DIY Dark Wood Laundry Drying Rack

A few months back I bought a carved wood hook (from HomeGoods, surprise surprise) that I thought was perfect for the laundry room. I loved the dark wood next to the painting, but it had limited functionality. I could only hand a few things on it, and I need more space to air dry some delicate items.

It also kept falling off the wall, but that was really more my fault than the hooks.

I still think it’s beautiful so it’s being moved somewhere else in the house (not sure where yet).

So down came the hook and I started brainstorming other options. l thought of grouping some single hooks in some sort of pattern on the wall, or a shelf that could at least provide some additional ‘counter’ space.

Then I saw the genius DIY post over at Centsational Girl for a dryer rack and the light bulb went on above my head. Actually it more like I swiped the light bulb that formed over her head (but whatever). That would be perfect to replace the wobbly hooks and add some additional functionality to the laundry room.

I picked up a 2’ x 2’ piece of plywood which fit the space perfectly, no need to cut it down. I also picked up 2 pieces of 1 x 3 boards and some 3/8 inch dowels.

I followed the steps in Kate’s post with the exception of the finish, and I used chain instead of brackets for the sides. It took a few days to build and stain the entire piece since I worked on it in small chunks of time in between work and other projects, but it could be easily built in an afternoon.

Drilling the dowel holes was the fun part. Who ever thought I’d have such fun with power tools.

I used Rustoleum Kona for the finish, which is essentially the ORB of the stain world. To create the darker finish color, I didn’t wipe off the stain. I apply it in thin even coats and let it dry. I then applied a few thin coats of Satin Poly to protect it since damp clothes will be laying directly on the wood.

Just like Kate, I used a sash lock on the top to secure the piece when not in use. The knobs are from some old IKEA furniture which I’m thinking of painting a light aqua color, but for now the dark iron color works well.

I LOVE this thing! Especially since it was fairly inexpensive. All the supplies cost me less than $20 since i had the stain, knobs, and tools already.