Under Cabinet Spice Rack: Measure the Gap Before You Buy

It’s 6:40 p.m., the cumin is behind the toaster again, and that strip of backsplash under your cabinet looks like free real estate. An under cabinet spice rack can use that gap, but measure the clear width, vertical space and projection before you buy.

Houseland lists this wall-mounted shelf in 11.4 in (29 cm), 13.8 in (35 cm) and 17.5 in (44.5 cm) widths, with a 5.5 in (14 cm) or 5.9 in (15 cm) height and a 3.9 in (10 cm) or 4.1 in (10.5 cm) depth. Your cabinet gap has to clear all 3 shelf dimensions, plus the jars you actually reach for on a Tuesday night. The shelf fixes to the wall below the cabinet with 2 supplied screw-in hooks or 2 supplied adhesive pads; it is not an underside-mounted cabinet accessory.

What should you measure for an under cabinet spice rack?

Measure 4 things: usable width, usable height, usable depth and your tallest everyday jar. The cabinet opening can look huge until an outlet plate, backsplash trim or coffee-machine lid steals 2 in (5.1 cm) of it.

1. Measure the narrowest clear width from obstruction to obstruction. Check it at 3 heights if trim, tile edges or outlet plates change the opening.
2. Measure from the countertop or tallest appliance below to the cabinet underside. KraftMaid describes 18 in (45.7 cm) as a standard countertop-to-wall-cabinet distance, but your kitchen is the one that matters.
3. Measure how far a shelf can project from the wall before it interferes with a faucet arc, appliance lid, cutting-board parking spot or your normal prep path.
4. Measure the tallest jar or bottle you plan to store, including the lid. A 5.9 in (15 cm) shelf body fitting the wall does not mean a 9 in (22.9 cm) bottle fits beneath a low cabinet.

Measure the empty rectangle, not the cabinet. For a worked example, a 15.0 in (38.1 cm) clear width, 17.0 in (43.2 cm) vertical gap and 5.0 in (12.7 cm) available projection gives you a real box to test instead of a hopeful guess.

How much height do you really have below the cabinet?

Your usable height is the cabinet-to-obstruction gap after you account for whatever lives on the counter. KraftMaid’s 18 in (45.7 cm) standard is a planning reference, not permission to ignore your blender, backsplash rail or under-cabinet light.

1. Start at the lowest fixed point under the cabinet, including trim or lighting.
2. End at the highest thing that must stay below the shelf: the counter, a 12 in (30.5 cm) appliance, or a bottle you refuse to relocate.
3. Subtract those two positions and compare the result with the shelf body plus the tallest jar you want to lift in and out.

Height is where tidy sketches meet real kitchens. If your clear gap is 18 in (45.7 cm) and the shelf body is 5.9 in (15 cm), you still need enough open space above the shelf rail to remove your jars without bumping the cabinet underside.

Do a cardboard test before drilling: tape a rectangle to the wall at the proposed shelf height, mimic your tallest jar with a cereal box or bottle, and remove it 3 times. If your knuckles hit the cabinet on those 3 tries, move the shelf down or choose another storage zone.

Which size fits your clear width?

Choose the widest size that fits your measured clear wall without touching trim, outlets or cabinet sides. Houseland lists Small at 11.4 in (29 cm), Medium at 13.8 in (35 cm) and Large at 17.5 in (44.5 cm), each as a single tier.

A 14.5 in (36.8 cm) opening fits the 13.8 in (35 cm) Medium on width; the remaining 0.7 in (1.8 cm) is total side slack, or about 0.35 in (0.9 cm) per side if centered. That arithmetic is useful because “almost 15 inches” is how shelves end up arguing with cabinet trim.

Recommended for this use case: a renter with a 14.5 in (36.8 cm) clear backsplash and standard 4 oz spice jars should choose the Medium 13.8 in (35 cm) size, keep the adhesive-mounted load light and even, and switch to the supplied screw-in hooks for full glass jars or a textured wall.

From the shop

Wall Mounted Spice Rack, Steel Wire Grid Shelf with Wood Base

Best for a measured backsplash gap below an upper cabinet; powder-coated steel wire on a solid natural-wood base; three listed widths run from 11.4 in (29 cm) to 17.5 in (44.5 cm). Adhesive mounting is the light-duty option, so use the supplied screw-in hooks for full glass jars or a textured wall.

View the wire spice rack — 3 sizes & current price

Will 3.9–4.1 in of depth get in your way?

It depends on what shares the counter below. The Small projects 3.9 in (10 cm) from the wall; Medium and Large project 4.1 in (10.5 cm), so tape that depth onto the counter before you decide the shelf is “shallow.”

Projection is the dimension people forget. A 4.1 in (10.5 cm) shelf above an empty prep zone may feel compact, while the same shelf behind an espresso machine can block a water-tank lid or force the appliance forward.

Use a side-view test: put painter’s tape 4.1 in (10.5 cm) out from the wall, then run your normal school-morning coffee routine and Sunday prep around it. Open the appliance lid, swing the faucet and stand 1 cutting board where it actually goes.

If the counter is already crowded, a cabinet, drawer or wall spice organizer comparison gives you other storage routes without pretending every backsplash needs another object. If jar diameter is the problem rather than wall depth, check which jar sizes fit a wire spice rack before you size the shelf around a collection of mismatched bottles.

Should you use adhesive pads or screw-in hooks?

Use the mounting method that matches the load and wall. Houseland supplies 2 adhesive pads and 2 screw-in hooks; the shelf listing treats adhesive as the light-duty route on smooth, clean, dry paint or tile, and recommends screws for full glass spice jars or textured walls.

The practical trade-off is simple: adhesive avoids drilling, but it is the lighter-load option. If you want a full row of 6–10 standard 4 oz glass jars, use the supplied screw-in hooks and choose any additional wall fastener for your wall material and load rather than assuming bare drywall behaves like a stud.

Lowe’s notes that drywall anchors must suit both the wall type and the item weight, and that fastening into a stud is the stronger option when one is available. That matters more than a neat 13.8 in (35 cm) fit if the shelf is carrying several filled jars.

For adhesive mounting, follow the pad instructions that come with the shelf and test the mounting surface first. The listing specifically calls for smooth, clean, dry paint or tile; grease film behind a cooktop and textured plaster are different jobs.

What if the gap is above the stove or already crowded?

Choose another section of wall if the shelf would sit in the active cooking zone or make the counter harder to use. The U.S. Fire Administration says to keep items that can catch fire, including wooden utensils, food packaging, towels and curtains, away from the stovetop; this shelf includes a solid natural-wood base, so “it fits” is not the only test.

Keep the sizing question separate from the heat question. Use the spice-rack distance from a gas burner guide for that placement decision, then come back to width, height and projection once you have a safe wall zone.

If your backsplash has no clean rectangle at least 11.4 in (29 cm) wide, stop forcing it. A drawer spice rack, door spice rack or countertop spice rack may fit your week better, especially if a toaster, mixer and coffee maker already occupy the 18 in (45.7 cm) counter-to-cabinet band.

For a clear wall area that passes the tape test, the powder-coated steel wire frame and solid natural-wood base come in black or white and arrive as one assembled piece. You can compare this shelf with other kitchen storage in the kitchen and home collection. Your best size is still the one your tape measure approves.

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