I’m starting off a new series of mini home makeovers. We have lived in our current home for just over 11 years and it’s about time we make it work for us and I hope I can encourage you to make yours work for you with just a few little tweaks. I have a few other room renovations to share but in this series I want to share simple 1 day(ish) projects that use a lot of what we already have and spend little for supplies. There will be no $1,500 Anthropologie mirrors or perfectly styled Insta worthy spaces. Just my real home updated with mostly on hand materials to make it work for us, make it pretty, or make it more fun. To start off this series I did a 1 day small closet makeover on our coat closet. We have a bi-level home so this coat closet has an irregular angle to the floor that rises up in the back leaving barely any floor space. You also must walk in the entry and up a few stairs to get to this closet. A little over a yea ago I decided to hang a peg rack shelf that I had stored in the basement in the entryway to catch the keys, sunglasses, purses and eventually coats and anything else we decide to hang on it. I loved this change. It added so much function to our entry, while I wait for a Pinterest worthy board and batten wall with pegs this would have to do. And it did. We no longer have purses sitting on the floor or arms of chairs, in the wintertime it works great to air dry the wet gloves and hang the family coats on. But soon enough this rack became overflowing with out coats this winter. Is it my destiny to have a cluttered entry way when we have a perfectly good coat closet just 5 steps away? Enter the problem.
I am horrible at getting before photos because I am the type of person that gets an idea and instantly rips into it before thinking to take any photos to mark progress so my photos usually start somewhere in the process of a makeover but alas this is the space I have to work with. The problem…. It takes effort to get a hanger out, hang your coat on it, and then place it back on the bar. The coats that were hanging in here were barely used as we were constantly using the ones on the peg rack at the entry. So I decide if you can’t beat them, join them. After 11 years I know that I will not teach my children, my hubby or myself the desire to want to hang a coat on a hanger. To be honest I hate hanging clothes….love the end result but my laundry tends to sit in the dryer until the next load and then in nice piles of clean laundry at the bottom of my bed. Is it really that hard to hang a coat? No. But I wanted to make it just as easy as the peg rack at the front door so that we all would be able to enjoy the cleanliness of the entryway with the coats being put away and the ease to get them there.
The solution: Small closet makeover time! I remove the bar and all of the coats and created a peg wall around the closet. Done! And it really was that simple. I would have loved to create two levels one higher for adults and one lower for little’s to be able to hang their coats easily but with the angle of the floor it just wouldn’t work and remember I am trying to do this on the cheap and quick with what we already have. Lets look at the materials list…its a short one
MATERIALS:
One 1/4″ dowel rod (Lowes cost under $1.00)
1/4″ spade drill bit ( we had on hand)
Titebond wood glue ( Lowes cost $5.00)
Paint ( I used leftovers)
To get this project done super fast and cheap I went to Lowes and picked a wooden dowel rod the size I wanted for the pegs ( you can purchase pegs but they come in packs and aren’t as cheap as creating your own, plus I like the look of dowel pegs better than the shaped ones). I chose a 1/4″ thick dowel rod and I only needed one. My hubby cut them on his chop saw for me at 3.75″ in length ( again you can choose what length you want each peg to be but don’t forget to factor in they will loose some length when you insert them into the board and you want them long enough that coats don’t fall off the end.
The next part, for me, was easy as I already had a board around the closet to hold the shelf but if you need to install the base for the pegs just locate the studs in the wall and fasten a board (this is a half in thick board) to the wall screwing through the studs. Next I picked out where I wanted the peg hooks to be, how many and how far apart. I did 4 1/2″ between them and we have had no issues with fitting multiple winter coats all stacked in beside each other . This small closet makeover gave me 11 peg spaces and we can hang double on each hook! After marking it out I took the 1/4″ bit and drilled the holes. I tested on a spare board to see if I could drill them in at an angle but that wouldn’t work. Like most peg racks these pegs will be drilled straight in. But we haven’t had any issues with coats falling off even with hanging two coats on one peg! Drill straight in to the back of the board. Try not to go through the back but if you do it won’t be detrimental ( we make the pegs extra secure with the wood glue). If you want to protect your drywall drill holes before installing the board. Since I am using a 1/4″ bit and the pegs are 1/4″ it just takes a little wiggle while drilling to make the opening big enough for the peg. I tested using larger bits but then the holes were too big. After the holes were drilled I popped the top off the wood glue and dipped the end of each peg in before installing them in the hole. Have your rubber mallet ready as they should be snug especially with that bit of wood glue on the ends. Pound the pegs all the way in. Working one at a time installing each peg, have paper towels handy incase of wood glue runs. Let dry. If you’re like me you didn’t bother sanding the pegs before sticking them in because, well, patience. So be sure to give the ends a sanding either before installing or after its dry. I tested the pegs ( couldn’t wait for the wood glue to dry but even without it they are sturdy). After dried they have no issue holding my purse which feels like I carry around my entire library in it. 🙂
I would have loved to update this closet with a stained shelf, some pretty new baskets to hold out hats and mittens in and perhaps paint it a pretty deep foresty green color or even try a fun wallpaper pattern on the back wall! But this is a mini makeover to make my home work for us and paint, well that’s just a bonus. I know I wanted to paint it to make it all match and to help hide the marks the wall will inevitably get ( as you can see in the before photos there have been many a mark on left on these walls in the life of this house)
I am so pleased with the end result! This project literally took me a day to install and paint. I left everything dry overnight and hung the coats back in the next day. It has been working like a charm for us. No more coats cluttering the entryway or hanging on the back of the dining chairs or falling off of hangers and laying on this already small closet floor. As you can see we recently replaced the door to this closet. It still needs painted, trimmed and a door knob then this area will be completely refreshed! I hope you enjoyed this small closet makeover and perhaps it has inspired you to take a look at an area of your home that just isn’t working for you and update it!