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Organize Your Wardrobe With the Best Coat Racks

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By Old House Journal Review Team
Last updated: 2 Mar 2023

We’re all guilty of sometimes leaving our coats, hats, and bags all over the room and floor. A coat or two lying around on your floor, table, sofa, or bed, can make your whole room look messy. So, why do we do this? It’s because we don’t have a dedicated place to hang our coats! You might have a closet or wardrobe, but it’s not as accessible as an empty chair for quickly dumping and grabbing your jacket as needed. This is why coat racks make such a huge difference.

A coat rack offers the perfect spot to quickly hang and retrieve your day-to-day items as you come and go. This way, you don’t have to repeatedly open and close your closet to access your backpack, coat, or umbrella. But finding the right coat rack depends on many factors, including your amount of space, your types of coats, and your style preferences. Here’s a list of the top coat racks of 2023 to help you make an informed decision.

Best Overall
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Amazon Basics Coat Rack
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Best Material
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Simple Houseware Coat Rack
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Check Price On Walmart
Best Design
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Mind Reader Coat Rack
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Most Space-efficient
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Dseap Coat Rack
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Best Value
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Pipishell Coat Rack
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Buying Guide: Coat Rack

Adding a coat rack to one of the rooms in your home not only cleans up the mess of coats and hats lying around, but it also helps declutter your closets and wardrobes. Coat racks provide you with an additional spot for your coats, jackets, hats, and bags.

From fancy floor-standing racks to simple, wall or door-mounted options, the market has something for everyone. While having more choices is a good thing, it can also make your purchase decision confusing. To help, we’ve prepared a comprehensive buying guide. Keep the following factors in mind to find an ideal coat rack that’s worth your hard-earned money.

What To Consider When Buying a Coat Rack

Style and design

Coat racks come in a variety of styles and designs. These styles include the number of hooks, the different colors, and the various shapes. Depending on the vibe of your existing home decor, you can choose from several different coat rack styles, including industrial, Scandinavian design, Shaker, contemporary, mid-century modern, or traditional. Some models are a mix of all of the above, which may seem enticing but might not go with the furniture you currently have. 

You’ll find countless design and shape choices as well, including teardrops, dots, animal-themed racks, geometric shapes, and tree branches. As a general rule of thumb, follow the color and design vibes of the bed, table, or other furniture you’ve currently got at home to make sure that your coat rack smoothly harmonizes with your interior and doesn’t look out of place.

Shape

The pegs or hooks on a coat rack also come in a wide variety in today’s marketplace. You can get them in the form of U-shaped hooks, round pegs, spindles, flower shapes, squares, or spherical knobs. Just like the design and style choices above, your best bet is to aim for shapes that closely match your room so your coat rack will blend in seamlessly.

Material and finishing

The variety of coat racks doesn’t end with shapes and designs. You also get to choose from a variety of materials and finishes such as traditional-looking wrought iron build, antique brass, powder-coated metal, or chrome-plated steel. You can also find natural wood coat racks in different styles like Scandinavian dots with velvet covering on top for a unique look. 

The best part is that while material composition plays a role in determining the price of a coat rack, they’re all affordable enough to fit an average buyer’s budget. That’s because a coat rack is meant to be a simple and inexpensive way to provide some additional storage for your coats and bags.

Aside from aesthetic preferences, you should also keep some practical pointers in mind before finalizing your decision about which material to go with. Untreated wooden racks won’t be a great fit for bathrooms since the steam and moisture can cause them to swell and crack over time. If you’re looking for a wooden coat rack to hang in your bathroom, you should choose one made out of painted or varnished wood.

Plastic door-mounted racks are also a popular choice for bathrooms since they’re incredibly durable. While it’s not a premium-looking material, it’s sure to stand up against moisture and steam.

Due to humidity and splashes, metal coat racks are prone to corrosion in the bathroom unless there’s a rust-resistant finish on it. If you want a metal rack, make sure it has powder coating or features a stainless steel build to avoid rust. 

Rust resistance doesn’t matter if you plan on placing the coat rack in your bedroom or in a spot where it won’t be exposed to any water or moisture. The practical considerations of your material preferences depend on where and how you plan on using your coat rack.

Storage capacity

What’s the use of a coat rack if it doesn’t have enough space to hold all your coats? Depending on how many coats you plan on putting on your rack, make sure to consider factors like rack length and the number of hooks it has. Aside from looking sleek and pretty, a coat rack should also be practical and functional, providing ample storage space to hold all those coats and accessories that you generally throw around the room.

Situational considerations

When it comes to coat racks, everyone has different needs and preferences and a unique set of limitations to work around. You might be dealing with very limited floor space in your bedroom, in which case you should go with a wall-mounted or door-mounted coat rack rather than a large free-standing one. 

A wall-mounted option might be out of the question for someone who’s living in a rental and reluctant to drill holes into the walls. In that case, a free-standing rack might be the only way to go.

Make sure to keep such specialized considerations in mind to fine-tune your purchase decision according to your unique situation, perfectly fitting your coat rack to your individual set of needs and limitations.

Installation type

A free-standing coat rack needs little to no installation, while a wall-mounted rack requires you to drill it into your wall or door in order to hang it.

Free-standing options are ideal for homes with large rooms and lots of floor space to spare. In such settings, a standing coat rack can fill up the empty space and double as a cozy addition to your decor. Plus, it has the added benefit of not having to ruin your walls with drilled holes. You can even get a rack with wheels under it to easily move it between rooms.

