DIY Door Knob Trick

There’s certain DIY projects that are almost too easy that it’s silly.  You stop and wonder, “why didn’t I think of that?” Or if you did finally think of it, you wonder, “why didn’t I think of that before?”

This is one of those projects.  We inherited it from the previous owner of Camp Davis when we bought the place.  Looking at it now, it’s such a no-brainer.  We plan to recreate it around the house – it’s just too simple not to.

At first glance you’ve got a simple door knob.  Nothing special there.  Just a door knob hanging there.  It’s a classic antique door knob, to be sure, but these are still fairly common.

The kicker is that I’ve rotated the above photo.  It actually looks like this as it’s currently hung:

And it isn’t on a door, it’s on a wall. And there are four of them in a row, attached to a piece of 1×6, holding up coats like so:

Such a simple, whimsical touch at Camp Davis.  It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland every time I see it.  Antique door knobs as coat hangers.  They could even be re-imagined as dresser knobs if you like.

Like I said, I hope to re-create it pretty much anywhere we need coat hangers throughout Camp D.  These door knobs can be found at just about any antique or recycled building materials shop for pretty cheap.

DIY doesn’t have to be complicated – this is a board, some screws and some old door knobs – but it does require a little imagination.