Make a DIY magazine rack or, OR, you can use it as a tea towel rack, a Christmas ornament display rack, a photo rack or the always popular with minimalists - rack with nothing on it.
I, like most sane people, hoard magazines as though they are the cure for cancer, rabies, pimples, the colour "hunter green" and wonky shopping cart wheels. The well known fact that magazines also probably offer 100% protection against nuclear war is just an added bonus.
What the hell are we supposed to do with all these life saving magazines?
Chuck em.
For real.
Throw. Them. Away.
The last time I took a week off I went through all of the magazines I'd been hoarding and got rid of 98% of them. I chose to bundle them up like little glossy babies (that I tied up very tightly with twine) and put them in my recycle bin.
And then, for reasons I cannot explain, I decided to make a magazine rack.
Using only this.
This, by the way, is already going down as one of my most favourite DIYs ever because it is EVERYTHING a DIY should be. It's easy, unique, useful, inexpensive, quick and cures canker sores.
DIY Magazine Rack
Grab some small dowels & a chain you're going to make a rack!
Materials
- 2, 6′ lengths of chain* (if you use brass chain like I did, add $20 to the cost of the project.)
- 2, ⅝″ dowels (4′ long each)
- 12 eye screws (#12)
Instructions
- Cut dowels to 13.5″ lengths.
- Stain the dowels if you want. (I used some of my super-fantastic vinegar/steel wool stain)
- Drill holes into the ends of all your dowels to make screwing the eye screws in easier.
- Screw in your eye screws.
- Using a pair of pliers or a screwdriver, carefully pry open all the eye screw so you can later fit them onto the chain.
- Attach your dowels to your chain approximately 10″ apart.
- Squeeze the eye screw openings tight again.
- Hang it up!
Prefer to keep your bomb shelter magazines tucked away somewhere safe? I don't blame you. Not to worry though. This magazine rack is both flexible and adaptive.
With no arguing whatsoever it will become a tea towel rack for you.
I know.
Best DIY ever. Seriously.
Guess what? It's about to get even better ...
Behold the mid-air, hanging magazine rack.
This just turned into a love story.
WE always seem to have corners or sections of rooms that feel like they're missing something. BINGO. Hang the rack there.
I used to have an antique church pillar in that corner which you probably never noticed because no one ever noticed it. I had no intentions of keeping this hanging magazine rack in my living room, but I wanted to show you how you didn't have to hang it against a wall. It has a lot of impact hanging mid-air. It's instant sculptural art. So I was just going to stick it up in my living room for the pictures and put it back on my foyer wall when the photos were done.
But then, like I said, I fell in love with it in the corner here and it finished off my whole living room for a few reasons. #1, it actually shows up (which the pillar didn't) so it expands the room by drawing your eye to the furthest corner. #2. It really highlights the other brass in the room that was kind kind of disappearing before. #3. A magazine is much handier for smashing a centipede than that a massive church pillar is. I mean for real, who wants to caber toss a centipede to death? It's exhausting.
A couple of notes:
- The total cost for this exact magazine rack was $42. ($27 for the chain, $8 for the brass eye screws and $7 for the dowels.
- If you want to make a more inexpensive rack use standard (not brass) chain.
- Using cheaper black chain will also make your magazine rack look more industrial/rustic/antique.
- Brass is very soft so be extra careful when you're prying the eye hooks open and squeezing them shut.
- If you're going to hang this from the ceiling make sure you use ceiling anchors. The kind you use will depend on the type of ceiling you have (plaster versus drywall).
- In the event of nuclear disaster you cannot rely solely on being saved by your hoarded magazines. You'll need your plastic bags and elastic bands as well.
I feel so much better now that I know there are others in the world who consider magazines essential life saving equipment. I myself recall reading about ‘the triangle of life’, (having come from the west coast where earthquakes are fairly common and ‘the BIG ONE’ is imminent), which totally justified the multiple stacks of magazines I was using beside my bed instead of night tables. Paper doesn’t compress for those who don’t know, so the realization they would create a triangle of life should the big one hit made me sleep easier, I can tell you. However, my husband is feeling like he’s living with a hoarder (which he is, because throwing them away is not to be contemplated) so to ease his anxiety, I do believe I will take a chance and make this lovely magazine rack, just so he can see they have further uses besides protection from earthquakes and nuclear disaster, and to reduce the number of stacks around the bed so it’ll be easier to get out in the morning. You have no idea how happy you’ve made him. Thank you for this brilliant, and lovely, DIY.
I hate to be a downer, but as a California resident, I read about the "triangle of life" too. It certainly sounded good, but I have since read that it isn't a good idea at all and that emergency services advise against it. You might want to check for the latest info.
You are brilliant, hilarious, talented, creative, and I wish I lived down the street!
If you use small screw in hooks (they're called cup hooks) instead of eyes, which are hard to open and close, you can adjust the spacing of the rungs when you use the rack for different purposes in different rooms, or if you have different lengths of towels to hang up. I read all the comments to see if anyone else had suggested this already and they're all from 2017! What?
