Transform an old vintage ironing board into a functional and stylish laundry room drying rack with this easy DIY tutorial! Perfect for small spaces and adding a touch of farmhouse charm to your home. Included is an easy-to-copy stenciled Laundry sign with video tutorial.
This post may contain Amazon plus other affiliate links in which I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank-you for helping to support this blog!
I”ve been working on my laundry room here and there, shifting around furniture and trying out different drying racks lately to get a handle on what I ultimately want for productivity and storage. But not having an adequate drying rack on hand right now created an immediate need!
I have a great dryer, but prefer to hang-dry certain garments like workout shorts, shirts, sweaters, undergarments and sports bras or just smaller items so they don’t shrink, look better and last longer. We line-dry outdoors quite frequently, however the weather isn’t always predictable, so that’s where the need for some kind of hanging clothes dryer or indoor clothesline came in.
A few years back I picked up a black metal IKEA coat hook rack (similar to THIS ONE) from a local garage sale that I had planned to use as a drying rack which would have worked great! I finally hung it up about a month ago as a trial, but never did use it yet since I didn’t trust anchors to hold the weight. It needed a backing board… but that didn’t excite me either!
It finally came down to realizing I didn’t want THAT rack, but rather, something a little more unique with a vintage twist.
So yesterday after gazing over an overly stuffed vintage floor model drying rack along with shirts and shorts hung over doors and such, I decided to figure out a DIY laundry room drying rack using accessories I had.
Why it pays to collect!
Digging around in my stash, my eyes landed on a stored vintage ironing board that wasn’t being used. I LOVE vintage wooden ironing boards and using them in quirky ways! HERE is how I am using one for a desk light of all things!
Regardless, this one needed a purpose so a new challenge was born to perfectly theme this new, quirky drying rack idea!
After gathering a few more supplies, not only did it work, this idea turned out to be the perfect solution, turning out better than I even imagined!
So if you too require a laundry drying rack of some kind for your wet garments, here’s how you can make your own durable AND decorative indoor drying rack in just a couple of hours! It’s easy to customize to the size you want, and you’ll have something fun to look at as well!
Your laundry room will thank you for it!
Note: you’ll need a bare wall of at least 56″ wide (the length of your washer and dryer combined) of drying space for this design. Or you can turn it vertical along with some slight moderations for small spaces. See the bottom of this post for a vertical idea.
DIY laundry room drying rack using a vintage ironing board
Supplies you’ll need:
Dome-tipped stencil brush (I find the application smoother)
Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash (get 10% off in: Canada / USA) or use discount code: funkyjunkinteriorsfmp
Wooden vintage ironing board (here’s some on Ebay)
3 3/4″ black iron pipe fittings:
2 black metal outdoor plant hanger brackets ( or closet rod brackets)
Wood closet pole (here’s one from Lowes)
Orbital sander (I like Bosch variable speed)
Sanding the wood
1. Lightly sand the vintage ironing board to ensure it’s smooth to the touch.
My own vintage ironing board measures:
- 54″ long x 13″ deep
Only the top was lightly sanded, being careful not to remove too much patina.
Removing the top
2. Remove the ironing board top from the legs.
Once I turned the ironing board good-side-down, I found that standard screws held the legs in place. With just a simple hand screwdriver, the legs were unscrewed in a matter of minutes.
I have some ideas on how to repurpose the legs frame for a future project too! Stay tuned!
Installing plant hanger brackets
3. Screw two black metal plant hanging brackets to the good side of the ironing board.
My brackets measure:
- 15″ deep x 11.25″ high
- I spaced my brackets 30″ apart
Be sure to test the bracket size on your ironing board to ensure it fits, as well as having enough depth to accommodate hangers.
Two closet metal brackets can also work. I just like the look of the black plant hangers since they added a unique, decorative look!
4. Cut a wooden closet rod to the length you desire, reaching through both plant hanger brackets.
My closet pole measurements:
- ¾” thick x 33″ long
View this Laundry – Large stencil from HERE
Stenciling on a Laundry sign
5. Position a Laundry room stencil in between the metal brackets.
I decided to stencil a Laundry sign on my drying rack, so it would also add a decorative element to the room when the rack isn’t being used. And boy did this stencil fit perfectly!
This Laundry stencil reads Laundry, Wash Dry Fold and comes in two sizes. I’m using the Large with the total words combined measuring 7″ high x 26″ long.
6. Stencil the Laundry sign with Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash. (get 10% off in: Canada / USA) or use discount code: funkyjunkinteriorsfmp
Using a dome-tipped stencil brush, I stenciled on the laundry details using a very dry brush technique. I sort of painted the letters like a real paint brush, but ensured there was lots of drag so the paint didn’t bleed under the stencil.
I liked the weathered effect it left!
How to stencil without paint bleed:
- Dip dome-tipped stencil brush into paint.
- Remove most paint onto a rag or wood scrap until brush feels dry.
- Tap, swirl or drag the paint through the stencil for your desired outcome.
Learn everything you’ll ever want to know about stenciling in THIS POST.
Attaching a metal pipe hook
7. Install a pipe hook on the far right of the ironing board.
While I could have picked up a longer wooden closet rod for a longer drying rack, I chose to keep it shorter so I could also incorporate an added hook using screwed together pipe fittings.
I simply screwed the pipe fittings together, then screwed it to the ironing board, ensuring a hanging hanger would fit.
