WHALE TAILS!!!!! Eeeeeee!!! I can’t even. These are so flipping cute. And this entryway coat rack with shelf makes an adorable addition to any small entryway or mudroom. Did I mention that this project is super quick and easy too?! You need this. Like now. Run, don’t walk! Well, maybe walk, because safety. And take a minute to read this post first too I suppose. That would be cool of you.
OK, now that I’ve geeked out for the last whole paragraph I can go into a bit more detail about this super cute and easy project! This shelf was one of my earlier DIY projects and it was super easy to make! I love how it really adds both design and functionality to this challenging space.
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The Rundown
Length of time for project: 1-2 hours
Cost: between $40-50
What you’ll need:
- 3/4″ plywood scraps (check the leftovers bin at Home Depot if you don’t have any lying around)
- 2 wooden corbels
- Hooks (Whale Tails!!!)
- Stain- I use this
- White and/or grey paint to faux age the back
- 2-3″ screws for attaching to wall studs
- Cordless Drill/Screwdriver- I use this Ryobi one
What I learned: I have learned that this shelf is SUPER strong and sturdy! We are 3 years strong with this baby and she looks just as good as the day I made her!
The Main Event
Our home is a split level and the entry is small. Like bump into each other, hit yourself with the door kind of small. And of course it is half a stairway up from the garage entrance and half a stairway down from the main living level. Ahhh, split level problems. Anyway, this space was looking pretty sad and we really didn’t have a place to put our coats and bags (can anyone say four coats and a purse on the kitchen island?). We desperately needed something for storage.
I made the bench by tweaking a “Do it Herself” project I had seen at Home Depot. It is basically two wooden crates attached to each other with a plywood lid and a couple of legs. Nothing amazing but functional for now. Now that I am much more seasoned at this DIY thing, I’m sure I’ll take a second pass at this entry way at some point. Not like I don’t have a hundred other things I’d like to get done in this house as is…but you know, its the nature of the DIYer. Never satisfied, always obsessed. I see you.
The Entryway Coat Rack How To
So, back to the shelf/wall rack. I saw THE MOST adorable whale tail hooks on Amazon and I knew I had to have them! We live in the Northeast so I basically feel like nautical is always in. And they had a great rustic feel about them. I ordered two sets to get more storage as this wall is pretty big.
The back where the hooks are attached is a piece of 3/4 inch plywood I had lying around. I didn’t have any plans for this coat rack, I just cut the plywood down to a size that I thought would look good over this bench. The top shelf is also a piece of scrap plywood that I cut down to size. It is thinner, maybe 1/2 inch thick but you could use the same thickness as the backing if that is what you’ve got. In fact, I’ve been thinking about adding some trim to it to beef it up a bit. We will see if I ever get around to that though!
The back of the shelf is flush with the top of the plywood, if that makes sense. If you have a kreg jig, you could definitely use this here to attach the shelf to the backing. I didn’t at the time so I just used some store bought corbels which are screwed into both the shelf and the backing. I like the look of the corbels and they are actually structural in this project too. Win win.
I stained the shelf and corbels with General Finishes Java Gel stain. I used this on the backing as well but then dry brushed some white and light grey paint over it to give it a more worn and rustic look.
And that is pretty much it for this project! Pretty quick and definitely useful! We’ve been using this entryway coat rack going on three years now and it is still holding strong!
Of note, I attached this entryway coat rack directly to the wall by drilling some super long screws directly into the studs. So it is really strong and sturdy, which is a necessity if you are going to hang 47 lbs of crap on this thing every day like we do!
