Craft corner: Door knob coat hooks

If closet space is a problem in your house and the piles of coats and hats drive you crazy all winter, this is the craft for you. All you need is a wooden base, a collection of pretty drawer pulls or doorknobs, and a drill, and you’ll have that front hall or mudroom organized in no time. Check out your local hardware store or flea market for interesting knobs, or – if you’re a savvy online shopper – you’ll hit the jackpot with the reams of web suppliers.

Materials:

- 6-8 decorative drawer pulls or doorknobs
- 1 1x3 piece of wood, sanded and cut to desired length
- Drill
- Hacksaw (if necessary)
- Safety goggles

Instructions:

1. Before you start assembling your coat rack, use a ruler to mark out the place for each knob on your 1x3. Be sure to leave enough space between knobs, so that the coats are easily accessible when hung on to your rack, approx. 4-5 in.

2. Put on your safety goggles, then carefully drill holes where you’ve marked the placement of each. Before drilling each hole, make sure that the bit is the required size for the doorknob hardware. If you have a variety of sizes, remember to switch the bit before drilling so that the hole is not too big or too small. Also remember to drill holes for hanging the rack on the wall.

3. For each knob, insert the screw through the back of the rack. If the screw is a bit too long, carefully use the hacksaw to trim the screw back to the required length. Twist the knobs on, tightly, at the front.

4. Affix to the desired wall. For extra support, you can buy wall shields at your local hardware store.

Note: If you’d like the rack to lie flush to the wall, counter-sink each screw from the back. This means using a slightly larger drill bit at the top of each hole, so that the head of the screw does not protrude from the wood.