Alternative Coat Stand Uses

Instead of throwing away your old coat rack make it into a useful or decorative household item. Here's a few ideas:

Many things that are replaced in the home are thrown out with the garbage. Recycling old items in to something for which they were never intended is unique and useful. When you decide it's time for a new coat rack don't throw away the old one. There are plenty of uses for it. How about a nice corner plant stand? Put a fresh coat of paint on the coat rack then stand it in an empty corner. Decorate it in any number of ways, like wrapping a golden rope around the vertical piece of the stand. Start at the bottom and glue or tack the decorative rope on one side of the pole. Wrap the entire pole, leaving large gaps in between each wrap. Hang plants of different colors or choose vines that will eventually climb all over the stand. Use short plant hangers for the top level plants and add length to the hangers as you work your way down to the bottom rods. Consider purchasing a small ceramic bird to affix to the top of the rack or several tiny butterflies to glue to random places on the stand.

Cut the bottom off of the rack then cut a length of the center pole off as well. Now use contact cement or nails to reattach the bottom. The shrunken coat rack is perfect for a kid's room. The child can hang book bags, purses or stuffed animals on the rack. Decorate the rack by painting it in a colorful manner. Paint the center pole one color then the pegs different colors.

Cut the rack off to a few inches below the last hanger. Cut the stand off and bore the pole out of it. Replace the top piece by gluing it into the bored hole. This makes a great cup rack in the kitchen. Or put the shortened version in the bathroom with folded towels and wash cloths draped across the pegs.

Make a unique picture holder out of the coat rack. Use small round or oval picture frames and hang them from the pegs. Make the hangers different lengths for a family tree affect. Choose frames that match and are lightweight. Ones with a plastic piece in place of glass are best since they're not easily broken. Attach cord or ribbon to the backs of the frames and hang them at different lengths from the coat pegs.

Use the coat rack in the garage to hang up tools and pouches. No need to give it a fancy paint job but it would help to make sure it's safely weighted. Use contact cement to affix small rocks all around the bottom stand portion of the rack. Or tie the coat rack to a wall by wrapping a cord around the center pole and affixing it to the wall.

The coat racks are great laundry helpers. While putting clothing on hangers you have somewhere to hang them until you're ready to put them in closets. Tie the rack to a wall so it won't tip over with all the weight on one side.

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