20 DIY Clothes Racks and Portable Closets

Lacking closet space? Learn how to create easy and inexpensive clothing racks and drying racks to help maximize storage and organization in your bedroom or laundry room.

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By: Maria Conti

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Make Your Own Clothing Rack

Clothes racks, portable closets and portable wardrobes can solve a lot of temporary storage problems. Whether you lack closet space, need somewhere to air-dry delicates, or are ready to break the habit of burying your bedroom chair under the weight of all your clothes — clothing racks are the solution. Good news: Clothes racks are easier to make at home than you think. We’re sharing 20 freestanding and wall-mounted clothes rack ideas to copy at home that will bring beauty and storage to any room in your house.

First up? This gleaming and gorgeous copper hanging garment rack. The unique DIY design uses copper piping and fishing wire to create a floating midair look that brings magic to your getting-ready routine

Get the How-To: How to Make a Chic Copper Garment Rack

Fake a Closet

No closet? No problem. Take cues from this handsome plaid pad and create a makeshift closet using a pair of floating wire shelves and a storage bench. Nestle your bench against the wall and secure the twin shelves above at staggered heights to leave room for clothing and outwear of various lengths. Hang your sweaters and coats on matching clothes hangers from the slats, then line the shelves with artwork, accessories or your go-to pair of shoes for quick-and-easy access before heading out the door

Find More Ideas: 11 Small-Space Design Ideas

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Consider Every Angle

Sloped walls and low ceilings make a charming base to anchor a custom clothing rack. Recreate this modern, boutique-style rack on your angled walls by installing a matte-black railing with square caps to the wall and using contrasting wood hangers. The high-contrast combination feels elevated, lending a luxurious shopping atmosphere to any otherwise overlooked corner of your boudoir.

Get More Ideas: No Closet? No Problem! Try These 12 Alternative Clothes Storage Ideas

From: Design Platform

Climb the Ladder

Recreate this bohemian clothing rack using items you already have. All you need to assemble this eye-catching garment are two paint-splattered wooden ladders, two wood planks and a wooden dowel for hanging. The basically free project has an eclectic, artsy appeal and provides storage for clothes, accessories and shoes.

Find More Ideas: Take Design to New Heights: 21 Ladder Looks We Love

Suspend Above a Worktable

Add industry to your laundry room with an iron pipe clothing rack suspended above a roomy work table a la this dream laundry room by Mel Bean Interiors. Anchor your piping to the ceiling overhead and use acrylic clothes hangers to keep attention on the rack. Tuck a slender table below for sorting, folding and treating stains to create a functional, beautiful corner in your utility space.

Find More Ideas: 40 Clever Ways to Clean Up and Organize Your Laundry Room

From: Mel Bean Interiors

Warm Things Up With White Oak Shelving

Warm up a storage area by installing white oak shelving with under-mount hanging rods. The organic shelving creates a polished platform for getting shoes off the floor and doubles the space, providing open-air storage for folded clothing.

Find More Ideas: How to Make Wire Shelf Covers That Look Just Like Floating Shelves

Pull a Disappearing Act

Never underestimate the power of paint to elevate items you already have in your home. Give your simple store-bought rolling rack a new lease on life by spray painting them the same color as your walls. Going monochrome will make the garment rack disappear in the space, lending a luxurious high-design look. Plus, paint is cheap and easy to apply; go from start to finish in a single weekend.

Get the How-To: Spray Painting 101

Create Coat Storage in Your Entry

Create a tidy landing spot for all your family’s winter outerwear with this wooden coat rack with a shelf. The Scandinavian-inspired design features seven pegs to hold jackets and scarves aplenty, plus a roomy ledge on top for a potted plant, a catchall tray and artwork. Make your own by following the Crafty Lumberjack’s step-by-step video in the link below.

Get the How-To: DIY Entryway Coat Rack With Shelf

Embrace Old Hollywood Style

Skip the plain, plastic rolling rack and kick things up a notch with a custom DIY vintage clothing rack, complete with an industrial frame and wooden shelf. This glamorous DIY project is reminiscent of classic dressing rooms and will bring instant old Hollywood flair to your space. Find our easy, step-by-step guide to building a vintage-inspired clothing rack and all the materials you need handy to get started in the link below.

