DIY Wardrobe / Closet - Floating Oak Wood Panel

In this project I want to introduce my self made wardrobe / closet. All the stuff I've seen in the furniture stores weren't either appealing to me or if they were - obviously not affordable... This is why there was no other way than to DIY something. I just love the combination of wood, pipes and THE rope :)

This part will be a floating oak wood panel. A rope which is attached by industrial pipes will have 5 wooden hooks which generously provide space for handbags, purses, coats, backpacks or whatever you want to hang there.

In the following pictures you will partly see the first part of my project, just two simple floating oak wood panels which are connected by a industrial pipe to provide space for jackets. My future projects will be a oak bench with a concrete base and a dresser / drawer with a mirror in the same style.

Supplies

Wood:

1x Oak wood board 2 m x ~40 cm

5x Spar (round wood) 15 cm length, diameter of 2 cm

8x rhomboid wood bars 4 cm x 25 cm (4 on the wood and 4 on the wall) - The wedged rhomboid bars will hold the board

Rope:

~ 2,5 m length, thickness 10 mm

Piping (all 3/4" black steel):

2x threaded flange

2x 18 cm nipple

2x 90° elbow

2x reducer to 3/8"

Tools / Materials:

Drill, screwdriver, screws, dowel, sanding material, wood oil, vacuum cleaner...

Step 1: The Wood Panel

Now lets start! First I sanded only the frontside down to a 360 grain. Afterwards I cleaned the wood, I used some mineral oil which I've bought at a swedish furniture store (... yeah you guessed it right - Ikea). I love how the wood texture comes out though it. For the bark I have used some coating hardwood oil, as the bark won't soak up the oil. After giving it 24h to dry, the back was oiled in order to fully protect the piece of future furniture. Again, 24h of drying.

The wood should have soaked up all of the oil. If not - swipe away the excess oil. Now its time to mount 4 of the rhomboid wood bars to the oak panel. Obviously on the back. I used 3 screws per bar. As they will touch the wall, make sure to fully sink the screw heads. Predrill them also with a sink as this is a crucial part in order to prevent cracking. To make things easier I've made a little template.

I clamped some leftover wood at the end and used some more as spacers. You can measure if you want, but as I measure like a cameleon searching for food, I prefere to use spacers. This will later on give you the advantage of having the same spaces between the bars on the wall. For the distance between the bars, follow your intuition. Two on the upper and two on the lower third felt good to me.

Step 2: Rope and Hooks

Now its time to drill the hooks. I used a 10 mm drill as I have bought a 10 mm rope. From the bottom I drilled two holes at 2 and 7 cm. As before I treated the wood with some mineral oil to make them darker, in order to highlight the texture and to make it more durable.

(After I've finished the project I realised, that I should have 'shou sugi ban'ed them. This is a japanese technique, basically you burn the wood until it's black. This would have given them a nice contrast to the rest of the piece. Perhaps I will do it another day if I find the right motivation...)

But back to topic :) No plumbing skills needed. I passed the upper end of the rope through the reducing piece (3/4" to 3/8") and through the 90° elbow piece. A knot will be way to big, thus I seperated the rope into 3 strings and knoted them randomly. With force they still fit in the elbow piece but do not pass the 3/8" reducer. You can now mount the nipple and the flange.

Now you have your top attachement ready. The funny part starts now. Pass the end of the rope through the middle hole of the hook from above. You might want to tape the end of the string with force, making it easier to pass through the holes. After you have the hook in the position that suits you (my distance is ~25 cm), pass the end of the rope through the other part of the hook, always from the same side. Repeat it with the other 4 hooks.

The flange is mounted to the oak board now. Mark the position on the board and predrill. I have used solid 6 mm screws, so I predrilled with a 4 mm drill.

Step 3: Mounting the Panel

The other 4 rhomboid bars are mounted on the wall. I've used 8 mm dowels, thus I've used a 8 mm drill. Each bar is attached with 2 screws. In my case it was the easiest way to make it look floating. If you want to attach it otherwise, feel free to do so.

I measured only the lowest bar and installed it with a spirit level. To avoid measuring like a mole again, I have used my world famous spacers which I have used before and marked the position of the bars on the wall.

Again, do not forget to predrill with a sink for the screws. If you don't predrill, you will end up with cracked wood bars for sure.

After the 4 bars are attached, just hang the panel to the wall.

Step 4: Final Step

Almost there! The lower part of the rope needs to be attached. Hold the rope wherever it should be in the end. Then shorten it, but mind that you will need some surplus for the knot(s). Start with the reducer then the elbow piece. Just like on the upper part, seperate the strings and knot them so they fit in the elbow piece. Screw everything togeher, get the excess of the strings in the nipple piece and screw it to the flange. When marking the position of the flange on the wood, mind to do it with a little tension, so the rope will not have too much slack later on. I bought 3 m of rope and had 90 cm leftover. Be generous here, you don't want to end up with a shorty.

This is about it! If you liked it, please make sure to vote for me in the rope contest :) and most important, enjoy your piece of art! Thanks for reading and if you have any questioins or comments, please don't hesitate.

Step 5: *Update* - Hacking My Own Project

• The Hooks:

After Yakisugi / Shou sugi ban the hook is pitch black. It even looked nicer than I've expected. Definetely this will be the fate of all hooks :)

Just take a gas torch and gently burn the wood. If it catches fire, don't panic - this is normal when playing with fire. If it starts glowing though, use a vaporizer with water. When it's all burnt, let it cool down and swipe away the coal with an old cloth. Business as usual - oil it afterwards and let it dry.

• The Rope:

You can easily exchange the rope by unscrewing the reducers. This is a huge game changer as you can now select the rope according to the occasion (e.g. green rope = St. Patrick's Day, red rope = Christmas...).

Obviously you could change the order of installing the parts on the board. First mount both flanges, then screw the reducers with the rope.