How to Make a Mudroom Rack with Coastal Style

Today I'm going to show you how to make a coat rack for your mudroom or foyer that will hold a ton of stuff, look cool, and is super affordable. Honestly, this is a DIY project anyone can do!

Our mudroom is basically an 8' x 3' hallway between the garage and the house. We needed someplace to hang coats, bags, beach towels, yoga mats, backpacks--you name it.  So I built this rack to run along one of the long walls. Full disclosure--the mudroom never looks like it does in these pictures. We usually have so much stuff hanging in there that you would never be able to see the rack! I did a bit of editing before taking these pics!

Materials

1 x 4 lumber in the length you need. I used an 8' board that fit perfectly on the wall.

4" galvanized boat cleats--I used 8 cleats for an 8' board.

1 " wood screws (2 per boat cleat)

2" wood screws (4-6)

Sander or sand paper (this is the sander I have)

Wood stain (I used this)

Tape measure

Stud finder (optional, but for less than $20, so worth it!)

Drill and drill bits

Pencil

Level

Directions

1. Cut your 1 x 4 to the length you need. (They'll do this for you for free at Home Depot) 

2. Sand all surfaces and round off the long edges of the wood.

3. Apply the stain of your choice and let dry.

4. While you're waiting for the stain to dry, use the level to mark a horizontal line on the wall at the height where you want the top edge of the rack to be.

5. Locate the studs in the wall and mark their locations. Make sure you can see the marks above the horizontal line.

6. Hold the board in place on the wall (you may need someone to hold one end while you do this) and mark the locations of the studs on your board.

7. Now lay the board on the floor. You will need to attach the board to the studs in the wall near each end of the board and at a couple of places in the middle. So start at the ends. Place a boat cleat near each end where the studs are marked. Now place one or two boat cleats over the stud marks in the middle of the board. Then arrange the rest of the boat cleats so they are at even intervals. Mark these locations.

8. Remove all the boat cleats and place to one side. Drill a hole in the middle of each stud line where you will be attaching the rack to the wall. If you have the appropriate drill bit, create a countersink for each screw head. When you're done, the screws will be hidden by the boat cleats. 

9. Using the 1" screws, attach the boat cleats to the marked locations on the board EXCEPT where you have drilled the holes.

10. Now place the rack on the wall with the top edge even with the horizontal line (you may need a helper to hold one end). Place a 2" screw in each hole in the board and screw into the stud to secure the rack to the wall. Countersink the screws.

11. Finally, place the remaining cleats over the screws and attach to the board with the 1" screws.

Now enjoy your new coat rack!

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