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Cute DIY Ball Hooks

cabinets | light

We designed the Tree House mudroom to be a command center of sorts; with a wall of cabinetry (remember when it looked like this?), it’ll conceal the pantry, overflow tools and cleaning supplies, and it’s where we’ll do laundry, drop off muddy shoes and stash the carseat. It’s also the first space we see every time we step foot into our home, and we want it to feel calm, but cute. We want it to set the tone for the rest of the house, and with that in mind, we’ve kept the palette clean and minimal (think: white, wood and natural textures), although we do have plans to include a fun pattern for the cushion in here!

Of course, what’s a mudroom without a place to hang your coat (and your hat, scarves and dog leashes)? We recently installed a wood panel that not only mimics the look of our peninsula, but it helps to break up all the white without being visually overwhelming, too. But! We still needed to add hooks. Not wanting to add to the chaos of All the Jackets, we wondered, what if our hooks were also wood? Like a tone-on-tone thing? We’ve always loved the look and simple charm of this mudroom, which led us to consider these adorable ball hooks, and then we thought, let’s give it a DIY go!

Tools + Supplies

2″ wooden ball knobs
3/16″ dowel screws
Polycrylic
Foam brush
Vice grip (locking plier)
Painter’s tape
Drill
Measuring Tape
Level
Pencil

What We Did

We purchased a couple of these 2″ ball knobs 4-packs, but we considered everything from these to these (or cutting our own dowel rods, like this!). The knobs we ordered required 3/16″ screws, but we needed something that had a screw on both ends – one end to go into the knob and the other to go into the wall. In this situation, dowel screws are perfect for the job! We found a small pack of 3/16″ x 2″ dowel screws at the hardware store, and using a pair of vice grips, we tightened one end of the screw into the knobs. I also applied a coat of Polycrylic in a matte finish to protect them from getting dull or discolored over time. Tip: We had a big chunk of foam leftover from a shipping box, which was perfect for holding the knobs in place while I brushed them with poly.

Do you see that blue tape in the photo below? It’s marking where we installed a 2×4 ‘stud’ behind the accent wall (more about that in this vlog), so that the hooks would have something solid to bite into. We ran another piece of tape horizontally across the wall, and we measured and marked the same distance between hooks:

Using a level, we perfected our pencil marks so that they were all in line with one another:

With the screws being 3/16″, we chose a drill bit one size smaller, and then we made our pilot holes! Because we have that 2×4 running behind the wall, we skipped anchors, but if you’re not drilling directly into a stud, you would also use an anchor for every knob. (We have always loved these E-Z anchors!) Tip: Keeping the tape in place also helped to prevent any splintering on our accent wall.

Next, we removed the tape and screwed each hook into the pilot hole. It takes a bit of muscle to get them in there, but it should feel tight – it just means that the screw is biting in nicely. And, well, that’s it!

We installed 6 ball hooks total, although I kinda sorta wish we had went for 7 or 8. On the other hand, Scott argues that would have looked too crowded, and the overall look is still so charming, that I really (honestly) can’t complain!

The process is so easy (we completed the entire DIY during one of Lucy’s naps!), it only requires a handful of tools and supplies, and the end result is simple and effective. The mudroom is coming along!

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  • susan6.5.18 - 10:05 AM

    Those knobs are really cute, but they may not hold heavier jackets… they are too smooth with not enough hooking depth and too fat to use the hanging loops in many heavy coats.

    I had the same situation with a coat rack made with old door knobs, and those had a bit of ‘neck’ to help. I loved the look but not functional beyond hats or sweaters.

    Hope you have better luck!ReplyCancel

    • Kim6.5.18 - 10:16 AM

      Thanks for the tip! If we needed to swap them out, at least the holes are already drilled. :DReplyCancel

  • Emily Wenzel6.5.18 - 10:30 AM

    You should save the others – or get smaller ones – to hang lower, so that Lucy can hang her own things later on. We’ve used some 3m hooks so we can keep moving our kiddo’s as she grows!ReplyCancel

  • Michelle6.5.18 - 1:35 PM

    Why did you white out the right half of the last photo? They are cute, but I had the same feedback as Susan having had something similar like that in the past.ReplyCancel

    • Kim6.5.18 - 2:20 PM

      I was shooting from the kitchen, so that’s the kitchen wall you’re seeing in the foreground. :) It’s difficult to get a full shot of that tiny mudroom!ReplyCancel

  • Kathy6.6.18 - 9:26 AM

    HOLD UP. Did you guys get new drills???ReplyCancel

    • Kim6.6.18 - 9:42 AM

      Hahahaha, good eye! We’re doing so much renovation at Tree House, that all the hauling back and forth was insane. We now have a basic set of tools at Tree House, and our usual set in Chicago. :DReplyCancel

  • Katy6.8.18 - 1:42 PM

    You could install a couple more on the white side walls, just continue them around. I think it would look cute, the wood popping against the white. Plus, more hanging space!ReplyCancel

  • Keri6.12.18 - 10:11 PM

    Could I get a source for the light fixture in the coat nook? Sorry if you have it listed somewhere. I looked but couldn’t find it. Love watching the tree house come together!ReplyCancel

  • Erin3.14.19 - 10:13 AM

    Hi Kim – Love this little entry nook so much! I dream about one day having a space to drop off my shoes and coat that isn’t directly in my living room haha. I recently started selling concrete coat hooks (if you’d like to see: https://www.etsy.com/listing/676286470/minimalist-concrete-wall-hook-modern), but I love the wooden version just as much! Something about the round shape puts a smile on my face.
    -ErinReplyCancel

  • Julie4.24.19 - 2:10 PM

    Fun project! I’d put balls neatly arranged all over that board so you can hang things high and low, and it would look like cool art too!ReplyCancel

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