• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Merrypad Features
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after, our current home
      • before + after, our first house
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact

Finally, real towel racks

December 3, 2010

Final bathroom towel racks! Plenty of room for guest towels now. I’ll let you in on one of my major pet peeves: I hate when the bath towel can’t be hung to dry completely stretched out on the rack. Scrunchy towel is the worst. I can’t even tell you how many stores I’ve looked at just trying to find something that would be long enough to accommodate a towel (and I’m talkin’ normal size towels around 30″ in width – mine aren’t unnaturally wide). Even the brands with lots of variety didn’t offer something wider than 24″ – which is still not long enough to drape a towel across. (I recall finding some longer ones online, but they were ugggly. Like Brass. With fancy details that I would imagine seeing in a fancy new construction mansion.) I gave up looking after a few months, deciding instead to make my own towel rack using a sturdy curtain rod that had hung in one of the bedrooms. I installed it, and it worked wonderfully for a year, even though I never got around to painting it. Here’s what it looked like:

The bathroom towel rack, before. It was actually just a curtain rod that was strong enough not to bend under the weight of a towel. THEN… during a special trip to IKEA (so few and far between!), I stumbled through the bathroom section of the store and noticed that they had a LOT of towel rack options that were wide enough to suit a towel – 32″ – and they were inexpensive! I decided on one from the GRUNDTAL series (and a complementary hand towel rack, because my bathroom was lacking that) and brought it home to install. The best thing about these (besides being a soft stainless finish) is that each towel bar is actually two bars, stacked away from the wall, so I can really fit a lot of towels on each rack now (I’m trying to make my house more “company-friendly”). I had some leftover toggle bolts from installing the kitchen shelves, so that’s what I used for these – they hold hundreds of pounds of weight (maybe an exaggeration, but at least well over 100-lbs.), so I knew the new racks wouldn’t come out of the wall (maybe ever). Since the toggle bolts are wide, I had to drill 4 holes that were 5/8″ in diameter for each rack – fortunately, the part of the rack that touches the wall is about an inch wide, so the large gaping holes were fully concealed. Oh… except I did take a couple of stabs into the wall first, hitting studs that I didn’t want to attach to , so I needed to patch up those holes… that leads me to a handy tip: use a small drill bit to drill into the wall to test for a stud before knocking a 5/8″ hole into the wall. Anyways, they were easy patches, just extra work for myself. Here are some work-in-progress shots!

  • Heavy-duty toggle bolts will hold a ton of weight - these are the basic kind will do just fine, even though there are lots of expensive variations in fancy packaging.
  • Towel rack in. Whoops, a couple of extra misplaced holes that need to be patched.
  • Before patching, I used a razorblade to trim away the "fuzz". I didn't want my wall to appear to have any sign of damage, and I imagined the edges of holes looking "feathered" after patching.
  • Patched holes. Takes a day or so to dry completely, but and then it can be sanded down and painted.

The shelves went up very easily and are super secure. I found some new towels to put on them (I love Marshalls – and the buy was even sweeter because I used gift card ordered with Thank You points). Oh! And I bought the first shower curtain for my house this week too – I didn’t have one because I was sort of OK keeping the clear plastic liner exposed, but the one I found was 50% off and a nice neutral gray with a subtle design that went perrrfectly with my room. Total cost of the update: <$20 for the racks. $15 for the curtain. $25 (from gift card) for the 4 tan and 2 striped towels.

  • Final bathroom towel racks! Plenty of room for guest towels now.
  • Close-up of the new shower curtain fabric. Purchased at Target.
  • Bathroom shower curtain and hand towel rack.
Share

Bathroom

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

Comment


Neil
January 29, 2013 at 11:11 pm
Reply

I really like your shelves and photos. I was doing some research for my new blog entry on remounting towel racks in wobbly holes when I saw one of your photos under “hole from towl rack”. Anyways, I have a post up (of two) about using an envelope and some tape for projects like yours, and it is perfect for your pilot hole tip (using a drill to find studs). Check it out if you want.



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    The 2020 pumpkin will not quit. #garden2020 #homeg The 2020 pumpkin will not quit. #garden2020 #homegrown #realtime
    Curbside finds and dinner outside ☀️ Curbside finds and dinner outside ☀️
    Should I just, like, plunk this whole cabbage in t Should I just, like, plunk this whole cabbage in the ground and see what happens? 
.
.
Would I really get a small cabbage from each shoot? There are seven shoots, and they seem healthy after growing all winter in my garage 🤦🏻‍♀️ 
.
.
Might it grow well in a container?
.
.
#garden2021 #cabbage #gardenquestions
    Getting a late start on the garden wishlist: Tomat Getting a late start on the garden wishlist: Tomatoes, thyme, and tomatillos, banana peppers, basil, and blueberries, parsley, peas, and maybe potatoes, and garlic-garlic-garlic? 🧄🧄🧄 ~8” of snow still holding steady on a 65-degree day. #garden2021 #merrypadathome #gardening #rochesterny
    Can’t believe I ever bought dumpling wrappers. 🥟 Pulse a few cups of flour in the food processor drizzling in cold water until it forms dough. Roll smooth. Use a conveniently large cookie cutter, or just trim out squares. The end ❤️ #hny #dumplings
    Didn’t think I’d be making more masks, but her Didn’t think I’d be making more masks, but here we are (now feat. recycled t-shirt layer for added softness and bonus-layer protection). #diy #amateurseamstress #diymask
    Get out there ☀️ Get out there ☀️
    The gang finally showed up. 👻 The gang finally showed up. 👻
    A record 233 cloves + 10 shallots 🧛🏻‍♀️ 
#merrypadathome #garden2021 #garlic #gardennotes #whatisnormal
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Us On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget



  • Popular Posts

    • How to fix an IKEA drawer. Cheap IKEA Drawers (And The Quick Fix) 42.3k views
    • DIY sideboard rehab. Our Refinished Midcentury Buffet 41.8k views
    • How to design and make a barn quilt. How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt 34.7k views
    • DIY driveway removal. The Driveway Rocks 26.4k views
    • How to hang art on brick surfaces using specialty clips. The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone 25.6k views
    • Goodbye, gold fireplace covering. Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround 23.1k views
    • Our DIY flagstone patio. Building a Patio in One Day 20.5k views
    • Bedroom paint, freshened up with Snowbound paint. Painting Everything White: We Chose Snowbound, By Sherwin Williams 17.1k views
    • Tips for dying pasta different colors, and a Halloween Recipe for the kids. Tips for Dying Pasta Different Colors (+ A Special Halloween Recipe) 15.6k views
    • Fix an ikea dresser drawer. Life Support For An IKEA Dresser 15.6k views



  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)





  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • DIY Network
    • HGTV
  • Get Posts Via Email

  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad