Put Your Favorite Dishes On Display By Repurposing An Old Towel Bar

You want to know the best thing about towel bars, aside from the fact that they keep our towels off the floor 24/7 (so reliable, right?)? It's that towel bars can be repurposed for clever DIY organization hacks. You can use one to hang planters and add a touch of greenery to an area of your home lacking in color, or give your refrigerator handle a quick upgrade. Better yet, you could use a repurposed towel bar to put your favorite dishes on display. Think of those unique pieces you found at the antique shop that are hiding in your cabinets, or the decorative plates you usually save for family gatherings but would love to show off instead. Well, this is your opportunity.

To pull off this towel bar repurpose hack, you'll need two old towel bars, two floating shelves, a strong adhesive like Liquid Nails or Gorilla Heavy Duty, and mounting supplies. Most shelves come with them, but if you're reusing older ones you had been storing in your closet, you might need to gather a new set. Once everything's mounted, you'll have a safe, stylish space to display your prized dishes. You can hang your new towel bar shelf in the kitchen wherever space permits, maybe above the backsplash or even in the dining room, somewhere your collection can be admired without being in the way.

To repurpose an old towel bar into a display center for your favorite dishes, glue the towel bar facing downward onto the edge of a floating shelf. In other words, the part of the towel bar you'd mount to the wall will now attach to the outer edge of the shelf that juts out from the wall. You can mix and match colors and materials, like pairing gold metal towel bars with black wooden shelves, but make sure the two are the same width. And if your towel bar or shelves are a little beat up, you can always give them new life with a coat of spray paint and a sealer. TikTok's time-saving spray paint tips can make this step even easier.

Once your towel bars are glued to the shelves, mount them in an "L" shape in a kitchen or dining room corner. This setup gives you two sturdy slots for displaying dishes — enough to fit around five large plates, plus more if you're stacking smaller ones in front. If you prefer a simpler design, you can mount just one shelf and let the corner of your walls act as a natural side support. One thing to keep in mind with this DIY is that the adhesive you choose is important. You don't want the towel bar coming loose and sending your dishes crashing down. A construction-grade adhesive like Liquid Nails is your best bet. It not only bonds a variety of materials, but it's also weatherproof and can handle temperature changes, making it perfect for a kitchen environment.