Old Wood Level Entryway Coat Hook and Shelf

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good holiday break, whatever it looked like. Ours was small, but fun and relaxing. 

Christmas is all put away and I am looking forward cautiously to 2021. I have lots of projects in the queue for our new home. One of those I actually finished before Thanksgiving--some of you spied my entry shelf and coat hook during my Christmas Home Tour.

I am not sure why, but I love old, wood levels. I find them at thrift stores and garage sales.

 Last year I finally decided to hang some on the wall (See HERE). When we made the decision to move, I knew the levels were coming with me (we still own our house in Montana and rent it to my son and friends).

In our new home we have a great little coat hook, built-in bench by our garage door, BUT we needed a space for front door guests to hang their coats and purses. I decided to use the old wood levels, knowing the warm wood tones would help warm up the white walls.

I played around with the wood levels on the floor until I found a design I liked. I wanted the top shelf part to be longer than the rest of it, so I started with that and then moved levels around. When I had the layout I liked, I took a picture of it.

I attached the levels to the wall using screws, making sure to secure them to wall studs. It is pretty easy to keep them level. 😉

I added five coat hooks, not evenly spaced because I think uneven makes it a bit more rustic, boho, warm. I hung it up high enough so that coats won't rest on the bench underneath, but not so high that it isn't useable.  

Over Christmas I tucked Christmas cards in the top shelf. Now, I have vintage Yellowstone postcards tucked in the top shelf edge. I will probably switch those out for vintage floral postcards in the spring. 

I love practical projects that are unique and that add character to our builder basic home. This project fit the bill perfectly. I am still collecting wood levels--maybe one day I will level an entire wall.