Get the How-To: Running Out of Space? Make a Mobile Clothing Rack and Keep Shopping

Bring Out the Blanket Ladder

Who says blanket ladders should be reserved only for quilts and throws? Turn your trusty blanket ladder into an open-air clothes rack using a few coordinating clothes hangers. Stagger your garments on the rungs, as this will allow you can see what items you’re working with when getting ready for the day.

Shop Our Favorites: 15 Beautiful Blanket Ladders We Love Right Now

From: Jette Creative

Built-In Freshness

Never miss an opportunity to show off your green thumb. Make this open-air wardrobe by Kathleen Roggeman your muse, and build a clothes rack with an integrated planter pot for your beloved houseplants. And copy the fiery red shoe bench while you’re at it.

Find More Ideas: 25 Functional and Attractive Shoe Storage Ideas

Create a Copper Garment Rack

Consider this your cue to stop covering your bedroom chair with piles of clothes once and for all. Use copper piping to create a custom garment rack with plenty of extra room for bags, hats and footwear. Find our step-by-step guide and materials list to make your copper rack in the link below.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Chic Copper Garment Rack

Make a DIY Laundry Drying Rack

Add charm and function to your laundry room with our easy DIY ladder drying rack. The farmhouse-friendly project is easy to put together yourself in a weekend using a repurposed wooden ladder, paint, chains and standard carpentry tools. Find our step-by-step guide and materials list to make your ladder clothes rack in the link below.

Get the How-To: Repurpose a Ladder Into a DIY Drying Rack

Play the Accordion

If you don’t have room to spare for a free-standing clothes rack, add some much-needed clothes storage to your walls with an accordion rack. The charming design adds interest to your walls and is easily customizable to suit your space. Stick to a natural wood finish to embrace a cottage or Scandinavian feel, or add a coat of vibrant paint to infuse your space with color. Use hangers to organize your clothes or drape them by the collar on the pegs for easy, grab-and-go access.

Get More Ideas: 11 Stylish Ways to Use an Accordion Peg Rack

Go Au Naturale

Industrial piping racks might feel out of place in a cozy cottage home. Solution? Go au naturale! Forage a branch from your yard, then secure it overhead with a string or fishing wire to create a rustic, earthy coat rack for your entryway. Bonus points if you suspend a hanging planter from your clothes rack for a pop of color.

See More of This Home: Cottage-Style Cabin

From: Paige Morse

Upcycled Materials

Let this upcycled clothes rack convince you to think twice before tossing out old wooden furniture. The rustic design features aged wagon wheel spokes attached to a long, weathered wood board. Copy this cozy rack using similar aged wood pieces found in your attic or scooped up at your go-to thrift shop.

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From: Abbi Williams

Shape Up

Who needs a traditional closet or dresser when you can have a sleek wall-mounted clothing rack like this instead? Elevate your hanging storage with a metal piping wall rack with a square silhouette. Unlike a single wall-mounted rail, this boxed-off design creates a frame for your clothing and lends the space a high-end, pulled-together look.

Find More Ideas: 15 Ways to Organize a Small Closet for Less Than $50

A-Frame Clothing Rack

Craving a pop of color? Save the monochrome idea for another day and build a vibrant A-frame clothing rack for you or your kiddo’s bedroom instead. This personality-packed garment rack calls for readily available lumber, carpentry tools and three punchy hues to create a fun statement piece for any room.

Find More Ideas: 35 Kids' Room Storage and Organization Ideas

Dream Up Driftwood

Searching for a clothing rack that speaks to your coastal grandmother style? Skip the shopping and make it yourself with a long piece of driftwood, some rope and a few hooks.

Find More Ideas: Build a Jewelry Organizer From Driftwood

Pull-Down Clothes Rack

If an overhead drying ladder isn’t the best fit for your space, then a pull-down drying rack may be just the ticket. This space-saving alternative pulls out for pilled or draped drying and then resumes an upright, latched position between loads. Recreate a similar pull-down clothes rack for your laundry room in the link below.

Get the How-To: Upgrade Your Laundry Room With This DIY Fold-Down Drying Rack

From: Stefani Stein