I Became a Carpenter (Kinda)
I’m in the process of redoing my room and these were two of the ideas I’ve had for a long time now. I have absolutely no prior woodworking experience and for whatever reason, thought I’d know how to do it. About a month ago, I sketched out what I had in my head and had been trying to figure out how I could bring it to life. I knew what I wanted but hadn’t been able to find anything like it to buy, so I bought a drill and some wood.
I knew I wanted a hanging nightstand that had a rustic look to it, but with that came a huge decrease in space for things I had on my previous nightstand. Thus came the need for a jewelry/closet organizer that would be able to hold the things I no longer wanted to display but also couldn’t just throw out.
Hanging Nightstand
I had a 2′ by 2′ piece of plywood laying around that I got awhile ago that I had originally planned to paint on- but it worked perfectly for this.
I went to the store and gathered the materials I thought I’d need, laid everything out, and began my attempt to put my idea into action.
(tip: if you have a piece of wood that is already cut and finished, you can use that and save a couple of hours – such as a serving tray or wall decoration)
Materials:
Piece of plywood
3/8 inch thick natural sisal rope
Drill and drill bits
Wood stain and paintbrush
Wood saw
Sandpaper
Tape measure
C-Hook
Step 1: Cut the Wood
If you choose to use a wooden tray or anything else cut and finished skip to step 4
My wood was just a wee too big, so I made a line on the back that measured 2′ by 1.5′.
I didn’t realize at the time but the saw we had lying around was a hacksaw, not a wood saw. Honestly, I thought there were only two types of saws: manual and electric LOL boy was I wrong. This made the process VERY HARD and it took way longer than it could’ve.
Home Depot also will cut your wood for you if you ask, but everyone was telling me that the hacksaw wouldn’t work and I couldn’t do it- so of course, I had to. It took me about an hour to complete.
Step 2: Sand the Wood
I purchased a variety pack that had 2 sheets of 3 different grits.
Start with the lowest grit and work your way up, getting that baby as smooth as possible.
I used 80 grit, 150 grit, and 220 grit. I also made the mistake of wearing black jeans, which were a sandy taupe by the end of the process.
I sanded the top and sides like there was no tomorrow, but I only sanded about two inches into the underside since I knew it would never be seen or touched.
Once you’re done, wipe the wood off with a damp rag to remove the dust. I got mine a little too wet, so I let it dry overnight just to be safe. This took me about an hour to complete as well.
Step 3: Stain the Wood
I got the Varathane White Wash Wood Stain which I’ve been super obsessed with, trying to find anything and everything I can stain with it.
Apply one coat liberally and wait 2-3 minutes. Wipe off wood to get the remaining stain. If you wait longer than 3 minutes, it will continue to darken.
I did one coat, waited like two minutes because I didn’t want it to be too dark, and ended up repeating the process. So like 5 minutes in total. I stained only the areas I had sanded and let it dry. The can says to allow drying for an hour, but mine took almost an hour and a half to not be sticky around the edges.
I used the hour it needed to begin my jewelry organizer.
Step 4: Drill Holes
I marked 4 dots in each corner, an inch away from each side. Since my rope was 3/8 inch I thought the 3/8 drill bit would work perfectly, but it did not.
I used the 1/2 inch drill bit to make my holes which allowed the rope to move through without struggle, but also not look like the hole is bigger than the rope. Make sure to use a piece of scrap wood underneath where you drill to avoid making unwanted holes in other things.
(This step may be better completed prior to sanding, so your holes are smooth- but I wanted to stain the wood ASAP and mine looks fine)
Step 5: Add Rope
I measured the height of my room and knew I wanted my nightstand to hang about 6.5′ from the ceiling. I measured and cut two pieces of 15′ rope, but the length will vary depending on how high or low you want your table.
Fold the two pieces in half at the middle. Make a knot at the top to secure them together, but leave a loop at the top so you can hang it from a hook.
Since the rope is natural, it will fray if it’s not taped or burned at the ends. I just used a small piece of duct tape to cover about 1/2 inch at the end. Put one end of the rope through each hole and tie loose knots underneath.
I tried to eyeball the rope length and leave roughly the same amount hanging under the table. But this will be adjusted and perfected later.
Step 6: Hang Your Table
If you haven’t already, locate the studs in your ceiling using a stud finder. This will determine where you can hang the table from. Most studs are either 16″ or 24″ apart so I found two near where I wanted my table to go and decided where it would look best.
Use a pencil to mark where you want it to go and drill a pilot hole that is just a bit smaller and longer than the screw on your hook.
