Trashtastic Tuesday- DIY Rustic Coat Rack

Hey all! Welcome to Trashtastic Tuesday! This is a little series around here where I show you something that I thrifted, sometimes I make it over, sometimes I don’t. Or it may be something that I have owned and I am tired of, or no longer like, so I make it over. But nevertheless, it is usually something that I paid very little money for. I love the project I am sharing today! It is not something I repurposed or made over, but since I made it with a simple pine board, I am declaring that it counts! This DIY Rustic Coat Rack was born out of necessity in a way. You see, I had these two hooks hanging on the bare wall in this exact location. But it just was not working out. Even though we used drywall anchors, we could not actually utilize the hooks because with the slightest bit of weight, they would start loosening from the wall – SO FRUSTRATING!

So, I decided to do something about it! I decided to attach them to a board, which I could then attach to the studs, and then I could hang whatever I want to hang on them, no matter how heavy. Don’t you hate it when your studs don’t match up to where you want to hang something?

Here is what you will need to make this DIY Rustic Coat Rack:

Pine board in whatever size you choose

Hooks (however many you want to use)

Paint color of your choice (I used Behr Premium Plus flat paint in the color Suede Gray)

White Craft Paint (if you want to mimic the technique I used, but not necessary)

medium grit sanding block

120 grit sand paper

paper plate

paper towels

2 paint brushes

French Cleat Picture Hanger (sold at Home Depot and other Hardware Stores)- here is a picture of what a French Cleat Looks like:

This was very easy to make. I just picked a piece of Pine board that was a size I liked, and I had them cut it for me at Home Depot. I asked them to cut a 24 inch long piece for me. But you can choose whatever size of wood that you like and will work in your space. I pre measured the spot where I would be hanging this and I knew I needed it to be 2 feet long. After I got eh board home, I used a medium grit sanding block to round out the edges slightly, and then I went over the entire piece of wood with the 120 grit sand paper until it was as smooth as I wanted it to be. Then I wiped it down to get rid of all traces of dust.

Next, I painted it with one coat of the grey paint and let that dry. I did not paint on a second coat, because after the first coat, I could see the natural wood slightly, and that was the look I wanted. When it was fully dry, I dry brushed it using white craft paint. I simply squirted some onto a Styrofoam plate, and I dipped my paint brush into the white paint, and then dabbed it off onto a paper towel repeatedly until the paint brush was fairly dry. Then I lightly painted the white paint over the grey. I kept doing that until I had the entire board painted. I didn’t worry about the coverage being heavier or lighter in spots, that is how I wanted it to be.

After both coats of paint were dry, I then attached the French Cleat to the back of the wood and the other half to the wall. The great thing about using a French Cleat is that you can attach it to the studs (mine was 12 inches long), and then you can slide the item you are hanging back and forth to position it where you want it.

After I had it attached securely to the wall, I took it back down and attached the hooks. The screws I had for the hooks turned out to be too long, so I had to grab some shorter ones. they were brass, so I just colored over them with a black Sharpie, and you can’t even tell.

After my hooks were attached, I hung it back on the wall and Voila! Trashtastic!

It’s a little bit modern, and little bit rustic, and totally perfect in my space! If you would like to see my full entryway and read about the transformation in this space, you can click here. You can read about our black front door here.

I am so stinking happy with this simple little project! I can now actually hang things on these hooks! Even the kid’s backpacks! And this is right were we walk in every day, so Mr. 6 Year Old’s backpack can be found here on a daily basis. It used to be laying on the floor somewhere. So these hooks are already working very hard for our family.