polyeurathane top-coat for the oak. The over-all dimensions are 66"h x 24"w x 18"d.