The thing that is appealing to me about the flat plate racks is that they are so narrow/shallow-- they won't stick out much into the room. My thinking is that this will make the console top more usable and (hopefully) keep the room from feeling claustrophobic. Also given that my dishes are mostly white, it should "lighten up" the space. I do get that I could store more in the vertical slots-- but with the space I have, I should be able to have a plate rack as large as the one I originally displayed-- which is plenty for my dinner plates, lunch plates and the nicer platters. When I remodel, I may look at using shelves or a cabinet style plate rack-- but that's not something I'll undertake this year. Here's an old photo of the kitchen (before we cleared everything out and removed wallpaper). The wall across from the window has nothing on it and is where I'll add some counter height piece-- with the plate rack above running most of the length of the wall. I've been tossing around the idea of cutting off the right arm of the L. My mother is pushing me to remove it--but awkward and dated as it is, it does add some counter space. I do have a vintage china cabinet that I could use in place of a plate rack but I didnt really want to put anything too deep on that wall. The moment I removed my grandmother's china cab, the room opened up and felt brighter. I want to keep that feel. I do like the look of stacked plates on open shelves so I could just consider a long, open shelf that runs the length of the wall. It would give me a place to put the kitchenaid mixer (which I do use frequently) and cookbooks etc. But I guess I thought the plate rack would be a fresher look. I can't undate the kitchen but I am looking to add a little charm-- while solving some of my functional issues. Allison, I hadn't seen Roccocogurl's kitchen-- thanks for sharing. Love her ss countertops!

They do take up a lot of space. I'm guessing that a standard plate rack is 12" deep and a 24" or 36" wide cabinet would hold 12 to 18 plates, or about 2 - 3" per plate. Compare that to a standard 24 to 36" wide x 36" high x 12" deep cabinet where you could store 18 plates each in two piles on one shelf (36 plates). I live in earthquake country and see plate racks as only slightly less hazardous than open shelves, although of course that's a local issue. You also would fill the rack with plates that are either (a) never used, e.g., grandma's best china, but have to be dusted frequently, or (b) used everyday but still pretty enough for display. I think that's why Fiestaware is so often shown in plate racks and on open shelves. OTOH, they are pretty and can end up as a focal point of the kitchen. Do you have the space and would that be the only focal point on that wall?

Lyban, That is indeed the IKEA GRUNDTAL spice rack which they no longer offer. They still offer the version with just one shelf. There is at least one on ebay. ebay link Closetmaid makes a rail system with a similar rack but I don't know what the specs are or if you can get components separately:

The cabinets were some of my original kitchen cabinets that I had stored away, and I refinished them. The sink is my old cast iron sink that I recently replaced with a cast iron farmhouse sink in the main kitchen. I did have a carpenter set the cabinets and help with the countertops - and a plumber put in the sink. The electrical and plumbing for a kitchenette were already there. We had that roughed in years ago. We just never could afford to finish it. I refinished the main kitchen cabinets and that got me thinking about creative ways to use what I already had on hand. You have to post some pics of your shelves when done. I see so many different ones in Houzz and Pinterest pics and you are doing so much good research that I am sure yours will be lovely:)