We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Tired of your bathroom towel rack setup not cutting it? Here’s a creative fix that’s totally doable—turn an old wooden bed frame into a wall-mounted towel rack! It’s a clever way to give an old piece of furniture a second life and freshen up your space. The magic happens with a headboard from a wooden bed (though a footboard works too). What you can actually pull off depends on the design. Got spindles or is it one solid piece? If it’s solid, awesome—you’ve got plenty of flat space to play with, and you could even throw some adhesive strips on there. For either style, you can add hooks, pegs, or even a shelf. Spindle designs give you extra options too, like tying hangers around those rods. The possibilities are really there! First things first though: measure your bathroom wall space to see if a headboard will actually fit. To give you a sense of size, a twin headboard is 41 inches wide, while a full is 56 inches. Queens hit 62 inches, and kings come in at 80. If those feel too chunky for your bathroom, here’s a neat option—grab an old crib if you’ve got one collecting dust! Most cribs are between 26 to 32 inches wide (or deep). Plus, cribs usually have spindles, which is a bonus.
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How to convert a bed frame into a bathroom towel rack
Fotografiabasica/Getty Beyond the headboard (or footboard), you really only need two things: a drill and a stud finder. And if you don’t already have a headboard lying around? Hit up your local thrift stores—you’d be surprised what folks donate.
Once you’ve got your headboard (whether you yanked it off an old frame or found one at a thrift shop), let’s get it ready to be a towel rack. Before you hang it up, personalize it however you want—add some hangers or whatever works with those flat areas. You could use adhesive strips, for instance; even something that holds 5 pounds works great for towels.
Or drill hooks straight into the frame if you want something specific looking or in a particular color. IKEA’s basic wall hooks ($4.99 for three) are sleek with a black matte finish, while their other wall hooks ($4.99 for three) hide the screws and come in three neutral shades. Another fun approach? Go with over-the-door hangers. Depending on how thick your headboard is, some over-the-door hangers, like this one ($24.99), can handle doors up to 1 ¾ inches thick.
When it comes to hanging, remember it’s going to be heavy—so make sure you drill into at least one wall stud, or better yet, two. Studs typically sit either 16 or 24 inches apart. If you’re using a wall anchor instead, double-check that it’s rated for the weight of your new headboard towel rack.
