this DIY project brought to you by mindy
The entryway in our condo is wide enough for a bench and not much else. We needed a place to hang coats and bags, but I didn’t want to buy anything too large and I already had a collection of wall hooks (mostly from Anthropologie) that have been in various apartments in various rooms over the years. I gathered them all from their storage box and decided to give them a cohesive coat of bright yellow paint to make a collection of hooks for my Taupey wall (Benjamin Moore “Shenandoah Taupe”) Another one of those projects I didn’t think to document at the time, but it’s easy and hopefully my tips will help your own project move along as smoothly as possible.
Most of mine are from Anthropologie collected over the years, but any variety of hooks in any color finish will do.
» spray primer
Use white primer for lighter top color and grey for deeper colors. I used white for my bright yellow paint.
» spray paint
One can was more than enough for this project.
» screws & anchors
Make sure they fit through the holes in your hooks and choose a style that matches your hooks.
» vinegar
» tools used
hammer
drill
screwdriver (flathead)
level
pencil
measuring tape
mask & goggles (spray paint is great but yucky)
If your hooks are new, rinsing them in vinegar will remove any oily residue. This is a neat trick I learned from the helpful folks at my local hardware store. Make sure you rinse them in water afterwards and allow them to completely dry before the next step.
Following the directions on the can of spray primer, coat the hooks on all sides with one or two thin coats of primer. I allowed mine to dry about 2 minutes between coats and just used 2 coats. I also primed the screws I was going to use to hang the hooks by screwing them into a flat piece of cardboard so the ends would all face up and be easy to paint.
Again, directions are your friend as they vary for different brands of paint and the local climate. Also paint your screws with the same paint. I used 2 coats spaced a few minutes apart, let them dry overnight and then 2 more coats.
Once the hooks are FULLY dry, use your best measuring and placement methods to decide where you want your hooks on the wall. I spaced mine about a foot apart and staggered the height to intentionally look irregular. If your hooks are all the same style it might look better to space them out exactly. Totally up to you! Be sure to use wall anchors if you are not drilling into the studs.
As careful as I thought I was being while screwing the hooks onto the wall, I did end up stripping some of the yellow paint from the screw heads. Spray some of your colored paint into a small plastic cup and (carefully) apply a few thin layers over the screw heads with a brush or cotton swab. Remember, spray paint is really thin and stains almost anything, so be careful not to drip any paint in unwanted places. You can see in the above photo that the paint still doesn’t 100% cover the screw, but you have to be really really close to tell.
Tags: anthropologie, entryway, hallway, hooks, spray paint
Where did you get the third hook from the left?
» A: It was a gift!