While looking around a local architectural salvage yard in search of something to use as a hanging pot rack, I ran across a solid bronze bank teller window – the kind with bars to protect the teller from any physical intimidation. Probably turn of the century.
This thing looked great, but was heavy as hell, weighing maybe 35 or 40 pounds. So this project involved two steps: 1) Cleaning it (easy); and 2) hanging it securely so it wouldn’t ever fall (harder).
I decided to sink large hooks directly into the huge two-by-twelve joists that run north-south across my kitchen ceiling, and then hang chains from there. Once I’d hung the rack, I was able to test it by hanging on it with my full body weight. Solid. I also used a couple of small pieces of wood to cover up the gash in the ceiling that allowed me to get to the joists.
The final touch was finding the right S-hooks to hang the pots. You can buy cheap ones, but they move around too much, and are too elusive a target when you’re reaching up to hang a pot (unless you’re an olympic biathlete). For very little extra money you can buy heftier hooks that are steadier.
Bon apetit.
