Ruler storage has always been a minor problem for me. And over the years I have come up with different solutions with greater or lesser sucess.
My very first solution was nails in the wall and hanging them on those. This works if a, you don't mind nails in your wall and b, if you have a limited number of rulers.
Then I found this plate draining rack. Which was OK but again limited the number of rulers.
Then there was this solution, an Ikea table top with a small shelf under the glass.
This worked but have you spotted the fatal flaw? When you put the cutting mat on top you can no longer see the rulers...... And my cutting mat has double sided tape to stop it slipping so it isn't so simple just to lift it up and anyway I usually have fabric and other rulers and rotary blade on top already....
So the search was on for a simple inexpensive solution and I found this little plate rack. It works and for about £5 it is a bargain.
If you click on the picture it should take you to Amazon UK's page where they sell it.
I have 22 rulers on it and there is room for more. It is about a foot in depth so takes up some space but at least I can reach them all now easily. (It has the George seal of approval) I wouldn't put the very large square rulers at the very end of it as I think that might tip it over. It might not, but I am not willing to try. I still have nowhere to store my 36" Olippa rulers as they are longer than my cutting table is wide....
The ultimate solution would be this clear custom made cutting mat and then go back to storing them under the glass. I shall have to wait until Monday to find out how eye wateringly expensive it will be.
I hope this gives you some ideas. And if you have any idea how to store the 36" rulers, I would love to hear them. At the moment I store them upright but they are slowly bowing under their own weight.
I keep my bigger mats and rulers in an A1 Art folder. I'm not saying it's the perfect solution, but I also keep a big A1 pad in there for designing, and any wallhangings etc I want to stay flat. I might (somehow) attach an A2 folder to the underneath of my table to slide smaller stuff in as I'm using it
ReplyDeleteJuliet x
I keep the longest rulers and heaviest large square rulers hanging from hooks in a pegboard (similar to nails in the wall). The small and medium sizes are in a ruler holder that is a 3' long piece of wood with grooves cut in it for the rulers to stand up on edge.
ReplyDeleteI use a pegboard for my square rulers, and my long rulers are hanging behind a door from Command hooks. The smaller rulers are in ruler racks, one mounted on the wall and the other on my ironing board. Not ideal, but it's all I can do in my little space. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have limited amount of useful flat surface space available in my sewing room, so most of my rulers are hung :) I really like your glass table top with the storage shelf underneath.
ReplyDeleteI use something similar for sorting mail, but yours looks very room and strong. LeeAnna at not afraid of color
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought I had a lot of rulers...
ReplyDeleteI did not realize there were 36" rulers available! I use a grooved wooden holder designed for rulers and it sits under my worktable (when I had a larger table, I left it sitting on top). I realize you probably would not like to bend over to retrieve your rulers which is not a problem for me. I'm thinking you are back to the nails in the wall for those longer ones. Or could you drop a line with hook from the ceiling and float them within easy reach?
And yes, I bet the price of that clear mat IS eye-watering!
Looks like a neat solution for most of your rulers. Have you any space on top of your lovely looking fabric storage drawers where your 36" rulers could lie flat? Mind you, that would be a lot of flat space to use up, perhaps. I'm a 'nail in the wall' girl - but I only have a dozen rulers (with hanging holes, anyway) so it's not too space hungry!
ReplyDeleteI've got mine on those 'picture ledge' shelves they sell in Ikea - good for long rulers, and the longest length you can get is 120cm. Would that be any good? Like the rack.
ReplyDelete