Bathroom Decorating Ideas: Footboard Towel Rack

Please get ready to form a mental picture…

A few years ago, my family and I went out for ice cream while we are on vacation on Long Beach Island, NJ.

It was a beautiful night, we had ice creams in hand, and we decided to go for a walk to enjoy the night air and burn some of the calories we were eating.

Halfway through our walk, I discovered a fantastically shaped footboard in a trash pile on the side of the road. Despite my family’s protest, I was not going to pass this up – so under my arm it went.

It was not heavy, so it really was no issue.

However, this was an unplanned walk so my younger daughter was only wearing flip flops which soon led to blisters.

We turned back towards home but still had a ways to go. So up on my back went my daughter, with found footboard still under my arm.

No problem, I could handle it.

But then it got a little more complicated.

My mom’s dog was with us, and she is a bit of drama queen. She began panting and wheezing and just stopping.

Since my Mom was also feeling kind of tired, I picked up the little mutt as well.

So picture it now, daughter on my back, dog under one arm and French style footboard under the other arm.

I am not exaggerating.

I was tired, but there was no way I was coming home without this footboard.

Because I instantly knew it would make a perfect towel rack in our bathroom.

And now, not only is she a towel rack, but she is a lovely little shelf as well.

And here is how we did it…

Step One: Put on your math hat. You have to figure out where the studs are and then calculate where you want them to fall on the shelf. You want to space out the hooks so that the cover the screw holes.

Attach spacers to the wall on the studs since the ends of the footboard are set away from the main board. This gives something to grab between the wall stud and the footboard.

Step 2: Attach the board through the spacers using a level to ensure it is straight.

Step 3: Attach the hooks in an even spaced pattern ensure that they cover the screws.

Step 4: Calculate the length of your board and the depth for the shelf. You want to make sure that you don’t block access to the hooks. Use a router to finish the front edge. Our shelf is 2 3/4 inches before the edges are routed. I also finished the corners with my Dremel tool so they blended back into the footboard.

Step 5: Drill pilot holes from the top, through the shelf and into the top of the footboard. Use at least three screws to ensure it is stable. Paint everything out the same color.

I added an old window mirror on the wall above, vintage clock faces, door knobs and bottles. And, I finally found the perfect spot for my branch “P” found at Anthropologie some time ago.

If you would like to see the whole bathroom, you can visit here.

If you would like some additional ideas on how to hang different things on your wall, you can visit here.

So, what do you think – was it worth all the drama to bring home the footboard?

Sharing at...