I think that the reason big cable messes come about are two-fold (1) the pain of "getting back there" behind the rack and straighten up and (2) the pain of putting away/ retrieving a cable. In a good professional studio I think it is much easier to do both these things-- the ones Iv been in have racks that are built to easily walk behind, and use special hanger racks for cables.
In my little home studio, I put my rack on castor wheels. It is not a particularly big rack (approx 4'high). I like to be able to swivel it around completely to rewire (thus the castors), so I don't necessarily need to "get behind it" at all. My DAW (Korg d1600) sits on top of the rack.
I also have a steel wire shelf unit I got from Bed Bath & Beyond (home supply store in NYC), on castor weels. It also swivels around freely. My Mac 7500, that I use mostly for sequencing, sits on one of it's shelves. So do some other pieces: a sequencer, a drum machine, etc. The rack and the shelf unit are situated next to one another so that they can 'cable-mate' freely, while happily swivelling to and fro. This allows me to constanly rewire with minimal hassles. I can get to the front or the back of all the units, computers, etc. just by rotation, sort of. I think that if I ever needed a bigger rack I might just get another short one, so that I could continue to swivel.
Im big into swivelling, in case you didn't get that. It helps when the space is limited.
I try to hang cables as much as possible. At least the ones I use most often. I hang them right off of the same shelf unit when I am done using them. I find this to be quick and easy. I don't have to get out of my chair. For me, putting them away in a box or drawer spells spagetti, unless I tie them, which takes time. I would rather not stop what I am doing, mid-session, to tie a cable. So, I loop the cable a few times loosely and hang it on the shelf. To hang, I have used several methods. Currently I am using small bungy-cord straps with hooks on each end (from the hardware store). These are hooked into the shelf unit in different spots, creating mini bungy-loops which I then use to hang audio cables from. As I said, I loosely coil the audio cable, unhook one of the bungy-loops, put the cable on it, and re-hook. I can hang several audio cables of the same type on of a single bungy-loop this way. Sometimes I skip the bungy-loop part entirely, go hog wild, and just hang a cable right off the shelf!! That way is the fastest but not quite as organized.
So, you see, I am big into hanging too, in case you didn't get that.
I keep less-frequently used cables in tied coils in stackable plastic milk crate boxes. I have several of these crates. They are strong and I like them, although they do make the place look a little like a 7-11 dairy section. As I said, in this crates the cables get coiled and tied. I use little rope ties. I usually use two ties on each coiled cable, on opposing sides so that there is no chance of spagetti once the cable is put in the crate.
By the way I am big into milk crates, in case you didn't get that either.
If I had more room, and my girlfriend wouldn't mind me putting pegboard on the wall to hang wires off of I probably would do that. We'll see. Pretty soon the room is going to look like a Radio Shack anyway, if it doesn't already.
I used to use a 1/4 " patch bay, but I have pretty much given up on that-- just so many different cable types. When I used to use it, I found myself obsessively labling. That doesn't seem to be as much of an issue now-a-days. Many of my cables are different colors, so that tends to help that way a bit too.
Best of luck.
-jk
I left the studs of course but I can get into the attic through the bathroom next to my studio, crawl in, and move whatever cables I like. I even put in an 4' long single-tube flourescent light on the inside of the rafters so I can see back there. While climbing in the attic is a pain in the ass, once I'm done soldering I'll be in there quite infrequently due to all the patch bays I'm soldering in. At least I hope so 
