Handmade Mug Rack
A handmade mug rack is a way to keep coffee mugs handy on the kitchen counter while still taking up a minimum amount of space. It also offers a way for you to display your mugs, and means you don’t have to bend or stretch to retrieve them from a cupboard or cabinet. Making one yourself allows you to paint or stain it to match the décor and colors in your kitchen.
Basic Rack
Make your own basic mug rack with a piece of pine board that’s 6-by-6 inches and 1 inch thick, using a 12-inch piece of 1-by-1 inch pine for the vertical. Secure the vertical to the base with glue and a screw, then use paint or stain to decorate the mug rack to match your kitchen décor. Complete the mug rack with cup hooks screwed into each side of the vertical, making sure they’re staggered to allow for two mugs on each of the four sides of the vertical.
Using A Router
Use a router to create a rounded wooden base, 5 1/4 inches in diameter for the mug rack, with a hole in the center. Make the vertical from a piece of dowel, creating a pin of wood to fit into the hole in the base. Turn the top of the vertical on the router. Stagger the two rows of pegs for the mugs around the vertical, the top row just below the turned area, the bottom row 9 inches above the base. Use a pillar drill for the peg holes, putting them at a 15 degree angle to keep the mugs in place.
Wrought Iron
A wrought iron mug tree can hold four mugs. It’s made from four metal rods, one end of each rod curved to make the foot that rests on the kitchen counter, the other curled around to form the hook that holds the coffee mug. The straight sections of each rod are joined together, either welded or bound, to complete the mug tree.
Contemporary
Make a contemporary mug rack by welding a chrome rod to a 6-inch diameter circular chrome base so that it stands vertically. Weld shorter chrome rods to the central rod, ensuring they are at an angle to hold the mugs. Add only three of the shorter rods, staggered around the main rod, as this will not only allow room for the mugs but will make sure that the weight is evenly distributed and the mug rack won’t tip.
