For a long time, I have really wanted one of those drying racks from Ballard Designs.   You’ve seen them.  They’re so perfect in the laundry room for drying your delicate clothing. 

I really wanted to save the money and build one myself.  I knew I could do it with the right supplies.  I even drew my own diagram on a napkin.  And I added knobs to the bottom of my design. 

Here’s a look at my final product:

This is the perfect solution for drying all of my delicates!  I am so happy with the way it turned out – it is both pretty and practical. 

How to Build a Laundry Room Drying Rack: 

Supplies:

1. 2 x 2’ precut birch (1/2 inch thick)
2. Two 1/2 x 2” poplar boards
3. Two 3/8” dowel rods (48” long)
4. Sash lock
5. Narrow loose pin hinges (set of two)
6. D ring hangers for mounting on wall
7. Bracketed hinge for side (or chain with small screw eyes)
8. Three white porcelain knobs
9. Primer and paint of choice

Necessary tools:  Drill bit set, including 3/8 inch drill bit, screwdriver, framing nails, a hammer, and a saw. 

Step One:  Measure and cut your 1/2 inch x 2 boards to fit the 2 x 2 precut birch.  Cut your dowel rods to fit inside your drying rack frame. 

Step Two:  With your 3/8 inch drill bit, drill holes for your precut dowel rods.  Use a mallet to hammer dowel rods into predrilled spots. 

Step Three:  Finish assembling your rack with framing nails.

Step Four:  Attach your pin hinges with a screwdriver. 

Step Five:  Prime your wood drying rack, then paint with your color of choice.  I used a spray primer, then once it was dry, I applied Rustoleum’s Seaside Green to the back.  Once the back was dry, I covered it with newspaper, and painted the dowel rods and frame with Rustoleum’s Heirloom White.

Step Six:  If you want to make the sides of your inexpensive wood smoother, then use paintable wood filler (or wood putty) to fill in the uneven surfaces.  I use my finger to apply it.  Once the wood filler is dry, simply spray paint right over it.    

Step Seven: When your paint is dry, attach your sash lock to the top of your drying rack.  It’s a good idea to drill pilot holes first when working with wood only 1/2 inch thick.  This way, when you drive your screws in, you have a much better chance of avoiding any visible split in your wood. 

Step Eight:  Drill holes to attach your knobs to the bottom.

Knobs after:

Step Nine: Attach a hinged bracket, or a chain with screw eyes, to keep your drying rack at your desired angle when open.  Attach your D-ring hangers to the back, and hang on your laundry room wall. 

What I like about this new drying rack is that I can dry all sorts of delicate clothing (*ahem* ladies, your lingerie…).  Since this is a G rated site, I won’t demonstrate with any of mine.  But you get the idea. 

I added knobs to the bottom of my design so I can dry sweaters or other clothing right on the hanger.    

It’s a solid wood piece, hung right on the wall studs, so I can even dry towels right on these knobs.

When open, it has four rungs for drying several layers of clothing:

When not in use, it folds up flush with the wall, with the help of the sash lock on top: 

I purchased all of my wood and hinges at Lowes.  The total cost for the supplies for my drying rack was around $25 (not including paint and primer that I had in my supply closet).   Compare that to Ballard’s price of $89 for their small version (not including tax plus shipping).

And mine is a hand made one-of-a-kind. 

So if you’ll excuse me friends, I have some laundry to do. 

Tags: drying rack, laundry room, spray paint

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at and is filed under DIY, Spray Paint: My BFF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.