How to Make a Doorknob Coatrack

At my house, coats pile up on dining room chairs and get put away only when dinner guests actually need to sit. I have a coat closet—two, in fact—but after a long day at work, I hate messing with hangers. So for a project using vintage metal doorknobs, a toss-and-go coatrack seemed just the antidote for my lazy ways. I had six knobs and their matching rosette backplates; all I needed was a nice old board to mount them on. Lucky for me, my boss, This Old House editor Scott Omelianuk, was willing to part with some chestnut trim he salvaged after taking down a wall during his house renovation. Here’s the step-by-step for how to build the rack.

Watch the Video of This Project