DIY Wall-Mounted Coat Hook Rack with Shelf
The perfect balance between form and function!
This is an ideal project to reduce coat, backpack, and sports bag clutter that can pile up in garages and entryways. The added shelf makes the coat hook rack much more usable and decorative. And as far as DIY carpentry projects go, this is one of the easiest you can tackle. All you’ll need are three pieces of wood, several screws, and about an hour!
Here’s what the finished wall-mounted coat hook rack with shelf will look like:
I actually built two of these and installed one on top of the other – one at “adult” height and one at “child” height. I like to encourage independence in children as much as possible, and this is an easy way for children to learn to get their belongings before heading out the door and put away their belongings when entering the house!
Be sure to check out my other shelving project too: DIY Floating Garage Shelves!
Dimensions
Here are the dimensions of the coat hook rack with shelf that I built. From the front:
And from the side:
Wood
This project requires three pieces of wood:
- One 1×3
- Used to make the rack for the coat hooks
- One 1×6
- Used to make the shelf
- One 41 inch baluster
- Used to mount everything to the wall
- It’s added thickness gives a little bit of style and design to the finished product
I bought the wood for this project from Home Depot. Head to the Lumber section, and look for the aisle that says Hobby Wood and Hardboard:
In that aisle, you’ll find finished hardwood boards for interior projects. There will be an assortment of widths and lengths, and the boards will be stacked like this:
There were three types of wood I could choose from: pine, poplar, and oak. Each has its own distinct color and grain texture. I decided on oak (which was actually a red oak) for this project, as it has a natural/rustic look with a light color and just a hint of red.
Materials and Tools
Quantity: 5 coat hooks per rack
I used black coat hooks (and screws) to add a bit of color contrast to the lighter color of the oak wood. I also made two coat hook rack shelves – each with five coat hooks per rack – so a 10-pack of coat hooks works out well. These are high-quality and each hook can hold 35 lbs of weight.
Quantity: 4 screws
These are heavy-duty structural wood screws. I used them to secure the coat hook rack with shelf to the wall studs when mounting the finished product. The large, flat head on these screws subtly adds style to the finished product. I also got these in black to contrast to the lighter color of the oak wood.
I used FastenMaster products extensively when building a backyard playground for my children (see my post on How to Build a Playground: Connectors & Fasteners). They’re excellent fasteners!
Quantity: 8 screws
You’ll need a few more wood screws to assemble the finished product. But you’ll want these to be more discreet than the structural wood screws. I would use a smaller thread size, such as this #8 screw. And again, get them in black.
You’ll use this to make straight cut marks on the wood. The 7 inch size is perfect for a project of this nature.
You’ll need a level to make sure the shelf is flat!
I wanted to securely fasten the coat hook rack and shelf into the wall studs, not weakly attach it to the drywall. So you’ll need a good stud finder. I’ve used this one in many other projects – it’s great!
You’ll want to smooth the cuts you make on the wood, plus smooth the routed edge of the shelf (if you decide to use a router). Plus, you’ll likely want to lightly smooth down the surfaces of the wood you purchased anyway (even though the wood I purchased was S4S – meaning smooth surface on all 4 sides – it still requires some additional sanding). I used sandpaper with a grit of 320 and 400. This assorted pack is awesome as it has grits ranging from 120 to 3000.
You’ll need a tape measure to measure the distance between wall studs and to mark your wood for cutting.
These are extra thick pencils that are ideal for woodworking and carpentry projects!
Power Tools
I made all wood cuts using a circular saw for this project.
The wood screws I used required an impact diver.
I drilled pilot holes for all screws during this project. While you technically don’t need to, I didn’t want to risk the wood splitting for a project of this nature.
The edges of wood can be surprisingly sharp. I like to round the edges of wood so they’re not so sharp, and that’s exactly what a router does. This way, should someone bump their head on an edge, they don’t end up with a nasty cut. Rounding the edges will make the wood virtually splinter-free, and also adds a nice design to the finished product!
Just like power drills, routers have their own bits. I used the 45 degree Chamfer bit in this set for this project.
Safety Gear
This is a must when working with wood! The circular saw and router will send bits of wood chips flying.
The right pair of work gloves makes all the difference, and this is by far the best pair of work gloves I have ever used. They strike the right balance between having a coating for enhanced grip while not being too hard or stiff that you lose finger dexterity. Plus, the cut resistance is awesome!
The circular saw and router are loud power tools, and you’ll want something to dampen the volume!
