How to Make a Coat Rack DIY

Are you ready to make the easiest coat rack ever?

I have been wanting a new coat rack for sometime now. ( The $5 yard sale rack I own was on its last leg... Literally) My old coat rack was easy to tip, and always seemed to be falling down whenever the kids got near it.  Well the temperature hit the high 70s this past September, and as all true southerners know that is good indication fall and winter are on the way. Once it hits the high 60s we are heading out the door in at least a warm hoodie. Winter is not a true southerners friend. 

But let me get back on track, I needed somewhere for our hoodies/jackets to be so that they are quick to put on when we are headed out the door for school in the AM. I knew I wanted to make it out of a 4'4', but I didn't know if I wanted to paint or stain it. So I headed over to the internet and searched Google and Pinterest to find something I liked, and for weeks nothing stood out. Finally I got a text from my uncle, he asked me if there was a way to distress wood to get the look of "barn wood" from new wood. I texted back "OF COURSE!" (I don't know why but making new things look old, rusted, and beat up just does it for me)  I shared with him a few ideas, but I wanted to send him an example and since I was out I typed "DIY barn wood" into trusted ole Google. I found a link I wanted and sent him a picture, but I happened to stumble upon this amazing blog in the process that used multiple paint colors and stain to achieve a barn wood look. Click here to check out the page that I stumbled on. (Head over to Saw Dust and Embryos for the full details on how I painted my beam. I followed her directions 100%)

In the past I have stained over white paint to create a old weathered look, but I have yet to try using multiple colors to achieve the "barn" look. After finding this blog I knew I needed to try this technique out on my coat rack , so it was off to my favorite store I went ( Home Depot just in case you were wondering). I picked up 4 tester sized paints. 2 gray shades, one navy, and black. I already had I large can of primer at home so all together I had 5 colors. 

4x4 sanded, cut, and ready to paint

Next I made sure my 4x4 beam was cut to the length I wanted. I really just eyeballed the height of my old coat rack and cut the new one to basically the same length, gave it a light sanding and brought it inside to paint. 

I won't go into too much detail on all the painting because Saw Dust and Embryos did such a great job of explaining things, but I grabbed my cheap brush and just started to paint. I started with the navy because I wanted that to be the color that "popped" the most, so I added more of the navy than the others.

4x4 right after I finished painted.
You can see how just a little
bit of white really pops out.

Top view of the 4x4 with all of the paint

 Next were my grays, and then I accented with black and white. I tried to use white sparingly because I didn't want the whitewashed look here like I normally do in distressed projects. I was really looking to achieve a new look. I painted light and in some spot I could even see wood peeking through. 

I let the beam dry overnight. The next morning I took it outside. I had the kids drag it all over the driveway. at one point my son tried to lift it and the beam ended up rolling all the way my driveway. Then I got my sander in on the action. I use my Black and Decker Mouse palm sander that I got at Home Depot a little over a year ago. Now to say this tool is my baby is an understatement. If this sander were a kid it would be my favorite, it would get special treatment and it would get everything it ever wanted (good thing it is just a tool). I trust very few with the use of my sander, but you know I love you if I let you borrow her. 

Mouse sander- isn't she pretty!

4x4 after sanding

I used a heavy grit and then switched to a lighter grit to smooth the wood down once I had the amount of distressing I was looking for. It is hard to know how much or how little to sand down. I try and picture what the finished project will look like when all the spots that are bare wood end up getting stained. If you are worried about messing up, try this paint technique out on a spare piece of wood first until you get the look you desire. I used my leaf blower to get rid of all the dust, and then used a damp microfiber cloth to get all the dust off before staining. I stained my beam with some leftover stain I had sitting in the garage. I don't know the name for sure, but it was a darker stain so I'm pretty sure it was walnut.  I used an old sock and rubbed the stain on being sure to get it into all the cracks. I let it sit on the wood for 5 minutes then rubbed it off. I left the beam alone for 2 days. then I cam back and added 3 coats of polyurethane. I added each coat after 3 hours so I could get a good chemical bond.

I let the beam dry for 2 day. If it was furniture I would have left it for at least a week before using, but since it was just going to sit in the house for a few weeks until it got cold I figured it was safe to bring it inside since I wasn't going to actually rest anything on it. 

This is on my
 wish list

For legs I used metal shelving. My husband was not convinced that this would work, but I really was hopeful. The trick was getting them put on at all the same height so that the beam wouldn't wobble. I only had to take off one of the legs and re-position it. I realized during this project how handy a 90 degree angle screw driver like this one wold have been. 

For the hooks I found these adorable ones with nice off blue accents. I think they really add a lot to the piece as a whole. I was thinking of adding a few more and lower, but I think I am going to make a shorter one for each of the kids rooms so that they can hang up backpacks and coats away from the living room. The top was just a fence cap that I painted along with the beam; glued and nailed in with my nail gun. 

I enjoyed making this and it really was easy to put together. It turned out better than I hoped and I am glad we now have a functional coat rack that won't fall over the second the weight isn't balanced. 

How about you.... do you have any project that have been sitting on your Pinterest board for a while now? What is your next project to be competed? Share I would love some inspiration!!