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    Home » Repurposed Furniture » Coat Rack Shelf made from a Cabinet Door

    Coat Rack Shelf made from a Cabinet Door

    Published by Gail | Published March 7, 2019 | Updated June 23, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    This Coat Rack Shelf is made from a cabinet door. This tutorial will show you how to make this, plus show you how to easily achieve this fabulous paint color. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #cabinet #door #shelf via @repurposedlife

    This easy coat rack shelf made from a cabinet door project makes me smile. It was fairly easy the way I made it, but I have tips on how you can make it easily if you don't have the tools I have.

     

    cabinet door repurposed into a coat rack shelf

    You can see the simple construction is a long narrow cabinet door with one shelf attached to the top. I really like the dual use of a coat rack that not only has hooks, but a small shelf as well.

     

     

     

    Reclaimed Cabinet Doors for Projects

    cabinet door stash

    Check out this nice stash of cabinet doors. I like to pick them up whenever I can find a good deal. There are so many projects that can be made from reclaimed cabinet doors. Don't forget to ask your friends and family for their old cabinet doors. You know if they decide they like open shelving in their kitchen and remove their cabinets.

    I chose that tall cabinet door hiding in the back of this stash. It really was perfect for this project!

     

    Attaching a shelf with pocket holes

    Many times when I make cabinet door coat racks I use my Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws to attach the board to the cabinet door. But for this project I didn't think I was going to use a shelf board.

    No worries if you don't have a Kreg Jig, I'll explain below how easy this shelf was to attach.

    Time to Paint

    red paint

    I brought in the tall cabinet door and painted it with Heirloom Traditions Chalk Type paint. The paint went on quickly and smoothly with a chip brush. This is Daredevil.

    red cabinet door project

    I knew I was going to be making this cabinet door into a coat rack, but as I was painting it, I noticed it was flat (not routed) on this side. That made me think it would be perfect as a small shelf.

    Let's add a shelf to the coat rack

     

    how to make a cabinet door coat rack shelf

    I ripped a 1x6 down to about 4” and attached it with my nail gun . It needed a couple of coats of Daredevil to catch up to the cabinet door.

    If you don't have a nail gun, you could use small wood screws through the shelf into the cabinet door. NOTE: Cabinet doors can be made from hardwoods, pre-drilling your hole may be helpful.

     

    Wax, Glaze, or Wash to Tone Down Red Paint

    heirloom traditions wax

    I had several options of  wax to choose from. To see which wax I wanted to use, I painted a stir stick with the Daredevil, then put some of each of the waxes over it. In the end, I decided to do a dry brush technique with some Black Bean paint. This is before I started using my favorite Smoked Glaze. It would have looked awesome on this red.

    black bean paint

    I love a dark glazed red, and my favorite way to tone down a red is with a dark wash or glaze.

    Clear wax seals the coat rack shelf

    clear wax

    It looked good, but after I started applying the Heirloom Traditions Clear Wax, it magically transformed into the prettiest dark red. When using the Smoked Glaze, it acts as a sealer with no waxing needed. 🙂

    Add finishing touches

    add d-rings for hanging coat rack shelf

    I added d rings on 16” centers, and attached felt pads over the screw heads (from the coat hooks) to protect the wall.

     Coat Rack Shelf

    dark red coat rack shelf made with a cabinet door #myRepurposedLife

    I love, love, love this color on my new coat rack shelf! I added the coat hooks from D. Lawless Hardware. Would you believe I finally figured out how to secure these hooks?

    TIP  Insert screws at a slight angle so the head of the screws sit properly and the screws protrude less in the back.

     

    My Repurposed Life red cabinet door coat rack shelf

    My-Repurposed-Life-red-cabinet-door-shelf-coat-rackI am so happy that I added the little shelf.

    My-Repurposed-Life-red-cabinet-door-coat-rack-shelfAnother very functional shelf. I love quick and easy projects like this. It would be great for the bathroom, mudroom, or guest room. Where would you use it?

    gail

    See other coat rack ideas here.

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    1. Jennie

      March 07, 2019 at 8:21 am

      I’ve been thinking about doing a coat/key rack for just inside the door. We don’t have a long winter, but keys, the door stop piece of pool noodle so he can’t slam his fingers in the door, the occasional tote bag with a return that needs to be by the door so my aging mind😉 remembers to take it. And I have 2 of the narrow doors that were left when we bought the house.

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        March 07, 2019 at 12:45 pm

        Sounds like a plan! 🙂

    2. Jan

      May 17, 2016 at 11:59 am

      Gail what is a dry brush technique.You used it with the black bean paint.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        May 17, 2016 at 12:30 pm

        Jan,

        The way I do dry brushing is to use a cheap chip brush and barely getting any paint on the tips, and applying a very thin coat of paint. Many people will offload their brush onto a paper towel or rag. I just put less paint on the brush.

        gail

    3. Lauren

      February 16, 2015 at 9:27 pm

      That is so cute! What a great idea!

      Reply
    4. Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage

      February 15, 2015 at 12:50 pm

      Love this project and how you take a little bit of almost nothing and really turn it into something!

      Reply
    5. Stephanie@cre8tive

      February 11, 2015 at 12:10 pm

      Wow that is a nice paint line! How could you two not know of each other? The styling is pretty darn amazing 🙂 Your getting good at that.

      Reply
    6. Becky

      February 10, 2015 at 11:27 pm

      Love it and just adore the color! Perfect!

      Reply
    7. Mindi

      February 10, 2015 at 5:23 pm

      That color is beautiful! The black was done perfectly Gail, you have a nice eye for that! Looks like great paint!

      Reply
    8. Catherine

      February 10, 2015 at 11:49 am

      Love it Gail!
      I'm not a red girl, but your finish really came out beautifully!
      Hmmmm. . .
      Catherine

      Reply
    9. Laurel Stephens

      February 10, 2015 at 8:13 am

      I love the red paint with the black on top. Gorgeous!

      Reply
    10. Angela W

      February 10, 2015 at 8:10 am

      Gail, I appreciate visualizing the colored paint stick with various waxes. This is a great way to figure out what would look best for this piece as well as future projects. Sharing your process as the project evolves is quite beneficial - having an Ahhaa moment. Thinking, how could I apply liming wax to a beach painted piece of mine - with softer ocean blues, turquoise, etc. Thank you for thinking of us - your readers, and how we can further appreciate your work and the possibilities of extending ours to new depths using a variety of paints/wax combinations. Many thanks, once again! =)

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        February 10, 2015 at 11:20 am

        Angela,

        I'm so happy to inspire my friends and help you learn new tips to make your DIY experience easy.

        Thank you for your sweet comment, it made me smile. 🙂
        gail

    11. Shelly Andrade

      February 10, 2015 at 7:41 am

      Beautiful finish Gail! I love that color combo too!

      Reply
    12. Melinda

      February 10, 2015 at 7:33 am

      I absolutely LOVE this!! Going to have to find myself some cabinet doors 🙂

      Reply

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    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

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