How To Turn Copper Pipe Elbows Into Industrial-Style Hanging Storage

If you've given your outdated farmhouse kitchen an industrial upgrade, you're probably always on the lookout for new storage solutions that will accentuate the style. To that end, have you ever noticed all that copper piping in the plumbing aisle of your local hardware store? Next time you're shopping, take a closer look at the copper pipe elbows. As Homedit demonstrated in a tutorial on Instagram, you can easily turn them into industrial-style wall hooks with the help of some wooden dowel pieces and a wooden board. This DIY project involves screwing small pieces of dowel to the wooden board and then gluing the copper pipe elbows onto the dowel pieces to make an attractive storage solution.

To replicate this utilitarian wall-mounted storage rack, you first need to find a suitable timber board to use as the backing. You also need a length of dowel and four copper pipe elbows — or more, if you want more hooks. You can get fancy-looking elbows for as low as $1.50 at Lowe's. Just make sure you match the size of the dowel to the inside diameter of the elbows, as you need to slip the elbows over the top of the dowel pieces. The tools that will help you put this multi-hook wall rack together include a pencil, a wood saw, a drill, a pair of pliers, and a hot glue gun. Of course, you'll also need a way to hang the completed rack in your kitchen. Ideally, you'll use a stud finder to locate the studs, then screw the rack onto them using wood screws.

Before you get started on the assembly, you'll want to prepare your backing board by staining it your preferred color. Alternatively, you could paint it a dark color, such as black, which would look great paired with the copper pipes in an industrial-style kitchen. Next, take your dowel, place one copper elbow over the end, and mark where it sits with a pencil. Cut four or more pieces of dowel to this length to suit the number of elbows you have.

Grab the pencil again and mark the position of each of the hooks on the wooden board. Then screw a piece of dowel into each spot. To make this easier, hold the dowel in place with a pair of pliers. Grab your hot glue gun and squeeze some glue into one of the copper pipe elbows before sliding it over one of the dowel pieces. Continue this process with the remaining elbows, making sure that they're all facing upwards.

Once the hot glue is dry, you can mount your rack on the kitchen wall near where you cook. Hang your pot holders and most-used kitchen utensils on the hooks. If you like the idea of mixing metals in your home decor, you could use bright brass or dramatic black iron pipe elbows alongside the copper ones. Stick to a maximum of three metals across your entire kitchen to keep things coordinated. If you have some leftover dowel and love how the metal elbows look as hooks, why not buy some matching metal pipe tees to DIY elegant drawer pulls on a budget?