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Do you have a great collection of hats that are tucked out of sight or are always in the way? It’s time to bring your hats out and give them a place to display them with pride as well as create a unique DIY hat storage solution. Check out some of my favorite DIY projects below.
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DIY Hat Racks for Kids
These hat racks below are kid friendly and are fun enough to help motivate them to get their hats off the floor to display them with pride.
1. Dinosaur Rack
For the tiny paleontologist in your life, this dinosaur hat rack is the perfect functional accessory for their room. You will need a pack of toy dinosaurs, poplar wood strips, screws, a good bandsaw, a screw gun and some paint. The band saw is to cut the wood strips to the right length as well as to trim the toy dinosaurs so that they look like they are coming out of the wood.
For more uses out of your band saw, check out this article.
Check out this great DIY project here: www.craxycozads.com
2. Animals
Creating a rack out of animals gives this wall mounted hat storage some fierce personality. For this DIY project you will need a single board cut to length and painted on its own. Next you will want to have some plastic animals that you will cut in half. You can use the hind legs and tails as additional hooks, or opt to use the front parts only.
Take a look here for the next steps: www.apartmenttherapy.com
3. Wolly Mammoth
This neon pachyderm is made from acrylic and spray felt paint to give him a warm and fuzzy appearance to kids.
If you have been wanting to work with acrylic or just a different type of material then this is an easy DIY project for you to try.
You will need a vac-u-former or heat bed to warm up the acrylic for bending and shaping into the trunk and tusks.
See the full tutorial here: www.instructables.com
Vertical Hat Racks
If you lack a long width of wall space, or want to better contain your hat racks to a limited space, then going vertical is the best option for you. This allows you to use the height of your walls for storage instead of needing to create wide or long racks that take up a lot of wall area.
For wine rack ideas, check out my article here.
4. Copper Hat Rack
This simple yet chic way to hang your hats is a great DIY that you can do in under an hour. All you need is some rope, a copper pipe, scissors and a bag of clothespins. The clothes pins will attach to the lengths of rope and clip onto the brim of your hats.
View this easy project here: www.apairandasparediy.com
5. Hanging Hat and Pin Rack
Similar to the project above, this DIY vertical hat rack takes that simple idea and adds a little more. Instead of this being a hanging hat rack, it is meant to be mounted on or screwed into the wall. The hanging lines of rope are braided and the clothespins are glued and secured into place so that the hat rack maintains its even lines.
Check out the instructions here: www.beautybitten.com
6. Window Shutter Rack
For the person who loves to upcycle, this DIY shutter hat rack is a fun way to create a new functional item from something that previously did not give this function before.
To start you will need a basic window shutter. Depending on your preference you can paint it or decorate it how you would like.
Next you will need to attach knobs or drawer pulls to the shutter to create the hanging element for your hat rack, for this you will need the knobs and a power drill to predrill the holes.
See the full list of instructions here: www.grecodesigncompany.com
7. Modern Slats
Simple and sleek this DIY project is a great way to create storage without taking up a lot of wall space.
To create this rack you will need three 1×4 boards, screws, paint, drywall anchors and hooks. If you’re starting from a whole piece of wood, then a table saw you can get for cheap will do just fine.
With the simplicity of this project you can build, mount and then start hanging your hats all within a few hours of starting.
Take a look at the project here: www.familyhandyman.com
This Scandinavian inspired hat rack is a great way to display your hats while also creating a unique piece for your home’s improvement.
For this DIY you will need 1×1 pieces of lumber, wood pegs, wood glue, screws and a drill. You can also use a top of the line pin nailer to make things easier.
You can opt to leave the wood unfinished which gives it the Scandi look or you can choose to paint or apply a stain to it for color.
Find what makes this DIY stand out here: www.houseandhome.com
9. Industrial
The look of metal and unfinished wood is really trendy right now, since it gives off the aesthetically pleasing look of something that was handmade. All you need to make this DIY industrial hat rack is a long unfinished board and some metal piping.
Measure out the distance and screw in the metal flanges to start off each industrial peg. Next you will need to screw in the elbows, making sure that each is upright to create the hook.
Get the next step here: www.prettyhandygirl.com
Hat Stands
If you are looking for something that is freestanding for your entryway or just don’t want to add another piece on your walls, then creating your own DIY free standing hat rack is a great option. These pieces are fairly simple to make and are well balanced so that they stand alone and can take the weight load of hats, scarves and even jackets.
10. Teepee Stand
For this really simple design, there are no tools required. You will need 3-4 long dowels, masking tape, some paint, rope and a pair of scissors. If you need to trim the dowels to a certain height then you will need to use a small hand saw to cut them to an equal length. The project originally only requires 3 dowels to create the hat stand but recommends that you use 4 if you are planning to hang heavier items like coats onto it.
Take a look here for the step by step instructions: www.ehow.com
11. Kids Wooden Block Stand
If you have an old lamp or pedestal base then this is the perfect upcycling DIY project for you to make.
The kid building blocks are attached to this project via drilled holes through the middle so that they feed onto the main dowel support pole.
If you don’t have a used base, then you can create your own by cutting four feet and screwing them into a pre drilled square of wood.
