DIY Coat Rack

Fall is in the air and winter is just around the corner. In fact, here in the midwest, in the second week of September we already had freezing temps at night, which forced us to take out coats and hats from storage. The biggest thing I don't like about winter time is the added bulk and mess that comes from simply dressing warm. I love wearing as little as possible. Flip flops, no socks, capris, a shirt, boom baby. But that rarely happens, even in the summer. Still, in the winter, we're now adding thick coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, socks, mittens, gloves, hats, boots, glove clips, ear warmers, balaclavas, dress coats, scarves...

I absolutely love Kerri's idea of using a shoe holder for all her scarves, mittens, gloves, etc. I'm definitely doing that this year. Until we need those extra warm things, though, I found our mudroom overrun with jackets, coats, and sweatshirts without a place to go.

We have a small coat rack that my brother gave us last year as a "Welcome to Minnesota" gift, but we found that the 5 of us outgrew it very quickly. So I wanted another. Being on a very tight budget, I knew we couldn't (shouldn't) really afford to go out and buy one, especially since it costs over $30 for the cheapest 5 hook one at Walmart and almost $100 for a better 6 hook one. I wanted lots of hooks and I wanted it big enough to hold all the girls' coats with ease.

So I decided to make one. And you can too! I went to our local hardware store, bought 7 double hooks for 98 cents each (so about $7)

and a 3 ft piece of scrap utility wood for 89 cents. (If you're ever working on a wood project, always check out your store's scrap pieces or cull wood. You can usually find a great piece of wood for less than a buck.) I already had some red craft paint and the girls and I did two light coats because I liked how that looked. If you have to buy the paint, you can get it at a craft store for about 50 cents.

I then sprayed the whole thing with Rustoleum clear coat spray and let it dry (for like 5 minutes). Then I whipped out the power tools (well, after marking where the hooks should go, of course) and screwed in all the hooks. Wa-la, it was finished. It took me a total of 30 minutes.

Now to hang it. Because of its size, it could be drilled straight into the studs (unlike our smaller coat rack) so all I needed were some #8 size screws. I chose 3 inch ones because, well, 2 inch was too small and they didn't have 2 1/2 inch. I drilled thru my coat rack where I needed the screw to go then marked my spot on the wall, drilled a hole, and then screwed the rack on tight. Then I got out the level, marked my next spot, and screwed it into the other stud. Done. About 5 or 10 minutes of work.

Total cost? I already had the paint and the Rustoleum spray, but if I had to go out and buy them, that would have cost about $5. However, then I would have paint and spray which come in handy for SO many projects. I always have Rustoleum on hand and I can't tell you the number of times I use that thing. I love it. Anyway, without those two, it cost me $8 for the board and $2 for the screws, so $10 total. Add the $5 and you still have a large, 7 hook (though really 14 hooks because each hook is double) coat rack for just $15. Can't beat that.

And it feels so good to have the mudroom organized and ready for winter!