We have been in major cleaning and renovating mode around our house this winter, or at least as much as you can be while living in a rental. I picked up a couple boards just to play around with about a week ago, and then the next day stumbled upon these gorgeous little rustic-farmhouse style hooks at the dollar store here in Japan. Everything in the store is 100¥, equating to around 88-90 cents in USD, depending on the exchange rate. Honestly, this rack only really cost me a total of about $8-$9, but I rounded up because I already had the screws and stain that I needed.
Here’s how I made a super easy 30 minute coat rack with a $3 board, $1 hooks, $1 stain, and a couple screws I already had at home!
Materials
The Shelf
- (1) board
Homac has this 1×4 board for around 390¥ if I remember correctly. I chose pine because I’m cheap, and basically every type of wood will warp in the humidity. I also just really like the way pine looks when stained. If you invest in a little thicker or heavier wood, it will probably be less likely to warp. - (1) jar of wood stain
Daiso has the stain that I used for 100¥ (around 90 cents). I chose walnut because I like a more rich brown color vs warm stains. One board won’t even put a dent in the jar, so you’ll have it for future projects. You could probably do 5-6 racks with one jar. - (7) hooks
Seria has these hooks for 100¥ each (just a little over $6 for all 7 that I bought.)
You can space them out more and use less hooks, or put them closer together and use more. - (14) small screws
Just make sure the screws are shorter than the thickness of the board. I used 3/4″ screws. If you want to keep things uniform, I would recommend using an iron-colored screw. I chose to use regular silver screws, because I already had some iron paint. (Bought that at Homac for a separate project- but it is a little more pricey- somewhere near $10 for a jar.)
Mounting
There are a number of ways you can mount a coat rack safely on the wall. Because our particular home in Japan has studs that cannot be drilled into, I consistently hang heavy things with drywall anchors and screws. Pay attention to the type of anchors you use- each anchor is rated for a certain weight bearing load.
- (2) large & long screws
- (2) washers
- (2) drywall anchors
Step-by-step
1. Stain your board
2. Line up your hooks
3.Drill pilot holes
4. Screw your hooks on
Voila! You have created a $10 coat rack that will seriously clean up your entryway. Check out my before and after below, too!
For mounting, I chose to drill two pilot holes- one at each end of the board, and fasten the rack to the wall with a washer, screw, and drywall anchor in the wall on each side. After hanging it, I could probably use one more solid mounting point in the middle of the board too- but I’ll save that for another day, and will keep the load on it light until then.
I love finding ways to make something for a fraction of the cost that you could purchase it new for. Plus, you can say that you created it all by yourself.
Happy creating!
I’ve got a couple messages about products shown in the photos, so here are the links if you are interested!
Buffalo Plaid Rug
Use code “7P6RZTTR” to make it $7.99!
Thin Throw Blanket
Duck Boots
My boots originally came from Kohl’s, but they are sold out. I linked some that look almost identical from Amazon with good reviews, and they’re like $40 cheaper than I paid!
Hunter Boots
Galvanized Bucket
