Turning a Dull Mudroom Into a Bit of Victorian Whimsey

Bob Thacker
by Bob Thacker
The entry to our Lake Home was always like walking into a crowded closet. And yet, that's where everybody entered.
We started by collecting bits of Victorian bric brac from our local salvage yards along with old spindles and door knobs and rusted hooks.
We protected the flaky paint with clear coat
Using clear coat we were able to preserve the great antique finish and keep it clean for coats, hats and outerwear.
Then we bolted the spindles on the bric brac.
We found an old door header and Victorian porch trim as well and added an assortment of single doorknobs. We aged pieces of wood with a coat of Elmer's Glue and before it was dry topped the glue coat with a coat of white paint. Voila! It aged perfectly.
Salvaged Victorian trim & pegs now a hatrack
We painted the wall creamy yellow and the door wine red...symbol of hospitality. Then mounted the coat and hat racks to the wall with sturdy anchors. We hung pieces at different heights to accommodate all ages.
Now there are more than enough hooks!
We created a "hook Gallery" on the narrow wall. Coats and hats are now easy to hang and find.
Welcome! Hang up your coat and hat!
Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • JaneseC JaneseC on Mar 24, 2016
    How did you attach the door knobs to the wood
  • D roach D roach on Mar 26, 2016
    where did you put all the coats?
Comments
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2 of 42 comments
  • A A on Feb 24, 2018

    Much, much, much better than those wire shelf racks; they have no advantage as far as I'm concerned. We purged all of those wire shelves in our house and replaced with solid wood shelves (easier to clean, stack stuff and keep stuff from falling through) AND they look better!

  • Imdb Imdb on Feb 25, 2018

    I would place the hat holder flush with the ceiling, center the rounded rack slightly lower than that, or off to one side with the three single hooks to the other side. There's just too much going on for my taste, but you have some beautiful pieces to work with.

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