DIY Coffee Mug Rack

I needed a place for my mugs. My kitchen cabinet did not have adequate storage for my coffee mugs and it was driving me nuts moving them all around in the cabinet while I hunted for my favorite mug or the coffee scoop. It was a mess. 

I asked T to build me a rack we never looked back. 

How to make a DIY Coffee Mug Rack

Step one: get the materials

Since you are making your own mug rack, you can pick how large you want it to be. Ours is 24 inches across and 36 inches top to bottom. For the long back pieces (that go top to bottom) you will need 1x2's. Just two of them. For the three boards that hold the hooks (which hold the mugs) we used 1x3's. The top board is a 1x4, this is the board that I wrote "coffee" on. 

We got something that was a little nicer than just plywood. Poplar boards from the hardware store. We looked for something with a grain to it because for the first two years that we used this mug rack, it was not painted white, it was stained. 

Step two: stain or paint them 

This is much easier of you do it before you assemble to rack! We also spray painted the hooks. I think they were brass or silver. I am a big fan of spray paint and we use it for everything. I spray paint picture frames, furniture, handles, hardware, etc. 

We actually stained our coffee rack originally. It stayed this way for two years until I decided it should be white. Then we - you guessed it - spray painted it white! (Removed the hardware first.) 

Step three: assemble the rack

This is pretty simple. The 1x2's will go up and down. Nail down the boards that go across (We used 1 inch nails). We measured to make enough space for the mugs to hang on the rack without bumping into each other. Obviously if you have larger mugs this matters. I usually hang the biggest ones on the bottom. We also used the nails with big heads because I liked the look. Then of course, we later spray painted over them. 

Step four: attach hooks

You need to screw in the hooks using a drill. We did four across but depending on how large your space is, you might not be able to fit quite so many. 

Step five: prep for hanging 

This was the trickiest part. The rack needs to be sturdy enough to hold a dozen or so mugs. When the rack is assembled you have gaps behind the boards that are horizontal. We screwed (four small screws, 1 inch each) another piece of wood to the back of the top board with three holes holes drilled into it. Drill the holes before you screw in the board. Then we measured to where we wanted to the rack to hang on the wall, and penciled where the holes would correspond. We just used regular screws in the wall and hung the rack onto the screws, making sure that each one went into the holes we drilled on the back of the rack. 

That's it! Now that the mugs are on display in the kitchen, I like to change them up depending on the season. 

This was one of our easiest DIY projects ever. It gives our kitchen a unique and fun way to decorate. Bonus: guests never have to search for coffee mugs!