Wall Mounted Secret Coat Rack

I needed a new wall mounted coat rack for my apartment. Instead of building a normal one I decided to make one with secret pulled down coat hooks.

At first it looks like an art piece on the wall with varying sticks.

Then - certain sticks rotate down 22.5 degrees to hang your coat or hat on.

Step 1: Cut Your Lumber

All the lumber was 1/2" or 3/4" plywood scraps lying around my shop.

Know what your overall size will be. Mine was about 1'-4" tall by 3'-0" wide. Cut that out of a sheet of 1/2" plywood. This will be your back board that connects everything together

Next cut all your sticks.

From 3/4" plywood - rip a handful of strips down to 1 1/4"

Cut them to length based on what look you want.

Mine were (6) 6", (10) 9", (4) 10", and (7) 12"

Put a 22.5 deg chamfer on the ends/backs of the 6" sticks- this will allow it room to rotate out without hitting the back piece, as well as to not rotate down too far to work as a coat hook.

Mock up your sticks on your board and adjust the heights to your taste- Remember to keep the 6" sticks in the middle- so the rod that they rotate around can connect to its neighboring sticks.

While mocked up, trace your outline on the 1/2" sheet of ply and cut out your new shape.

Now sand down all your pieces . Start with 80 grit. move on to 100, end with 120.

Step 2: Drill Out the Sticks

Mock up your sticks again and mark the short/rotating ones where the chamfer ends- also mark the pieces on either side of it.

Use a 1/4" drill bit to drill out all three sticks. And the next three, and the next., etc.

Take some 1/4" rod and cut it down to 3.75" (1.25"x3).

I got 2 feet worth for about $3 from the hardware store.

Insert the rod into each section and mock up again.

Try rotating the sticks to see if they move easily. If not drill out the hole a little more or add some wax.

Step 3: Paint!

Before assembly, paint all your pieces individually. It will be a lot easier to paint than when it is assembled.

I mixed my own paint and went with blue/grey antique look. But you can do whatever you'd like.

My blue recipe was 49.5% white, 49.5% blue, and 1% yellow.

My grey recipe was 50% white and 50% black.

I did a full coat of the grey across each stick and the back.

Once dry I used a dry brush technique with the blue color, leaving certain parts grey.

Step 4: Assemble

Run some wood glue across the front of the 1/2" ply backer and the backs of the 3/4" sticks- Be sure to NOT glue where the short/rotating sticks are.

Use a pneumatic stapler and 1" staples ( or 1 " screws if you don't have access to pneumatics) and staple from the back through the 1/2'" ply into the 3/4" stick. Again, NOT into the rotating ones.

Step 5: Hang

Attach some generic picture hanger brackets to the back of the frame. I found some for about $1.50 from the hardware store.

Then hang it on your wall and hang up your coats and hats!

Just be sure your guests know which sticks rotate down - so they don't try to pull too hard on the ones that are stationary.

Comments

[GTO3x2]

Nifty idea - The 007 coat rack. My thought would be to do the rotating ones on 16" centers so it can be mounted more strongly into wall studs. This may also be done as an abstract piano keyboard style.

[Gromo9]

That’s Magic GTO, the idea I was looking for! Thanx...

[Rayjo]

Looks amazing!

I was wondering, how exactly are the rotating hooks fastened to the board?

[bwwardiii]

Not OP, but it seems the rotating blocks are simply held on by the dowel set inside each of its neighboring pieces. Once the chamfer lays against the backer board the weight of the coat is transfered through the rotating piece and into the wall as through the dowel and into each neighboring piece away from the wall. Make sure your neighboring pieces are secure, however the angle chosen for the chamfer seems like most of the force would be put on the backer/wall and not the neighboring pieces.

[Rayjo]

ahh, I see now. Thanks for the explanation!

[instructodad_]

Thanks for sharing! I could imagine making this someday. The concept would work well with many different designs. Cityscape comes to mind :)

[bwwardiii]

A cityscape would be very cool! How about on the water where the line of rotation is the waterline?

[chefspenser]

Bravo!

[DonnH1]

This is a great idea. I thought a musical motif would look interesting, piano keys. Inspirationaal. Thanks for sharing your project.

[Scenic Sauthoff]

Piano keys would work really well.

[Christensen143]

This is awesome. Can I order one from you? :)

[Scenic Sauthoff]

Yes, I'll PM you

[quasarwutwut]

This looks great - I've been meaning to make something like this. I have an idea though that might save a lot of time: instead of laying out your pattern and tracing it on the 1/2" ply and then cutting it all out, keep your ply a simple rectangle that is the same width as your overall piece but only 6" high. Now you line up all your pivoting 6" pieces on that and then your bigger pieces however you like; you just glue and staple them within the 6" range. Would save a lot of time and I believe it should still be just as functional with the same look (just with 1/2" more space between the longer slats and the wall).

[Scenic Sauthoff]

That would save time. But part of my look was to mask the backer and make it look like they are just stick of lumber on the wall. But that could also be achieved if the backer was completely hidden.

[timowers]

The simplest ideas are always the best. Voted x 2.

[MolnarL1]

Thank you, it is on my list now.

[MarniDarr]

This is so cool!! I am definitely out to try this one; such a clever design. It will really work in every home depending on how you finish it. Wow. TYVM!

[raviolikid]

This is so attractive! I'll file it away in the "great ideas" part of my brain. Congratulations!

[S0dyP0p]

We often have groups of people over, and this would be a great closet overflow to have during the winter. I'd maybe apply a printed photo to the wood as several other 'ibles show to make it even more decorative when it's not being used. I need this thing!

[Kenstruct]

I like your idea, hope you post a picture of it here