Stylish wardrobe: how to make a statement clothing rail from a piece of driftwood

Just two leather straps and a driftwood branch creates a stylish alternative clothing rail to hang your clothes from.
1/7

YOU WILL NEED

  • 2 pieces of leather, approx. 3cm wide and 5m long (the length will depend on the height of your ceiling). Natural leather is hard to cut, so we tend to ask our local leather merchant to cut it for us
  • Hammer
  • Sandpaper (#150) 
  • Leather hole punch
  • 2x 1cm copper or brass nails or studs for each strap
  • Hand saw 
  • 2x strong screws (for attaching wardrobe to the ceiling)
  • Ruler
  • Electric (hand-held) drill
  • 1 piece of driftwood, approx. 140cm in length. Consider the thickness of the stick as it must be suitable for your chosen hangers.

TO MAKE

  1. Comb your nearest beach for a suitable piece of driftwood, then leave your chosen wood to dry out in the sun.
  2. Use the sandpaper to clean and polish the rough edges. Run the sandpaper along the stick to make sure there are no splinters or small rough knots.
  3. Using the saw, cut the stick to your desired length. The maximum length would be 150cm, to ensure the stick is strong enough.
  4. Using the leather hole punch, prepare two holes in the leather around 1cm inside the edge of the strap and 25cm from the end. You could even ask your leather merchant to cut the holes. Hammer the copper or brass nails or studs into place.
  5. Loop the leather straps around each end of your chosen branch. 
  6. Check the exact measurement between the two leather straps and mark the two spots on the ceiling where the straps will be attached.
  7. Drill holes in the ceiling for the screws and attach the straps to the ceiling. 
  8. The branch could literally be hung using any material: rope, rough twine, coarse fabric, even an old fine silk scarf.

You can hang it next to a wall as a sort of separate closet, but it also works beautifully as a room divider.

And while it’s perfect for holding your clothes in the bedroom, you could also use it as an installation for pots and pans over your kitchen sink, swapping the clothes hangers with some beautiful vintage meat hooks from a butcher.

Woodworking by Andrea Brugi and Samina Langholz is published by Jacqui Small, an imprint of The Quarto Group, priced £20. Photography: Ditte Isager

MORE ABOUT