DIY Rustic Coat Hanger Rack

Customize a rustic minimal style coat hanger rack with just a few simple supplies and a spare half hour. Simple wire hooks and natural wood make this easy piece look chic on even the tightest of budgets! Organize and store all your entryway or bedroom essentials in no time!

Coat Hanger Rack
DIY Hanging Coat Rack

Supplies you’ll need to this Coat Hanger Rack:

  • thin strip of wood approximately one half inch thick
  • sanding block
  • drill with thin drill bit
  • polyurethane or clear finish
  • pencil
  • tape measure
  • wire hooks

Instructions to build a rustic Coat Hanger Rack step by step:

DIY Hanging Coat Rack

Step 1: Choose the wood you desire 

Have your local hardware store or sawmill cut you a piece of wood to your desired dimensions. Measurements will be predetermined by the space in which you want to use your rack. Pick a thin piece of wood that doesn’t protrude out too far from the wall but that is thick enough to accommodate the hooks (we used a half inch thick piece of wood here).

Here we used dark cherry wood but any hardwood (or plywood if you want to paint the finished product) will work well. Prep the wood by sanding the edges with a sanding block before applying finish. Sand the edges and sides to round them out just a bit and sand off any splinters.

Step 2: Spray or brush paint

Apply finish to your wood. Spray (or brush) a thick generous even coat of clear finish for the wood to soak up the finish to bring out the color. Let dry for the amount of time as indicated on the back of the bottle.

Step 3: Add hooks

Once the wood is dry and finished, add your hooks. Use a tape measure to mark out where you want your hooks to be. If you want to use three hooks, measure for hook number 2 in dead center of the wood. Then measure the distance between dead center and the edge and cut it in half. This is where you will place hook number 1 and hook number 3 on each side of the wall rack. Mark out where your holes will be with a pencil.

Step 4: Drilling

Use your drill to drill out the holes in the rack (depress the holes about halfway through your wood piece to accommodate the hooks).

DIY Hanging Coat Rack

Step 5: Screw wire hooks

To finish up the piece, screw the wire hooks into the holes.

Once your modern coat rack is finished you can attach it to your wall by either drilling straight into the wall through the rack or by routing out holes in the back of the rack to hang on screws.

DIY Hanging Coat Rack
DIY Hanging Coat Rack
DIY Hanging Coat Rack
DIY Hanging Coat Rack