How To DIY An Outdoor Towel Rack That Doubles As Yard Decor

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The best DIY towel racks keep those strips of mermaid-and-seashell-decorated terrycloth near the pool or hot tub, where we can easily reach them post-plunge. Such towel racks can be beautiful in their own right and contribute to a near-perfect pool design for your backyard. One towel rack design that works with the visual flow of your poolside area hides a coat rack of sorts in the depths of a giant planter. Around the base of the coat rack's post, assorted flowers and plants are placed. Such a hack allows the planter to blend in with the surrounding landscaping, thanks to the addition of the flowers in the base of the pot.

If you're keen to try this DIY, choose a planter that fits your outdoor decor and landscaping. For example, if you've embraced biophilic design inside your home and out, get a Dosayes Ceramic Pot With Flowers. You'll also need a 5- to 6-foot-tall wooden post, some waterproofing stain, and paintbrushes. Concrete and decorative garden pebbles keep the towel rack post solidly in place. You'll need a drill, some screws, and hooks for this project, too. When choosing hooks, go with individual single- or double-hooks instead of large block-shaped hooks, since the post is tall and narrow. To make it more decorative, select several bunches of silk flowers or greenery on stems to fill the planter. It's probably best to avoid real plants here, since the towels could fall off the rack and crush the plants at the base.

The towel rack post is going to be about the size of a 5-foot ornamental tree in a gardening container. To that end, you'll want to choose a planter that accommodates a tree that size — typically between 12 inches and 24 inches deep and wide. Those measurements (or greater) ensure that, as the towel rack becomes more top-heavy, it'll be planted solidly enough to avoid toppling over in most circumstances. 

On a related note, choosing a post that's 4 to 5 feet tall guarantees it will be tall enough to keep the ends of the towels out of the flowers below. As for width, try a 2-inch by 2-inch post at a minimum. Additionally, whether or not you stain the post depends on a couple of factors. If you want it to match the surrounding architectural elements, like a deck, then you may want to stain or paint the post a complementary color. 

Otherwise, it's fine to just put a wooden sealant on it like SEAL ONCE MARINE GRADE Waterproofing Wood Sealer to protect it from moisture. If you've chosen a wooden planter, you should treat it with the sealant, too. You'll want to wait to install the hooks at the top of the post until after you're done sealing the post in the bed of concrete; it'll be easier to lean the post on something while you're pouring the concrete if there are no hooks to get caught on.

Setting the post in concrete is likely going to be the most involved part of this DIY. Your chief challenge will be keeping it upright while the concrete dries. A low-tech, uncomplicated solution is to tie the top of the post to the crossbars of a clothesline. If you don't have a clothesline, treat the upright post like you would if you were installing a fence in the ground. That is, you'll nail at least two support posts to two sides of the post you're setting in concrete. 

Some builders prefer to attach the "extra arms" to the lower portion of the upright post. Others attach them closer to the top. Because you're installing the upright post in a large planter, there could be an obstruction if you position the support posts too close to the bottom. In light of this, your best bet is to either nail them to the middle or upper portions of the upright post. 

To start this portion of the DIY, set up your supports, and then fill the planter pot with wet concrete. Once the cement dries, remove the support posts, and then cover the base with some decorative rocks. Next, treat the post with sealer and stain. You can add a few UNIME Glow-in-the-Dark Garden Pebbles to the rocks to make the planter glow at night. Next, add potted artificial flowers to the rocks and hang the hooks on all sides of the post. Finally, place the DIY towel rack in its spot near the pool area in your backyard.