Well, we completed a little project that wasn’t on the list for the year. The little hallway shelf switch!

I knew I wanted a more modern shelf but wasn’t sure exactly what. And we had other projects on the list that I wanted to do first. But…then we had a sort of spending freeze and I was stuck on several things and starting to feel frustrated. Then, I remembered I had an unused Ikea spice rack in the basement and I thought it might be close to the right size for what we needed.

At first, I was just going to use it as is, but then decided it might work better, and look a little less “spice rack-y” if I used it upside down. As a reminder, we have a spice rack in the master bathroom currently, for my “stuff.” (Also, this photo is YEARS old. I think it’s funny the change in products I now have up there. ha!)

So, we rotated the hanging brackets 180 degrees. I wish I had taken a photo of that, but trust me, it was a simple screw switch. Unscrew. Flip it so the bottom is now the top. Screw it back in.

Then, I spray painted it black using a can of my favorite black spray paint. 

And finally, we added the hooks. We had a few of these on hand, but they are only like 50 cents each if you wanted to look at your local hardware store. Or grab some online here.

They were a little too long so Wyatt snipped off the ends with wire cutters so they wouldn’t poke through the shelf on the top. Just remember to measure how long the screw part of your hooks are before you screw them in.

Then, since they will no longer have a point on the tip to help you screw them in, you’ll want to predrill the holes using a drill bit that’s smaller than the diameter of your hook’s screw. Wyatt’s tip is to use a bit of tape on the end of the drill to mark the depth you need (again, so you don’t go too deep) to make that easier.

I may decide to paint them black…but for now, I left them gold.

So far, Will likes it. He saw it and said, “Did you get a new hook for me?! Thank you!”

That kid.

And it’s really helpful for us to have a spot to keep his backpack. I honestly don’t know how this spot will work once he’s older, but for now, it’s great. We did use drywall anchors since it isn’t in a stud but I KNOW it wouldn’t be strong enough to hold a backpack full of textbooks, but we have a bit before that would happen anyway.

Here’s a reminder of what we had before.

Sidenote, if you don’t have an Ikea near you, I found these on Amazon!

Do you all have a backpack spot? I wonder how many years until his bag is too heavy to use this?!