Repurposed Plate Rack Three Different Ways

Both of my grandmothers decorated with plate racks all over their homes. They had hanging plate racks, plate rack shelves and metal plate racks that sat on the counter like the one below that I found at a thrift store. I don’t know that I can remember a time when I haven’t seen some form of a plate rack at a thrift store. Displaying plates isn’t as popular as it used to be (for younger generations at least). People are dropping plate racks at the thrift store left and right, which makes them an affordable option to repurpose. Let me show you three different ways I’ve repurposed my plate rack.

Below is my thrifted plate rack before I gave it a little makeover. Not too bad for $3.

Even though it was in great condition and sturdy solid metal, I still wanted to give it a facelift.

Can you guess what I did to it?

I gave it a new look with my infamous antique gold spray paint. I’m obsessed with this stuff. I’ve used it to transform items all over my house.

Before I spray painted it, I cleaned it. Don’t ever buy something from the thrift store and forget to disinfect it!

Once it was good and clean, I gave this lovely plate rack a makeover with spray paint.

It’s crazy what a little paint can do!

Let me show you a few ways to repurpose the plate rack.

Repurposed plate rack to a magazine holder

I’ve been lucky enough to be featured in a few of these magazines and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to display them on my office desk. This plate rack displays the magazines well, don’t you think?

I don’t have a dedicated “office” so this wall behind our living room couch has to do. I tried my best to make it blend with the rest of our decor. You can see more of this DIY hairpin leg table and my office space and also this super easy sharpie shiplap.

The spray paint color really blends well with the rest of the metal and gold decor. I didn’t stack that many magazines, but it will probably hold up to 15!

The magazines slide in and out so easily! I love the detail on the front of the “plate rack.”

Here’s a closer look from the side. This might just have to stay there!

The next way to repurpose a plate rack came out of necessity.

We have a very small bathroom (thank you 1980’s home designs!). Due to the lack of space I’m always looking for small space storage solutions. I don’t like to add items to the countertop but sometimes it’s a necessity.

Repurposed plate rack to a towel holder

We have a funny bathroom vanity layout due to the trough sink. Because of where the sink sits, all of the counter space is on the right side. We also don’t have nearly any storage space under the sink.

That’s when I decided it would be a good idea to add a few hand towels to the old plate rack.

What do you think of my new towel holder?

I’m still not sure how well it will work in our master bathroom because it takes up most of the counter space. I do think it would be super inviting in a guest bathroom.

Doesn’t this scream, “come on in and stay a while?” LOL, whenever I see pretty folded towels in a bathroom I think to myself, “how inviting!”

The next way to repurpose a plate rack has become a household name; a charging station for computers and devices!

Repurposed plate rack to a DIY charging station for large electronic devices

I’m not stranger to creating my own DIY charging station. I normally prefer to hide electronic devices and cords in a drawer, but when you have larger devices like iPads and thin computers, sometimes you have to leave them on the counter.

That’s where this plate rack comes in handy.

I was surprised at how well these iPads (the one at the back is actually a small slim computer) fit on the plate charger.

Funny how well the new repurposed plate holder matches my lamps. LOL, I told you I use that spray paint everywhere. 🙂

A lot of electronic chargers are big and chunky (most are bulky wood) but this one is much more elegant!

I’m so glad I spray painted my new repurposed plate charger. I can’t believe how well it contrasts with the black electronics!

Now if I only had three of these I would use all of them.

If you were me, where would you choose to use it?

What is the moral of this story (post)?

If you see one of these plate racks, grab it and repurpose it!

We can all use some extra storage!