How to Make Wall Hooks from Vintage Glass Knobs and Reclaimed Lumber

Now that we’re finished building, it’s been fun to get back into little DIY and decorating projects. I have been slowly working on decorating the girls bedroom, including upgrading their closet pulls with some glass knob handles. After I finished the closet pulls, my dad gave me another three sets of vintage glass doorknobs that he found in his garage. So I decided to make walls hooks using the glass knobs and reclaimed wood. My plan is to display some of the girls’ baby dresses that I couldn’t quite bring myself to part with.

I didn’t want to spend too much money on this project, so I decided to use some wood that I had on hand. We have 30 acres of land, and on that land there is a lot of random junk and old buildings. When we bought the land several years ago there was a competing offer. However, we negotiated with the previous owners that they could leave the land as it was, and we would clean up all the junk ourselves. I think this is one reason we got the property. All that junk has come in somewhat handy, at least for this project.

Here are step by step instructions on how to make your own wall hooks using reclaimed lumber and vintage glass knobs.

*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliates links*

Materials

- Sanding block
- Tape measure
- Power drill and drill bits
- Reclaimed wood (or a pine board)
- Glass knobs (I used vintage, but there’s some great ones on Amazon)
- Hex bolts
- Paint and paint brush (I used Annie Sloan chalk paint, but anything will work)
- Minwax finishing paste and lint free rag
- Monkey hooks

Step 1: Cut board

Using a chop saw cut the board down to size. My board is about 9 inches tall, and I cut it down to 32 inches wide.

Step 1: Prepare the Wood

Clean your board using a wire brush or sanding block to remove any dirt and splinters.

Step 3: Drill holes

Drill holes in the wood for the glass knobs. I used a 5/8″ spade bit to hollow out the front of the wood so the knob sits flush with the top of the board. Roughly fit the knob into the hole to make sure it fits and the hole is deep enough.

How to drill holes in barnboard for glass knob hooks

I did the same thing on the bottom so the head of hex bolt also fit flush. Then I just used a regular drill bit to make a hole right through, making sure it was wide enough for the hex bolt to fit through. There’s a bit of trial and error here with the size of the drill bits, so it’s best to try out your drill bits on a piece of scrap wood first.

Step 4: Finish the wood

You can use your imagination for this step and use any combination of stain or paint. I wanted to try a whitewash to give the wood a shabby chic look. I had some leftover Annie Sloan white chalk paint that I used for a dresser makeover. l watered it down a bit, then I did four light coats of paint until I got the depth of color I wanted.

Once the paint was dry, I did a quick wipe of Minwax finishing paste using a lint free rag to give it a super soft and smooth finish.

Step 5: Clean the knobs

My glass knobs were fairly old and dirty and the brass was very dull. I wanted to brighten them up but still preserve some of the original patina. First I tried ketchup to clean them because I read somewhere that it worked pretty well as a natural cleaner, but I couldn’t stand the smell. I don’t like ketchup unless it’s on my grilled cheese or kraft dinner. So then I coated them in some cooktop cleaner and used a scouring sponge to shine up the brass. I much preferred that smell over ketchup.

This is the before and after of the glass knobs from cleaning them. They’re not perfect, but they’re much shinier now.

Step 6: Attach the glass knobs to the wood

Put the hex bolts through the wood and screw the knob on. I was only able to thread the knobs on a couple turns because the threads per inch weren’t the same. It’s a good idea to take your knobs with when you buy the bolts so you can test out which ones work best for you. You’ll also have to determine the length of the bolt depending on how thick your piece of wood is. I bought a bunch of different diameters and lengths, but for about 40 cents each it’s not a big investment.

Step 6: Drill holes for hanging

Drill holes in the back of the wood and make them about 1/4″ deep. I was using small monkey hooks to hang it, so this size of hole worked best for me.

Put monkey hooks in the wall, make sure they are level, and hang up your new creation!

I love how simple and clean the wood looks. I think the whitewash really makes the vintage glass knobs pop. It looks even better once I added some colorful dresses and pictures.

This post is part of the link party at My Love to Create, and at Remodelaholic

Comments

Jenn says
February 26, 2017 at 7:07 am

I love it! I also love the little pudgy hand in the bottom corner of one pic!

- jessvanderveen@gmail.com says
  February 27, 2017 at 8:40 pm
  
  I love that pudgy little hand too!
  
ankitaarya1014 says
February 28, 2017 at 10:45 am

Cool.. someday I am surely gonna try to make these wall hooks!

- jessvanderveen@gmail.com says
  February 28, 2017 at 10:47 am
  
  I’d love to see pictures if you do!
  
Ola |JadoreLeDecor.com says
March 2, 2017 at 10:50 am

Great job! I love how inexpensive this project is. The knobs look like something for a boutique. So appropriate for displaying your girls’ dresses.

Jen Gainer says
March 2, 2017 at 1:25 pm

I love this project!!! The finish pictures are adorable for your little girls room. There is nothing sweeter!!!!

Sabrina @ Pink Little Notebook says
March 2, 2017 at 7:50 pm

What a lovely addition for a little girls room! Great job!

Red House Style says
March 2, 2017 at 9:17 pm

What a fun project with a big impact – love it!