The husband and I recently moved into our first house! We're still renters (right now we only plan on being in Arizona for a few years), but it sure is nice being in our own place. I'm a little more than excited to have a home (a home!!) to decorate.
Our entryway was one of the first places I wanted to focus on. We had this big space on our wall that was just begging for a pretty coat rack.
I wanted a dark wooden one that would mesh well with the color of our door - something a little darker, kind-of like this:
But I wanted something a little bit wider and with this type of texture:
I did a bit of searching, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in any stores around the area. I searched online, but everything was so expensive! I decided to try and make the coat rack I wanted for a lot less than what I was finding.
After buying supplies and putting everything together, here's my DIY version:
I honestly couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. It's one of my favorite pieces in the house. I love the way it fills up the space and it adds just the right amount of homey touch I was looking for. Just the other day I added my little "Let it Snow" sign to officially welcome Christmas in the door.
Here's what I did to make my own wall mounted coat rack. First things first, you will need:
- 2"x6" piece of lumber 4' in length
- Sanding block (I used a very fine grit)
- Wood Stain - red mahagony
- Coat hooks (5 count)
- Two small picture frame hangers
- Drill/Driver
- Screws & nails
You also might want to have on hand:
- Painter's tape
- Measuring tape
- Level
- Stud finder
I measured the space on our wall and decided that I wanted the coat rack to span almost the whole length. Our wall is 5' in length, so 4' was the perfect size. I stopped by Home Depot and headed straight to the lumber clearance section. I found the perfect piece of wood and - bonus - it was the perfect size. No cutting required.
*Awesome tidbit if you didn't know - Lowe's and Home Depot have a lumber clearance section with awesome prices. You can also have your wood cut in-store to the size you need. Although most lumber stores I've gone to will only do straight cuts - no angles. Which is kind-of a bummer. Sigh... I need a nice miter saw.
I wiped down the wood with a dry cloth, and then started sanding it down. I still wanted a lot of texture to the wood, so I mainly focused on the ends and edges where splinters where a few splinters were sticking out. Once I had everything nice and sanded I wiped the wood down again and cleaned up my workspace from all of the sawdust. Super important if you don't want any of that dust getting into your stain.
To stain the wood, I used a dry rag and just "brushed" it on the wood (make sure you mix your stain very well before using). Some people like to use a paintbrush, but I prefer using a rag. I feel like I have more control over how much stain I'm putting on the wood and where I'm rubbing it in.
I couldn't decide if I wanted a lighter or darker stain on the wood. The darker the stain you want, the longer you let the stain sit. I did one side lighter and the other side darker. I ended up going with the darker side, but it was a tough choice - the lighter side has these pretty light highlights that streaked throughout the grain. In the end, the darker side just matched a little bit better with the door color.
I let the wood sit overnight to let the stain set. I didn't use a sealer as either a primer or a top coat - I wanted a little bit of an uneven stain with a rough, "natural" look to the wood. If you want more of an even stain and you're concerned about protecting your wood, consider using a stain sealer.
After the stain was set, I brought the wood in, laid it on the couch (I wouldn't recommend laying it on the couch - I don't think the husband was very happy that I laid it on the couch), and used blue painters tape to mark where I wanted the picture frame hangers to go. Danny and I had found the two studs in the wall we wanted to use for the screws and picture hangers. I much prefer using studs to wall anchors. Much smaller holes and I feel like there's a lot less room for error.
It's a little tricky spacing out where the studs are on the wall to where you want the hangers to go on your board. I wanted the coat rack to hang a little closer to the left edge of the wall than the right. I didn't take pictures of this step - honestly, it's a lot of painter's tape, measuring tape, and having a pencil with an eraser in your hand at all times. Oh, and use a level! Level, level, level. Even when I use a level, the things I'm hanging still tilt a little sideways the first time I put them up. Drives me crazy.
After measuring for the picture hangers, I nailed those in on the backside of the wood. Then came the coat hangers themselves. I laid the measuring tape across the middle of the board and used a pencil to mark where I wanted the hangers to go. I used our drill to put those suckers in and voila! Our new coat rack was done!
This was my first phone picture I texted to the husband when I had it all up and decorated. Here are a few more pictures in some (somewhat) better light:
I eventually want to hang three pictures up above it, but those two do for now. I'm really in love with the way it all turned out. It looks so... weathered and rustic and it matches our door perfectly. And in since we're still having 80 degree highs out here, the husband was ok with me stealing a jacket or two of his to see which looked best hanging up. :)
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It looks great! Love the new blog. :)
ReplyDeleteVery pretty! =)
ReplyDeleteStopping over from the East Coast Creative link up party! I had to do a double take when I saw your thumbnail picture because my house has the exact same front door, wall color, and trim color. We even have that exact same tile in our bathrooms! Lol! We live in Oklahoma though. Love your new entry way!
ReplyDeleteStacy @ www.theprojectpalace.com
How fantastic Blog this is!
ReplyDeleteThanks Queen_of_Kings for your nice posting. I am very pleased to login this blog and get more information about home task this that is need everyday all time in all house hold chorse.
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