Solution for sliding your heavy Kitchenaid mixer

I thought about installing one of those cool pop-up shelves to hold it. But then I realized, those pop-up shelves that they make for stand mixers are a great idea–unless you have limited storage space. I mean, let’s face it, they take up an entire lower cabinet. Because their moving parts need to have room to…well…move, you can’t store anything other than the mixer in a cabinet that has one of those. That means less storage space, and that wasn’t a good option in my small kitchen. (Sorry no picture for one of these, because people tend not to want to give you permission to use photos of they’re product when you’re blogging about why you did NOT buy it. ahaha!)

The plastic glider that I used at our old house.

So I opted to put it on the countertop, but I still need to be able to move it. I ended up getting one of those plastic kitchen caddies. You know, those black plastic things they sell “As Seen On TV.” It worked okay at my old house, but the rubber things on wheels kept slipping off the wheels under the weight of the mixer and were scratching my butcher block countertop. Those caddies are really made for coffee makers and things that aren’t so heavy. So that was a no-go.

I then replaced it with a bamboo one that had wide plastic wheels. Loved the look, but I immediately saw the wheels from that one were leaving “dents” in my countertop. The wheels were too hard. Nope! Not happening. Sheesh! Isn’t there anything that will allow me to move it in and out of the corner easily without ruining my countertops?????

Bamboo glider looked great but wasn’t the solution

I had to come up with another plan. Surprisingly, there is very little out there for making KitchenAid mixers easier to store and use on the countertop. You would think, given their popularity and long history, that someone would come up with a solution for making them easy to slide and yet still keep them from moving when using them.

Heck, there aren’t even very many DIY ideas for this… There also isn’t anything on Etsy or Ebay. Nadda, zilch, zero!! Ugh!!!

Stained board with felt tabs on the bottom.  Made it myself!

Then it dawned on me. Hardwood floor makers always recommend felt pads on the bottom of chairs to protect the wood and make the chairs easy to move. Could I use felt pads under it? Not really. The feet are rubber, and I don’t think the felt would stick to them for very long.  But I could stain a piece of wood and put the felt on the bottom of the wood!  Solution!!!

I already had a board that I bought a few years ago. It had mitered edges that give it a very professional finished look. I used a walnut stain and a satin finish urethane. It blends in great with my butcher block countertops. I used a large felt pad, about 1.25 inches in diameter and put them in all four corners on the bottom, so they’re very solid.

KitchenAid sitting on my DIY slider.  Looking good!

The KitchenAid feels very sturdy on it. It’s heavy enough that it doesn’t feel unstable or slide around when I’m using it. The felt pads aren’t leaving any marks on my countertop, plus they’re easy to replace if they ever need to be.

The added bonus to this solution is I’m able to slide it wherever it’s convenient. It’s not on any kind of a track, so I’m not limited to just pulling it in and out of the corner. LOVE!!

What solutions have you come up with for your kitchen appliances?