Chubby DIY Dowel Hooks for Lucy’s Room

bookshelf | rug | crib | ottoman | play gym | earmuffs

Just like her dear ol’ dad, our little Lucy Bear loves her hats! Her head is super cute, but a girl’s gotta protect herself from the elements sometimes, ya know? You may have seen this little guy pop up from time to time in our Insta Stories, but now that she’s already outgrown it (boo!), we’ve added a few larger options for her sweet little melon head. Her accessory game is dialed, but she needed a place to store her headwear.

We wanted to make sure our solution was low enough that she could reach everything once she’s able to stand on her own (heart. burst!),  and sturdy enough that it could stand in as a place to hang her teeny backpack when the time comes. Similar to our DIY ball hooks at Tree House, we landed on the idea of chubby dowel hooks that we’d paint the same color as the door for a seamless look. The goal was for simple functionality – and a place to corral the cuteness.

Here’s how it all came together in an afternoon!

Tools + Supplies Used

1 1/4″ x 48″ dowel rod
Compound miter saw
1/4″ x 1 1/2″ Dowel screws
Drill + bit
Foam brush
Pliers
Paint
Sandpaper
Tape Measure
Level (optional)
Pencil

What We Did:

Using the compound miter saw, we made a few test cuts to decide on the angle of the hooks. In the process, we tried everything from 90-degrees to 45-degrees, from sharp angles to gradual angles. A few sample cuts later, and we found the happy medium to be a 30-degree cut where the dowel meets the door and a 90-degree cut for the end of the ‘hook’. An overall length of 1 3/4″ on the short side of the dowel gave us a cute, chubby-looking hook, which is what we had in mind for a little girl’s bedroom.

Using the same white semi-gloss paint as the door, we layered a few coats onto the uncut dowel first. Two-ish coats did the trick, but we weren’t looking for perfection at this point – just simple coverage since the angles would be a little tight once installed.

We then stepped back out to our trusty saw and made all of our 30-degree cuts first, but we left the lengths intentionally heavy (approximately 4-5″) so that we could fine-tune the lengths. We then marked the short side of the dowels at 1 3/4″ and made our straight, 90-degree cuts. Tip: We find it much easier to be precise on the 90-degree cuts, so make those cuts last.

A quick sand with a 120 grit sanding block smoothed up the edges, but we were careful not to round them off too much.

Once we had our hooks cut and sanded, we found the center of the angled edge using this method. It sounds kind of ridiculous, but this was actually the most time consuming step of the whole process. Math is your friend here, so measure thrice and drill once. A bench vice and level came in really handy since the goal is to drill right angle holes in a 30-degree surface. (If you don’t have a bench vice, clamping the dowel to solid surface will help! You may need to get creative here.) Take your time and check and recheck your math. Tip: Purchase more dowel than you think you need to allow for ample test cuts and potential mistakes. 

Once our holes were drilled, we threaded the dowel screws into the holes. Since dowel screws are threaded on both sides, we used pliers for leverage. Ensure that the exposed end of the dowel screw is shorter than the overall thickness of the mounting surface. We have a solid core door that’s 1 3/8″ thick, so we left 3/4″-ish of dowel screw exposed. Yet another tip: If you’re threading into walls or hollow core doors, be sure to use appropriate anchors. 

With our hooks fully assembled, we measured and marked the door for placement. We used tiny post-it notes to approximate our spacing and kept them in place so we didn’t have to make pencil marks on the door itself. I like to double check my spacing with a level, but careful measuring could have done the job just as well. Before drilling anything, we find that placing a small “flag” of masking tape on our drill bit can keep drilling depths consistent.

We then hand tightened the hooks into the door and ensured they were level and straight. A final coat of touch up paint on the freshly cut and sanded edges tidied up the look!

Just as we’d hoped, the hooks turned out perfectly cute and chubby. Kim customized Lucy’s new peachy hat with an iron-on L for a personal touch. Also, every baby on the move needs ear protection with DIY-ers for parents, right?

And there you have it! The sweetest short and stout hooks for our little teapot (her favorite song of the moment) for hanging All the Things!

PS: Lucy’s nursery reveal, and there are only a few more days to vote in the Domino Design Awards! We’ve been nominated in the Modern Maverick category. Vote right here!

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