Screw your hook into the hole. I had to use some pliers as it got further in to get a better grip and make sure it was all the way in.
Yank on your hook and make sure it’s secure in the ceiling before hanging anything from it.
The hook I got supports 50 pounds, which is fine since the table itself is light and I didn’t plan on putting too much on it. The rope can hold up to 100 pounds, so if you wanted it to hold heavier items, just get an adequate hook.
Loop the rope around the hook. Try and make any major adjustments to the rope so it looks as level as possible, but retying the knots somewhat loose.
Use a level or a glass of water and place it on the table. Adjust your knots as needed and pull them tight when you’re table is even.
Remove the tape around the ends and CAREFULLY use a lighter to heat up the ends of the rope. If you want them to have a frayed look you can skip this and pull the loose ends apart.
Over the Door Organizer
I wanted something that could hang more than just jewelry, so those closet hangers with little pockets were out of the question. My doors are 9′ high, so I wouldn’t have been able to reach any of the organizers I liked.
I made a list of everything I wanted the organizer to hold and decided the best way to incorporate purses, jewelry, and random things like headphones and a lint roller was to use dowels, S hooks, and C hooks.
Materials:
Two 36″ 3/4 inch wooden dowl rods
1/4 inch natural sisal rope
3/4 inch C hooks
S hooks
Drill
Drill bits
Sandpaper
Small felt stickers
Over the door hook
Step 1: Cut the Wood
I sawed each dowel rod into two pieces, leaving me with two 18″ rods. The ones I bought were already sanded, so I just had to touch up the ends where I cut.
Step 2: Drill Holes
I marked two holes on each rod, an inch away from the edge.
I drilled holes large enough for the rope to go through and made sure they all lined up. (One of them was a little off, so I used that as the bottom rod) For my scrap wood, I used a piece of old baseboard, which ended up having the perfect curve to hold the dowel.
I knew I wanted around 20 C hooks for my necklaces, so I began marking a rod with evenly spaced dots where I would put the hooks. I didn’t measure this part so I ended up with 26 dots that looked pretty darn even.
I drilled pilot holes into these just deep enough for the hooks to screw in. I made a few hooks slightly higher for my chunky necklaces. This part was the most time consuming by far and made my fingers HURT.
Step 3: Add Rope
The length of your rope will vary depending on how long you want the organizer to hang, and how tall your closet door is. I knew I wanted the organizer itself to be about 3 feet, so I cut a 10′ piece of rope.
You want to account for the amount of rope that will be between the first rod and the knot it hangs from, as well as some rope at the bottom.
Fold the rope in half and lay out the rods and rope how you will want it to hang.
Put the rope through the holes on the first dowel and make a knot under each side to hold it in place. Repeat this with all the dowels.
Make sure the rods are straight and make any adjustments if needed.
Step 4: Hang Your Organizer
I purchased a small metal over the door hook for around $1.
I used this to hang my organizer but you could even anchor a hook in the door, or use a command hook if none of the items are too heavy.
I swung the door open and closed repeatedly so I could see where it would touch the door.
I placed a small felt sticker on the back of each dowel anywhere that it came in contact with the door to remove sound, movement, and damage to the door.
I played around with my S hooks and how I wanted to hang everything, as well as added a wire basket to hang from the hooks to hold larger things.
6 HOURS LATER
Yes, both of these only took me 6 hours – total! I worked on it for about 2 hours one night and 4 hours the next day. It actually took my whole weekend. When I wasn’t at work, I was planning, shopping, building, and taking breaks lol. But actual work hours spent outside (brr) was about 6.
For some reason, I thought this would be easy. Like 2 hours MAX easy, and I’m sure it is easy compared to other woodworking projects. But let me tell you my hands were killing me by the end of this. I didn’t know for sure if my legs would ever make it out of the criss-cross position.
I also haven’t been this proud of myself for so long. It was harder than I expected which I think made it more fulfilling.
The finished products turned out exactly how they were in my head- if not better.
There was definitely some trial and error in the process that made things a bit harder, but the closest thing I’ve ever done to this was assembled cube storage from IKEA. I spent about $80 on everything- including the tools and materials. When I left Home Depot with two rods and a bag I was thinking, “how did I just spend $80 on this.” But now I’m thinking, “two new pieces of furniture for only $80? Incredible.”
SO, let me know what you think!! Would you try this? Are you going to try this? Or does this seem like absolutely too much time and work and you want to pay me to make you one? Thanks for reading!