What if you don’t have any spare floor space? What if you also don’t want to ruin the walls or doors in your rental apartment? In this case, consider a hanging coat rack. This type of rack can be hung over your door and doesn’t require you to drill any holes. Because of this, they’re a popular choice for those who don’t mind adding a more casual, youthful aesthetic in their bedroom.

Comparing the Best Coat Racks of 2023

1

Amazon Basics Coat Rack

– Best Overall
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The Amazon Basics Coat Rack is the simplest option you can find on the market. It gets the job done while taking up minimal space on your door or wall. This coat rack features five well-spaced metal hooks mounted on a wooden base. The combination of these two materials gives the rack an attractive look, making it stylish enough to put in your bedroom, hallway, or entryway.

Each hook can hold up to five pounds of weight, so even your heaviest jackets and coats won’t be an issue for this coat rack. You can hang several items on each hook, including coats, dog leashes, hats, and scarves without having to worry about reaching the hook’s weight capacity. Thanks to this coat rack’s simple, elegant design and small footprint, we’ve chosen it as our best overall choice.

Pros
  • Simple, minimalist design
  • Space-saving option
  • Comes in seven colors
Cons
  • A bit tricky to mount
2

Simple Houseware Coat Rack

– Best Material
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Check Price On Walmart

The Simple Houseware Coat Rack features an all-metal composition, making it built to last. With this free-standing coat rack, you get 12 hooks to store your hats, coats, and bags. While this coat rack takes up quite a bit of floor space, it provides you with ample accessible storage for your coats and accessories. With a classic bronze coating, you don’t have to worry about this coat rack rusting or getting damaged. This coat rack comes in red, white, bronze, and turquoise, which are all stunning in their own right and sure to match any home’s decor.

Pros
  • 12 hooks for maximum storage
  • Great aesthetic appeal
  • Made of high-quality metal
Cons
  • May feel a bit unstable
3

Mind Reader Coat Rack

– Best Design
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The Mind Reader Coat Rack is not only a place to hang your coat when coming in the door, it’s also a valuable addition to your home’s interior decor. Place it in the corner of any room and it’ll naturally lift the room’s design with a richer feel overall. This free-standing coat rack comes in black, silver, and white. Each color is neutral enough to seamlessly match any theme or decor style. 

This coat rack features a three-tier design that enables you to conveniently store your jackets, accessories, and other items in a well-organized manner. With 11 different hooks, you’ll have plenty of room to hang all of your coats without making a mess of your room. Being a free-standing rack, you can easily move it around wherever you want, especially since it’s lightweight and easy to lift.

Pros
  • Comes in three neutral colors
  • Three-tiered design offers well-organized storage 
  • Lightweight and easy to move around
Cons
  • Only three color choices
4

Dseap Coat Rack

– Most Space-efficient
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Buy on Amazon

If you need a lot of hooks without sacrificing any floor space in your room, the Dseap Coat Rack is the way to go. Made out of aluminum, steel, and metal, this coat rack features a high-quality build. Designed to take up less space in your home, this wall-mounted coat rack is a worthy investment.

This coat rack comes as a two-pack and you get to choose from a variety of luxurious-looking color choices, including matte-black, antique copper, gold, white, chrome-finish, and bronze. Since it’s a two-pack, you’ll receive 10 high-capacity, well-built hooks to hang your coats on without sacrificing any floor space.

Pros
  • Space-saving design with 10 hooks
  • Made of high-quality materials
  • Covered by a lifetime quality guarantee
Cons
  • May feel flimsy under heavy weight
5

Pipishell Coat Rack

– Best Value
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Buy on Amazon

For those on a budget, the Pipishell Coat Rack presents an offer that’s hard to beat. As an affordable option, this coat rack is a great value for the money. This floor-standing rack is built out of wood and it’s strong enough to hold even your heaviest coats without wobbling. You can even adjust its height, which is a huge plus for those with growing teens and toddlers in their families.

The manufacturer promises a fast assembly that doesn’t take longer than a few minutes. With a total of eight sturdy hooks, this is the only coat rack you need in your entire house.

Pros
  • Affordable price yet high-quality build
  • Features a premium-looking wooden design
  • Quick to assemble
  • Includes adjustable height option
Cons
  • Number of hooks could be higher

People Also Asked

Q: How high should I hang my coat rack?

A: While the height of your coat rack is a matter of personal preference, make sure to consider the age and height of all the members of your family. It should be within a comfortable reach for everyone, while still being high enough to keep your coats off the ground. 

Q: How much space should my coat rack have between hooks?

A: Ideally, the hooks should be about 4 to 6 inches apart to allow enough room for bulky coats or multiple bags to hang on each hook, while also making use of the length of your coat rack.

Q: Where should I hang my coat rack?

A: The most practical spot for placing your coat rack is right by the front door of your home since it’s usually where you take your coat off as soon as you get in the door. A coat rack can also double as an accessible spot to hang your home keys.

Living Room Storage
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By Old House Journal Review Team
The Old House Journal Review Team’s product reviews and in-depth guides are here to help you restore, repair, update, and decorate your home. The content is created by The Old House Journal Review Team. The Old House Journal editorial staff is not involved. Old House Journal is reader-supported: When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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