How to Hang Heavy – using toggle bolts

There’s progress in the closet!  The coat hooks are hung in the closet with care in hopes that our guests have more options than flinging coats on the chair. 
Mr. DIY loves to make sure something is done right and not earthquakes or tough guys or gorillas could destroy his hard work.  So, thanks to our friends at True Value, each coat rack can support 500 lbs. and one coat rack boasts a 1000 lb. weight limit.  Cool, right?  There’s no way these babies are coming loose.  Here’s a little step by step on how to use toggle bolts to support your coat rack on a drywall wall without the use of studs.  For lighter objects where a nail isn’t enough but a toggle bolt is overkill, we follow this same process using plastic wall anchors.

Characters: 
Handyman….Mr. DIY
Photographer & Narrator…Me

1.  Using a level and a pen, mark the screw holes on the wall.

2.  Using a spade drill bit, drill the holes where marked.  We drilled two for each coat hook rack.

3.  Insert screw into coat hook front to back, and twist on toggle.  We used two on each.
This direction:
4.  Insert toggle bolt into holes in the drywall.  The toggle “wings” will fold forward in order to insert, then open once placed through the drywall hole. This spreads out the weight that the coat hook racks will hold.
5.  Tap with hammer. This helps to make sure the entire toggle part is all the way in and opens back up on the other side.
6.  Screw into the wall.
Easy and sturdy!
A little sneak peek of the closet in progress.  Don’t you love that mechanic’s light we found at an estate sale?  It sure comes in handy!
What’s left?
Light source
Baseboard Trim
Organizing
Completed:
Painting and distressing coat hook racks
Installing coat hooks
It almost makes one want to test the weight limit – rock wall climbing style, doesn’t it?  Okay, maybe that’s just me.  I can’t wait to have a place for guests to hang coats.  I have big plans but I also  have a bit of shoe and coat addiction so maybe not. 😉
In a quieter voice:  I’m narrating because if you put up a coat rack and it’s fancy on one side and your wife wants that side fac
ing up but you screw it in upside down, your language could be a bit interpreted a bit innapropriate for a lady. You take it all down (the toggle parts fall into the wall space) and repeat the above steps with the coat rack fancy side down AGAIN. Now the language is really inapproprite for ladies and small dogs and the neighbors. The fancy decorative side being upside down reminds me of a little bum in the design but I’ll just have to live with the litte bum for now.
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I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

A fellow serial DIY'er…

I want to thank Brandi for sending over her DIY projects.  They are awesome!  This is a long post, but I can’t leave out any details.  I love all of her creativity, DIY talent and her beautiful home.  I think you will too.  Make sure you click the links to visit Brandi’s blog for all of the details and even more DIY eye candy.

Kitchen Before/Afters:
When we looked into buying the home, I was HATING the kitchen.  It was screaming BUILDER GRADE. The kitchen had never been painted and the countertops looked horrible.  And it was begging for a backsplash.
We chose to paint the kitchen orange and do the “antique glazed” look.  We painstakingly painted the cabinets a linen color and then glazed each one of them. We added some crown moulding to the top to give it a more “high end” look.  Then we added hardware to the doors and drawers.  Finally we changed out the countertop and put in a Travertine backsplash on the diagonal.  I couldn’t be happier… well, now that’s not entirely true – I want to change out the white appliances for stainless steel ones – but that will come later on down the road.

Before:
After:

Before:

After:

Fireplace Before & After:
The night we closed on the house, I immediately started pulling up carpet and smashing the tile surround on the fireplace. 
The hubs built the mantle and we used slate tiles as the surround.  Total cost for the transformation?  $36.00!!!
  As you can also see, we replaced the carpet for hardwood – a steal we found discount supply store for $1.50 sq ft… I am still convinced they had this priced incorrectly! HA!

Beautiful Bathroom vanity Before & After:
This is still a work in progress (its never ending).  But when we bought the home – there was carpet in the master bath.  GROSS!  We hated the vanity… okay we pretty much hated everything about the bathroom. 
We decided to take out the original vanity and put in an antique dresser with a sink on top in its place. 
After months of searching for the PERFECT one, we found this small dresser at Goodwill for $60.00.  We sanded it down, painted the body black and stained the drawers a mahogany color.  We also stained the side insets the same.  We added glass knobs and kept the beautiful brass locks. 
We found the sink and faucet on Overst
ock.com for $120.  Can’t beat that! 
The hubs had to modify the drawers to fit the plumbing, but I am extremely happy with the way it turned out! 
We also ripped out the carpet and put in black and white tile.  Now it has an antique feel to the bathroom.  I am loving how it turned out!!

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After:


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Thank you for sharing all of your beautiful DIY projects, Brandi. Everything you touch turns to gold! lol I love the barnwood shelves, the kitchen is amazing, the bathroom might still be a work in progress to you but it’s gorgeous! Congratulations on doing fantastic work!

Closet Makeovers

Closet makeover – I have a few that could use some help!  I shared one with you the other day and here are two more.  Rebecca installed textured wallpaper and built/painted shelves in each closet.  Look at the difference!  Awesome!
Here are her pictures:  
Storage Closet Before
I have to admit, I have one that looks almost identical.
Cleaning out
New shelves

Storage Closet After

Craft Closet Before
Craft Closet After!  Wow!

Thanks for the inspiration Rebecca!  You did a fantastic job creating useful organized spaces! And I love the craft closet with the chair, curtains, workspace with everything in it’s place and within easy reach.  What a great place to get creative!  
I attempted to clean out one of ours the other day, but I only got as far as the room and then started rearranging furniture and vignettes.  I get a little side tracked when it comes to opening that closet door!  Does that happen to anyone else?