Make Your Kitchen Counter Look More Organized With This Genius Dish Rack Trend

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The perfect kitchens on all our feeds might be sleek, clutter-free, and totally aesthetic. But in reality, we have to do things like, you know, cook, and wash dishes! Kitchens are meant to be used, in reality, but what precious little counter space we do have, we want to maximize. Then again, dishes have to be done, and piled somewhere to dry. While a towel or absorbent dryer mat gets the job done, there's a more chic, space-efficient option.

There are all sorts of clever ways to give even tiny kitchens more breathing room, but one of the most obvious is not sacrificing a huge swath of your limited counter space to let dishes dry on — this eats up tons of space. Some opt to dedicate half their sink to a rack for drying dishes, but who wants to give up half their sink? This is where this wall-mounted solution comes in — to keep freshly washed plates and silverware suspended and off your counters while they dry, really making the most of your space.

Wall-mounted dish racks aren't mainstays in most kitchens — yet — but they should be. Offered in a range of sizes and configurations, and also made out of stainless steel and plastic varieties, you can find a wall-mounted dish rack for just about any configuration. Inexpensive options are available everywhere from Ikea to Amazon; take Generic's three-tier wall-mounted model, for instance. 

Not only are traditional dish drying solutions a space hog and an eyesore, they can be unhygienic, as water sits on dishes or pools on countertops. There are more chic, modern alternatives to traditional absorbent mats — even ones made out of stone, but they still take up valuable counter space. Old-fashioned wooden foldable dish racks can get moldy or scuzzy over time, and they still hog space. 

On the flip side, wall-mounted dish racks are built with draining systems to collect water and keep it off dishes. Water pools from drying dishes into these trays, which can then be removed and dumped into the sink. Many too are outfitted with perfectly sized slots to hold plates, bowls, and utensils, so everything has its place, instead of all piling up on a musty old drying mat for days. 

Many options on the market are designed to be screwed and attached right into the kitchen wall or backsplash — or you can stack units and assemble a multi-tiered dish drying tower to hold larger amounts of dishes and utensils, ideal for a family or large household. Don't want or can't screw a rack into your walls? Freestanding over-the-sink racks are also available and similarly take up no counter space and keep dishes suspended for quicker dry times and better hygiene, all while keeping your countertops free and clear.