Metro Shelving

If you've never heard of Metro shelves, take note.  My former kitchen had very limited space and our growing collection of kitchen items prompted me to find a solution.  That's where Metro shelves came in.  I had always admired them at Sur La Table, Fante's Kitchenware's in Philadelphia and at Foster's, so it was only natural for me to buy one.  These steel shelving systems can be purchased in different configurations ranging from wide shelves, narrow towers, corner shelves or kitchen islands with butcher block tops and they are not terribly expensive.  To make them mobile you can have them fitted with casters.  Although my current kitchen has more space, I still find myself dependent on this particular shelf.  Here is how I currently use mine.

The shelving system may seem packed, but it's quite organized.  This is located along one of my walls in the kitchen.

The top two shelves have some of my large yellowware bowls and antique glass cake stands.  My french rolling pin fits there nicely and won't fall off.

The middle shelf holds a Cuisinart food processor, a professional KitchenAid stand mixer and an All-Clad 13" braiser with one of my kitchen mascots sitting proudly. 

 

The second to bottom shelf has all of my rimmed baking sheets, my flat cookie sheets, several cutting boards, a large Martha by Mail stainless steel colander and an All-Clad 7qt. pasta pentola pot.

 

The bottom shelf holds stockpots, some skillets and a round grill pan.

 

The nonstick grill pan is lined with a folded kitchen towel before being stacked with a pot. This protects the pan's coating.

 

A side view let's you see how I hang pots and pans from hooks along the edges.  The shelves are made to withstand all that weight.

 

You'll notice that I hook the lids onto the handles to keep them together.

I hope this provides you with some ideas of how you can use a steel shelf like this one. Don't limit yourself to using these in the kitchen.  A Metro shelf would be right at home in a garage or laundry room quite easily.  Once you get one into your home you're going to find yourself relying on it a lot and wondering how you ever managed without one.  Have fun organizing!