Okay, I have to admit something. I love salvaging anything I think could be used or transformed into something beautiful. Most of the time this is furniture that is looking for TLC. Other times my curbside finds are simply salvaged wood.
This DIY project started with finding an old piece of vintage molding. I’m not completely sure what this particular molding came from, maybe from a fireplace, but definitely an older home.
Instant Vision
Sometimes when I see something old I immediately have a vision of what I can transform this salvaged treasure into. This molding was one of those instances. I immediately saw a rustic farmhouse style wall coat rack.
Repurposing this distressed salvaged piece of molding into a wall coat rack was pretty simple.
You can do this yourself in no time. If you can’t find salvaged wood on the curbside like I did you can still score some old molding. If you have a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore or building salvage store, these are great place to look for inexpensive molding.
If you are interested in creating your own DIY Salvaged Wood Coat Wall Rack, here are the steps to follow to make this wall rack.
Step 1 – Clean Up Existing Molding
The molding I used was dirty and had flaky paint. I sanded the molding to remove the flaky paint, being sure only to remove what I needed to. I used a medium grit sand paper to do this task.
Then, with soapy water and a sponge, I gave the molding a good cleaning.
Step 2 – Cut Molding and Shelf
The molding was too long for the wall. I trimmed it to size, just over 36″. Then I cut a 1×4 to the same length. This is for the shelf.
I added the shelf because I wanted a place to display home accessories.
Step 3 – Dry Brush & Seal Molding
I know the molding was all ready painted, but I felt it could use a little dry brush to fill some of the areas, I used a dry brush method because I wanted to keep the natural weathered distressed look.
Then I sealed the molding with Johnson’s Paste Wax.
Step 4 – Stain Ledger Shelf
Next, I stained the 1×4 ledger shelf. I chose to stain it with Minwax Jacobean wood stain. Which I already had from other DIY projects.
Step 5 – Spray Paint Coat Hooks
The coat hooks I had were brass, which I didn’t like for this project. So I sprayed them with black matte spray paint.
Step 6 – Attach Hooks, Shelf to Molding, & Hanging Hardware
First, I attached the coat hooks to the the molding. I equally placed them in the center of the molding. With screws I attached the ledger shelf to the molding. Then I added two D-rings for hanging the coat rack to the wall.
Step 7 – Hang & Style the Wall Coat Rack
The final step, which is my favorite, was to hang and style the wall coat rack. Small ledger shelves are a great place to display small items. I styled the shelf with a combination of photos, plants, and old vintage tools from my wife’s late grandfather. I love the combination of items.
Small shelves like these great places to have fun throughout the years to switch up decor. Whether it is changing decor for the holidays or just rearranging to freshen up the look, small areas are easy and fun places to add personality.
Now I have a perfect place to hang my guests’ coats that is beautiful and functional.
