DIY - Coat Rack

The inspiration for the coat rack really came from having my husbands comment in the back of my mind while taking a trip to D.I. 

1. Admit you have a problem. 

I wasn't planning on changing the coat rack, until my husband pointed out we had 3 coats to each hook. "It would be nice to have a bigger one" he said. I don't think he knew what he had gotten  himself into.

2. Find a new backboard. 

On a regular trip to D.I. I saw this treasure with all the bed materials. I think it was supposed to be part of a head or footboard at one point.

3. Get the back piece wall hanging worthy. 

The top "cap" piece overhang both sides. I ripped the piece off using a hatchet as a wedge and hammering like crazy. Once I got the piece off I sanded both pieces down and re-attached the cap piece flush with the back of the board.

4. Salvage old hooks and find ones to add.

I ripped off our old "whimpy" coat rack and took each hook off (careful not to loose any hardware). I figured it would be hard to try to find perfectly matching hooks, so I didn't even try. I went to Porter's craft store and found totally romping hooks. They were $5 a piece, except they were %50 off!

5. Figure out placement.

The hooks I salvaged mounted from the back, so I had to mount them before putting up the coat rack. I mounted the white ones later. I put the end hooks " from the edge, then divided the space in between into equal parts. After drilling the holes for the salvaged hooks, I painted one coat of black paint where they were going to be mounted to make it easier on myself later.

5. Mount.

Since I mounted this bad boy by myself (it is not the lightest) I had to get 2 screws ready to go. I found the 2 studs I wanted to mount onto first and figured where to start my 2 screws.  I pre-drilled, then put the screw in far enough with about 1/8" sticking out the back (to help me keep the board still while I tried to hold it up and drill at the same time). 

P.S. make sure the screws you use are long enough to go through the board, the 5/8" gypsum board, and into the stud.

5. Place the new hooks and finish.

I placed the white hooks slightly higher than the salvaged hooks- there were just too many in a line with all of them on the same level. I filled & sanded all the holes left over from mounting with puddy and painted it black. Now all I need is some more coats and something cute to put on the top shelf!