You are brilliant! I have a bunch of magazines & cookbooks that won't fit anywhere in my galley kitchen. However, there's a small bit of wall when cornering to enter a hallway. This is the perfect solution! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi Karen, I have stumbled on to your blog, and am loving your sense of humour and style.
Just thinking that this rack may be my answer to my scarves - hoarding problem, and how to arrange them so that they are able to be appreciated like art work, but also I can choose one without having to dig through them to find the right one.
Keep up the good work! Much love from New Zealand
Awesome!
Ok, the minute I saw this, I was trying to convince myself to start reading magazines so I could make this...then I got to the part where you hung your tea towels on it and I was a goner. I've been counting down the days til the weekend so I could make this and I absolutely loved it! So easy and now I have an empty drawer (which will now be filled with other crap) in the kitchen. Karen, you are a genius, you come up with the most creative stuff!
Please excuse the dreadful maroon kitchen paint, we only moved in a few months ago...
Nice work!!! I'm so glad you included a picture Kate! Consider the maroon paint excused, lol. I'm happy you had a good time doing this. :) ~ karen!
Although, this would be good in the bathroom :)
Nope. Ain't gonna do it. I don't subscribe to mags anymore. I used to. When I moved back to Calgary, I had a couple of boxes full of Family Circle, Woman's Day and others from the 70's. Then, I moved to my sisters - she said "chuck 'em" and I did. We both hauled the boxes out to the big bin. I've always regretted it - there were things in them I would have looked at again!! I know it. I know it. Now, I'm retired. Now I save things on the computer. Do I look at them? Sure, when I run across them again. Good thing computers have so much space on them :)
Winner winner chicken dinner....Of course not your chickens. Seriously I love this! Thanks Karen.
I was worried at first seeing you in the picture on the floor at the bottom of the stairs,...as if foul play had occurred until I saw the jammies... HILARIOUS!... I then believed that you had slowed down so much that you decided to nap. (ha, ha.)
Love the idea and see it in my very small bathroom in a corner versus towel rack, ladder with towels, etc. Great Idea..tres' chique!!
omg, that would be a HILARIOUS napping picture, lol. ~ karen!
A TOWEL RACK!!!! IN THE BATHROOM!! And if you hang it from the ceiling a few inches from the wall, the towels will have space to dry on both sides. My bathroom has chrome fixtures and a fallen down, too small towel bar. I can use a chrome finish chain, then spray paint the dowels with that chrome spray paint. It might not work, but then, again, it might...I've got an old closet rod in the garage I can cut down....maybe clear acrylic rods would work if the chrome spray paint doesn't...I can't believe I am just now seeing this post. (Hurries off, muttering to self.)
I vote for hospital nursing stations! I've spent a lot of my time near them unfortunately so I know they love them during breaks at lunch or night shifts.As someone has already suggested, Freecycle.com. Lots of moms want them for their little kids art projects.
Love the blog and love the smart(s)assyness of it!! Thanks!
Is that a huge white canvas hanging on the living room wall?
My neighbor and I have been wanting to build a chicken swing and this has given me ideas...since all my magazines would never fit on it.
I too horde my beloved magazines and I LOVE your DIY! Brilliant!!
Love it! My mind is swirling with ways to put this clever DIY to use in my small home. Thanks again for doing stuff Karen! ?
Brilliant, brilliant DIY.
And the comments section is great for added info.
I love the idea of a tea towel rack. I never know where to put the damn things.
And fyi for anyone who, unlike Karen, does want to donate them, counseling centers, non profits in particular, would most likely welcome them if there are lots of great pictures in them. We use them all the time for art therapy projects, and since we're a non profit, we're always low on $$ for supplies.
If you singlehandedly turn around the magazine industry and subscription rates skyrocket, where shall they send the checks? ;)
Got any great ideas for snacks during the Superbowl this weekend?
Antojitos are always perfect. Last year I made a plate of nachos that were delicious but still gag a little bit when I think about them. I made enough nachos for a Superbowl party, but ... I wasn't having a Superbowl party. I et em all. ~ karen!
I HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE COMMENTS YET! So excited about your DIY project that I had to let you know. I need this so much in my bathroom - tiny with no place for a hand towel bar. Now my eleven year old problem is solved. In fact, the toilet tissue could be hung similarly since the wall is a pocket door and no place to attach the tissue roll. I bought a stand but it takes up much needed foot room in my tiny bathroom. So, you solved 2 problems magnificently! Now I'm looking at my kitchen and realize this is exactly how I can accommodate paper towels and hand towel and dish towel. My art journals can receive similar storage in the craft room, pretty and handy. I believe the cats would have fun playing with a modified version. My grandson would enjoy one to play on. I will have to figure out how to make them slightly different so they are still artsy at the same time. THANK YOU!
Comments now read and enjoyed. I have to add one more terrific way to use your DIY. If I used corn cobs instead of rungs and attached them so they twirled, it would be a great thing to hang outside my window to watch the acrobatics of the squirrels as they tried to eat.