This hook can be used several ways… plus, it looks cool!
I used 3 ¾” black iron pipe fittings:
View black iron pipe fittings on Amazon HERE
What to use the pipe hook for:
- Hang a wicker basket filled with clothes pins if you have a line in your space.
- Store extra hangers on this hook.
- Hang dry clothing on this hook.
Inserting the closet pole
Then insert the wooden closet pole through the plant bracket openings, and that’s all there’s to making this beauty!
You could insert a small screw on each outer side to stop the pole from pushing through. I may do that yet.
But I mean, isn’t the black and wood rustic vibe decadent?! It chimes in so nice with antique wooden hangers too which I plan to use with it!
So let’s hang it up next!
Since my laundry room isn’t quite ready for the rack yet, I hung it up on this wall so I could share the project with you sooner than later.
And you’re also getting a sneak peek of a new piece I picked up last week for FREE I’m working on!
Installing the drying rack to the wall
8. Position the drying rack crossing at least two wall studs.
Attach the drying rack to the wall with screws through to the wall studs, attempting to go through the black letters where possible to hide the screws.
Isn’t it cool?! I’m just in love with the drying rack! It works well, has plenty of space and it certainly has a vintage rustic vibe all its own!
And it’s the perfect size, teamed up with the washer and dryer below it! (to come soon). But I sure like it over the counter space below too… swoon!
Stage with antique laundry accessories for decor
I just love how all the black hardware plays together with the black Laundry sign, not to mention how well those antique wooden hangers look!
A couple of laundry line wheels also came out of hiding to provide a little additional themed Laundry room wall art!
And just get a load of that antique sideboard turned vanity I picked up for free from a neighbour! It has the most beautiful sink which resembles a vintage crock! I can’t wait to show you more as I get a little further along.
Since the sideboard vanity was in the way of this shoot, I chose to just embrace it and make it a part of it. It may even end up in the laundry room yet so this was a fun trial!
This is exactly how it will look once installed in my actual laundry room over the washer and dryer.
I’m also not too concerned about airflow, but that’s easy to speed up with a small fan for additional air circulation if desired. My front loading washer has always done a great job with wringing the water out and usually our hung up wet clothing is dry the next day.
All I know is, I need this drying rack pronto, so I guess I’m working on my laundry room next!
This drying rack won’t hold a full load of laundry, but it will be the perfect companion to the accordian style wooden antique drying rack we already use that can be used for shorts and other garments. But anything that can be hung up will go here now!
Laundry room vertical drying rack HERE
Vertical hanging rack option
If you only have vertical wall space available, you could position the ironing board vertical and add one simple pipe hanging bar like I did on the above reclaimed wood drying rack.
Or using a couple of boards like I did above works too!
No matter how you build it or use it, you’ll be sure to enjoy doing laundry just a little more with this cutie pie drying rack working hard while looking pretty too!
Would something like this work for your laundry room? What do you dry your clothes on?
Video tutorial: Laundry room drying rack
.
View short video above to watch the tutorial in action!
Other unique hanging projects to make:
Check out other industrial hook projects HERE
Build a simple clothes hanging trolly with a ladder and crate HERE
Visit other Laundry room projects HERE
DIY laundry room drying rack using a vintage ironing board
Supplies:
Black iron pipe fittings:
Instructions:
- Lightly sand the ironing board to clean it up.
- Unscrew the top from the legs.
- Position and screw in plant hanging brackets. Mine were spaced 30" apart.
- Position, then stencil Laundry in between the brackets, using Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash.
- Twist together ¾" black iron pipe fittings to make a hook - 1 flange, 1 6" nipple, 1 elbow.
- Install the pipe hook by screwing it onto the board.
- Install drying rack by screwing it to a wall, ensuring at least 2 wall studs are hit.
That came out really cute Donna! That laundry stencil is one of my favorites. I’ve made a bunch of signs using it! Love the “hook” for the vintage hangers too!
Thanks Susan! I love all the ways you’ve used this stencil… I think I’ll link to yours and others too in the post!
Super cute! Can’t wait to see what you use the legs for!!!
Thanks Chantelle… and me too! It’s always a surprise from my end of things as well. haha
Love it! And it looks like you could even add a narrow shelf across the top of the brackets to add a couple cute wooden boxes with laundry stuff in them, a Mason jar full of old wooden clothes pins, or just some baskets of greenery or whatever. You make the best projects!
Thanks Nancy! LOVE your idea! Once I get it on the wall, I’ll feel out what else the room needs!
I have a laundry sign in my laundry room, but mine says; Wash, Dry, Fold, & Repeat.
Will be married 55 years coming this June and I am still using my wooden ironing board. Don’t know how long the older lady had it before me; but I would say it’s around 100 years old. I like my old antique board. It sees my iron at least once a week.
That’s amazing Colleen! I use a vintage one as well as my main ironing board. However since I had 3 vintage ironing boards in my stash, I decided to put one to use rather than just store it and use it in a more helpful way! And thanks for your kind kudos in your other post. I appreciate it!
By the way; Thanks for your Inspiration and sharing your DIY projects. Love them All.
This is so cute! I am looking for the perfect project for my vintage ironing board. My laundry room is a small closet with shelves up to the ceiling so I don’t think I can do this, but I love it!
Thanks Rachel! You could also try this in a vertical format if you have space for that!
Couldn’t be more perfect and CUTE to boot!