Since this is a project for your kids, you can ask them to help you out.
View the full tutorial here: www.diynetwork.com
12. Simple DIY Hat Rack
The best part about this really great hat rack is it’s price to build.
If you have all of the tools needed on hand, then you will only spend about $10 on the wood. It will take three 8 foot 2x2s to create the base and the arms for hanging.
Additional options for this DIY rack include using wood filler to smooth out any holes as well as paint and primer for the finished project.
Check out this project here: www.iliketomakestuff.com
Horizontal Hat Racks
When you want to keep your hats up and in a straight line then these horizontal racks are just what you need. The straight across lines are pleasant to the eye and fit perfectly in hallways and entryways.
13. Framed Shelf Rack
There are no tools needed for this fairly simple to create hat rack except for a quality framing hammer if you want additional support. The boards do need a specific width and cut, which you should be able to find on the shelf at your local Rockler or Woodcraft home improvement store. If not then the lumber can be cut to size for free in most stores. You will use wood glue to adhere the wooden planks together.
Take a look here at the easy step by step instructions: www.removeandreplace.com
14. Driftwood Rack
If you have a piece of driftwood on hand or find one while wandering the beach, then this is a perfect way to give it a functional purpose.
To make this beautiful piece you will need a piece of lumber for the backing, some screws, hooks and wood glue.
The addition of a backing gives you a nice flat surface for mounting the rack while still enjoying the uneven shape of the driftwood.
Check out the tutorial here: www.sustainmycrafthabit.com
15. Long Dowel Pegged Board
This extra long hat rack is perfect for an entryway wall or for an empty wall in your closet to help organize your hats. The pegs are made from trimmed dowels which are strong enough to hold hats, bags, keys and jackets. If you make the dowel holes the correct size, then they should fit snugly without any additional screws or wood glue.
See the project here: www.themerrythought.com
16. Fish Rack
While it may look like a difficult project, with the right tools this DIY Fish Hat Rack couldn’t be any easier. First you need to print out a paper template on your board and trace it. Use a top quality jigsaw to cut out the shape and then all you have left to do is measure for the hooks and stain it the right color.
Find the instructions here: www.bitterrootdiy.com
17. Branch Rack
You can even get the kids in on the DIY fun with this project. Have them help you gather some twigs from outside and trim it to make the short hooks. If they are old enough then they can even help with painting the twigs before you mount them onto the board. For attach the branches you will want to remember to predrill holes in them before painting.
This project’s step by step instructions are here: www.gardentherapy.ca
Wall Hat Racks
If you want to create your own lines and design for hanging hats, then these wall based hat racks are great for making your own space. There are no mounting boards for these hooks, instead the hooks or dowels are mounted directly to the wall.
18. Wood and Leather
The mixture of using wooden dowels with the leather from a belt is a great design feature to use on a hat rack.
The dowels are screwed into the wall via a long screw that goes into the dowel first then through pre-drilled holes in the belt strip and finally into a pre-drilled wall hole. The loop of the belt adds a nice touch to the simple dowels and also functions for holding scarves.
Take a look here for the instructional video: www.lilyardor.com
19. Angled Dowels
Using dowels is a way to create a strong hook while using a simple and affordable material.
Also I love that wooden dowels have the option to stay natural, be stained, or can even be painted a bright color.
For this DIY dowel hat rack you will want to use angled dowels, the cut elevates the dowels to hang at an upwards angle instead of sticking out at a 90 degree angle.
Check out the design here: www.themerrythought.com
20. Chic Antlers
Rustic hunting antlers meet chic pastel colors in this must see DIY hat rack idea. You will need some antlers which you can find mostly inexpensive on Etsy. Once you have your antlers, you will want to paint them white and then use masking tape to section off areas that you want to tip or paint in various fun shades.
Find your inspiration here: www.kristimurphy.com
Hat Rack Boards
These DIY hat racks are created to cover a larger area than most of the DIY racks on this list. If you have an open wall space then these statement hat racks are a great option to fill the space while also giving you a functional area to use for storing a hat collection.
21. Pallet Baseball Rack
This might be my favorite hat rack on the list due to the inexpensive pallet design and the fun addition of baseballs. You can use old and used pallets and simply cover them up in some good quality wood filler. You can also find older baseballs for the task if you talk to little league or school teams to see if they have any torn or waterlogged balls that they are going to throw away. Build the body of your rack with the pallet wood and then alternate the heights of the baseballs in different rows by screwing them in from the back.
You’ve got to see this one here: www.bowerpowerblog.com
22. Peg Board
Peg boards are a fantastic way to store things since they offer slots for dowels to simple hang things on or even create small shelves that sit on multiple dowels. The design of a pegboard also gives you the option to fully customize what goes where that can be changed as you decide to switch it up.
Follow the simple step by step instructions here: www.themerrythought.com
Conclusion
Taking a look at these different sized and various shaped DIY hat racks is the perfect place to start when you are looking for DIY hat storage solutions. You can either find a great rack to create yourself, or pick and pull inspiration from multiple projects to create something that is customized to you.
Thanks for including my muskie hat rack in this roundup!