Yes, very common in Europe. I'm used to them having an open bottom, so condensation is not an issue.

I think they are less common here for two reasons; one, we typically have a window over sink which we would not want to occlude and two, we more typically use dishwashers. But it certainly is clever.

I may need to start a new thread, but does anyone have ideas for how to conceal a dish drying rack when the sink is in the island?

I had this when I lived in Italy, and it did seem clever, but that particular cabinet did look a bit worse for wear all around the bottom of the inside because of water. It wasn't so much condensation as it was just drips and splashes from putting dripping things in the cabinets.

I think those upper-cabinet drying racks do seem pretty cool. I've wondered how they fare after using for awhile so it's good to hear Jillius's experience. Not that I was planning on using one but just interesting to know.

@shouldibuild: I don't have my island sink yet, it will actually be a peninsula but same idea as a regular island. I'm planning on a big, single sink. I don't actually hand wash a lot of stuff, mainly bigger items, but I plan on doing a couple different things. I figure I can just use my drying mat, then actually dry the items (Gasp! I know!) and then put them away and have a place under sink to hang my drying mat. Or I can move the items to the rack in the bottom of the sink to drip-dry. HTH.

In my parent's home, we "hacked" an Ikea GRUNDTAL dish rack to make a drying rack inside a cabinet. There is no wooden base to the cabinet - the water drips into the base of the rack (rather than into the sink as some of these racks do). My mother loves it. I am adopting the same concept in our flat using the stainless steel dish rack found across India (need to get a base for it to hold the water drips).

The stainless steel dish rack used in typical Indian kitchens cost in India is about USD 35. Tsé & Tsé dish rack sells these on their website.. Ironically, just when Indian families are abandoning these kind of dish racks as being too traditional and "blah", they are considered chic in Europe.

This post was edited by gemcap on Fri, Jan 23, 15 at 6:47

shouldbuild, I conceal my dish drying rack in the dishwasher! hah hah. It's just hubby and I so we do not use the dishwasher often. If I had the budget for some kitchen remodel, I'd pull it out and put in an under cabinet slide out trash can thingy. We run the d/w occasionally just to keep the hoses from drying out.

funkycamper, just an aside - I got one of those microfiber drying mats. They are great for drying, but hanging them under the sink turned out to be a real pain, so I replaced it with this, which is outstanding. I got it at BB&B for about $20 (after coupon). When I'm done with it I roll it up and put it in the sink-front tip out.

Oh, yes, I've seen those but forgot about them. That probably does make more sense. I have a microfiber mat now and love it but I'll be losing my "hidden" corner in my remodel (counter where I lay things to dry is obscured from view by fridge). So that roll-up rack makes more sense on a peninsula or island. Thanks.

I also have the one that sjhockeyfan has and love it. Best thing ever! Also for drying smaller things I sometimes put my microfiber pad on top of it. I have a small kitchen and the roll out dryer is great for extra counter space too when putting a cutting board on top. It's very sturdy and rolls up nice for storage.

Where can I buy one in US?

Amazon has them.