DIY Towel Rack from Vintage Glass Knobs

You can attach antique glass door knobs to a piece of wood to create a unique DIY towel hooks for the bathroom. Or this same method can be used to make a coat rack with door knobs!

It’s easy to make a large DIY towel rack with a piece of wood and glass door knobs. You can also use this same technique to make a coat rack from vintage door knobs. There are many ways this project can be adapted to fit your style and needs, but it’s a great way to keep items organized. This particular towel hook is made from vintage glass knobs, dock cleats, and label holders.

rustic industrial diy towel rack

Styles of Vintage Glass Door Knobs

I am always on the look out for beautiful antique glass knobs to use on projects. In general, I’ve found two different main styles of glass door knobs. Some knobs have a circular opening and others have a square spindle. In the sections below, I’ll share how to attach each of these types of door knobs to a piece of wood (to make a towel rack or a coat rack).

Vintage Door Knob with Square Spindle

To create a hanging rack from door knobs with square spindles, you’ll need to use a dummy spindle. This bracket is screwed onto the face of the wood. Then, you’ll need to add a rosette cover to hide the metal plate. Finally, the antique door knob can be added onto the spindle. If necessary, use a bit of super glue to hold it in place.

Vintage door knob with round spindle

For antique knobs with round spindle holes, you can use a large bolt screw from the hardware store to attach the door knob to the piece of wood. To ensure you get the right size, bring the door knob to the store with you. Make sure it will screw into the knob and that the bolt is slightly longer than it will screw into the know (to compensate for the width of the wood).

Before attaching the door knobs, it’s important to finish the wood. You can paint it or stain it and then use a clear coat finish to protect the wood from wear and tear. On my towel rack, the piece of wood I used was a piece of pine that was pulled out from the flooring of a house built in the mid 1800s.  I painted it with a wash of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Luckett’s Green and finished it with finishing wax to keep it water resistant.

The following tutorial is designed for using a bolt to attach a door knob with a round spindle hole.

How to Attach a Door Knob to Wood to Make a Coat/Towel Rack

1. Space apart the knobs

vintage antique knob coat rack

Before drilling any holes to attach the knobs, first space the door knobs out evenly on the piece of wood. These measurements will depend entirely on the piece of wood and the number of knobs you are attaching. Use a pencil to mark the center point where each hole will be drilled.

2. Drill holes for door knobs

To drill the holes, you’ll need a large drill bit (slightly larger than the diameter of your bolt) and one spade bit (or fortsner bit) slightly larger than the diameter of the head of the bolt.

use a large bolt screw to attach a vintage door knob to wood to make a coat rack or towel rack

Find a spade bit that is larger than the head of the screw.  Drill into the back of the board just deep enough for the screw head to sink into the wood without sticking out (less than 1/4″ should be fine here).

use a large bolt screw to attach a vintage door knob to wood to make a coat rack or towel rack

Use a drill bit that is slightly larger than the shaft of the screw to drill a hole all the way through the wood.

3. Attach the door knob

Insert the screw through the wood and into the glass knob. Hold the door knob and twist the screw in until the door knob is tight against the wood.

use a large bolt screw to attach a vintage door knob to wood to make a coat rack or towel rack

Add hanging brackets to the back, in the same places where the studs are in your wall. Alternately, you can screw right through the face of the wood into the studs in your wall.

how to make a towel or coat rack with antique vintage knobs

I personally love how the knobs sit flush against the wood, rather than with all the extra hardware that would be needed to cover up a dummy knob spindle with a knob with a square shaft.

diy towel rack with vintage doorknobs

I used dock cleats to give the towel rack an industrial touch.  Those are simply screwed onto the front. I added label holders to assign a towel rack to each family member.

rustic industrial towel rack with antique glass knobs 2

Although we no longer have this towel rack in our bathroom, I still have it and plan to update it to use as a coat rack. I think I am going to remove the dock cleats and add more vintage door knobs instead.

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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8 Comments

  1. I love how detailed you were with your tutorial! Lots of great tips.

    Thanks so much for linking up to Talk of the Town!

    Pinning!
    gail