A Simple Coat Rack for a Small Apartment
My apartment was formerly a large house in the Old-Town District of my city. I love this apartment, but there are a couple 'tells' that the current setup was not the original. The primary tell being, there is this weird space between the dining area and the bedroom. Im not sure what to make of the arrangement and I've never settled on a name for it. For awhile I called it the 'hallway', but that not being a great description I just describe it by its location.
When Levi moved in all his boy-stuff, I struggled to figure out how to integrate his excessive Chicago Cubs memorabilia with my library-chic style. The small space, with the 10 foot ceiling and built-in bookcase made an excellent 'man-cave'. All of his items are displayed nicely and they dont clash with the rest of the apartment.
The recent death of my coat-tree introduced the new dilemma of, 'where to put our coats?' For the last few months coats have been strewn everywhere and primarally ending up ON the dining room table-to which, I'm not a fan (even though I'm the one whos doing it the most).
So here I am, a little apartment with one closet already stuffed to the max (its the only closet, ugh!) and a coat problem. Lets break this down:
Problem: Many coats in active use without a place to be hung.
Requirements: An out of the way place to hang 3-4 coats, a hat and a purse (or two).
Financial Commitment: I would like to spend under $25....did I mention I'm incredibly cheap?
Solution: Levi's 'Man-Cave' has two recessed walls. One side has a built-in bookcase, but on the other-nothing. Three to four coats would hang perfectly out of the way there!
Disclaimer: I am not Bob Vila, nor do I pretend to be. I am not an expert (as my father who built my parent's house, regularly reminds me). I will give you an opinion based off of experience, not expertise.
Disclaimer #2: I rent. If you rent, please refer to your lease or consult with your landlord before making any major changes to the unit. That is, of course, unless you're like me and you know how to repair holes incredibly well! Tutorial on repairing smaller holes in walls to come.
Step One: Assess where the best location for coats to hang will be. Do you have a recessed wall somewhere? Would an over-the-door hanger work for your space? Is there an odd wall that you cant put a piece of furniture against-due to traffic or space?
Step 2: Is your wall drywall or plaster? With drywall, you will want to locate the studs with a stud-finder or using the tapping exercise to find the dense areas. With plaster, a studfinder can be harder to use. So, I go about plaster the wrong way. I just screw in things where I want them to go. When that stops working for me, I will make a post on what a better solution is HERE. Until then, with plaster-have at it!
Step 3: Pick out your hook system. With drywall a board with multiple hooks already attached (such as this) may be a better solution for mounting on studs-be sure to use the anchors! I used these simple hooks from Lowe's (pictured)-two hooks/pack for $2.49+tax. I purchased three packs so I could hang some of Levi's caps. The entire project cost me under $9.
Step 4: Establish how high you want your hooks to hang. Make a mark with a pencil. Then make a line across the space using a level (or a ruler). See photo.
Step 5: For drywall: use a drill to predrill holes, insert anchors and mount your coat rack. For plaster: Line up the holes on the hook with the pencil line (be sure to evenly space the hooks on the wall), put the screw in the hole so it will screw into the line. Screw into wall.
When Levi moved in all his boy-stuff, I struggled to figure out how to integrate his excessive Chicago Cubs memorabilia with my library-chic style. The small space, with the 10 foot ceiling and built-in bookcase made an excellent 'man-cave'. All of his items are displayed nicely and they dont clash with the rest of the apartment.
The recent death of my coat-tree introduced the new dilemma of, 'where to put our coats?' For the last few months coats have been strewn everywhere and primarally ending up ON the dining room table-to which, I'm not a fan (even though I'm the one whos doing it the most).
So here I am, a little apartment with one closet already stuffed to the max (its the only closet, ugh!) and a coat problem. Lets break this down:
Problem: Many coats in active use without a place to be hung.
Requirements: An out of the way place to hang 3-4 coats, a hat and a purse (or two).
Financial Commitment: I would like to spend under $25....did I mention I'm incredibly cheap?
Solution: Levi's 'Man-Cave' has two recessed walls. One side has a built-in bookcase, but on the other-nothing. Three to four coats would hang perfectly out of the way there!
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| The Hollow Space of the Man-Cave |
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| Man-cave Left |
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| Man-cave Right |
Disclaimer: I am not Bob Vila, nor do I pretend to be. I am not an expert (as my father who built my parent's house, regularly reminds me). I will give you an opinion based off of experience, not expertise.
Disclaimer #2: I rent. If you rent, please refer to your lease or consult with your landlord before making any major changes to the unit. That is, of course, unless you're like me and you know how to repair holes incredibly well! Tutorial on repairing smaller holes in walls to come.
Step One: Assess where the best location for coats to hang will be. Do you have a recessed wall somewhere? Would an over-the-door hanger work for your space? Is there an odd wall that you cant put a piece of furniture against-due to traffic or space?
Step 2: Is your wall drywall or plaster? With drywall, you will want to locate the studs with a stud-finder or using the tapping exercise to find the dense areas. With plaster, a studfinder can be harder to use. So, I go about plaster the wrong way. I just screw in things where I want them to go. When that stops working for me, I will make a post on what a better solution is HERE. Until then, with plaster-have at it!
Step 3: Pick out your hook system. With drywall a board with multiple hooks already attached (such as this) may be a better solution for mounting on studs-be sure to use the anchors! I used these simple hooks from Lowe's (pictured)-two hooks/pack for $2.49+tax. I purchased three packs so I could hang some of Levi's caps. The entire project cost me under $9.
Step 4: Establish how high you want your hooks to hang. Make a mark with a pencil. Then make a line across the space using a level (or a ruler). See photo.
Step 5: For drywall: use a drill to predrill holes, insert anchors and mount your coat rack. For plaster: Line up the holes on the hook with the pencil line (be sure to evenly space the hooks on the wall), put the screw in the hole so it will screw into the line. Screw into wall.
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| I added more hooks to accommodate Levi's Hats |
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| Finished Product |
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| The Gold Cowboy hat is from a Macho Man costume |
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| Finished Product in use! |