Step 1: Use a stud finder and tape measure to measure the distance between wall studs
I chose to secure the coat hook rack with shelf to wall studs when mounting the finished product to the wall. The distance between the wall studs you choose is key to this project, as it determines the overall length of the coat hook rack and shelf.
Use a stud finder and make a small mark at the center of the wall studs. Then use your tape measure to get the distance in between the two wall stud marks.
The distance between the two wall studs I used for this project was 32 inches.
Step 2: Use a circular saw to cut the wood
Based on your measurement in Step 1, use a tape measure to mark the 1×6 and 1×3. Then use the 7 inch carpentry/rafter triangle to make straight cut lines at these marks. Lastly, use the circular saw the make the cuts.
For my project, the 1×6 was cut to a length of 33.25 inches and the 1×3 was cut to a length of 30.75 inches.
Repeat this process for the baluster. You’ll need to cut the baluster into two smaller pieces, each 10.25 inches in length.
Step 3: Cut the 1×6 shelf (on both ends of one side) to fit the baluster
The 1×6, which serves as the shelf, will go around the baluster. So you’ll need to cut the 1×6 to fit the baluster. The best way to do this is to use a pencil and outline the baluster on the end corners of one side of the 1×6, like this:
Then use the circular saw to cut the 1×6 along the tracing. Note that you might need to use a small hacksaw to finish this cut, which should look like this:
Don’t forget to repeat this on the other end of the 1×6 shelf!
Step 4: Trim off the front two corners of the 1×6 shelf
Whenever I build shelves, I always trim off the front two corners of the shelf. This will help to avoid any potentially painful head/eye collisions with those sharp edges, and also adds a nice aesthetic look to the finished product.
For this particular shelf, simply mark 1/2 inch from the end on each side, connect those two points with a line, and then saw off the edge along that line. One sawed off corner should look like this:
Don’t forget to repeat this on the other end of the 1×6 shelf!
Step 5: Use a router to round the edge of the 1×6 shelf
Just as we trimmed off the corners of the 1×6 shelf in the previous step, the edges of wood can be surprisingly sharp too. I like to round the edges of wood so they’re not so sharp using a router. This step also adds a nice design to the finished shelf. I used a 45 degree Chamfer router bit, and afterward the 1×6 shelf should look like this:
Step 6: Sand the wood so it is completely smooth
At this point, all the woodworking is done and it’s time to start assembling the wood together. Before we do that, use sandpaper to smooth all surfaces. Use a grit of around 320 or 400 so that you can achieve smoothness without affecting the texture and grain of the wood.
Step 7: Screw the 1×3 coat hook rack to the two baluster pieces
It’s easiest to start assembling the wood together by first screwing the 1×3 (which will function as the coat hook rack) to the two 10.25 inch baluster pieces. You’ll need four of the #8 x 2-1/2 inch wood screws.
Use two screws on each side, like this:
Repeat this on the other side. Afterward, you should have something that looks like this:
Step 8: Screw the 1×6 shelf to the two baluster pieces
Next, screw the 1×6 (which will function as the shelf) to the two 10.25 inch baluster pieces. You’ll need four more of the #8 x 2-1/2 inch wood screws. I screwed the shelf 7 inches up from the bottom of the baluster (leaving 3.25 inches of baluster above the shelf).
Use two screws on each side, like this:
Repeat this on the other side. Use the level to ensure the shelf is flat. Afterward, you should have something that looks like this:
Step 9: Mount the coat hook rack with shelf to the wall
Now that the coat hook rack with shelf is assembled, you can screw it into the wall studs that you marked in Step 1. You’ll need four FastenMaster HeadLOK 2-7/8 screws. I screwed the top two screws in first, used a level to check for levelness, then screwed in the bottom two screws.
Afterward, you should have something that looks like this:
As I mentioned previously, I actually built two of these and installed one on top of the other. The one at “adult” height is 78 inches off the floor, and one at “child” height is 38 inches off the floor.
Step 10: Screw in the coat hooks
Now that the coat hook rack with shelf is mounted to the wall, it’s easy to screw in the coat hooks to the 1×3. I used five coat hooks, spacing them out every 6 inches.
The final product should look like this:
Congratulations! Enjoy your new wall-mounted coat hook rack with shelf!
Did you find this step-by-step guide useful? How did your wall-mounted coat hook rack with shelf project go? Let me know in the comments below!
If you need a shelving project that can handle more weight, read my post on DIY Floating Garage Shelves.
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