Why does it seem we have a need for collecting baseball caps? Speaking for myself, I have this need to purchase a hat every time I take a trip to remind me of all the fun I had.
It probably began when I was a child. My uncle bought all of us kids a hat reminding us of our trip.
Some hats are really cool. We were working on a sports room in a basement, and the homeowner and his kids had all the team hats for the NFL. They were just lying around in no real order, so Shari, my hat-collecting buddy, decided we should display them along the walls. This prompted me to jump into action.
I purchased two poplar 1-by-6s that measured 12 feet in length, plus two poplar 1-by-3s the same length. The 1-by-3s will be attached to the 1-by-6s to create a top lip or ledge. Before assembling, I used my router with a roman ogee bit attached and routed one edge of the 1-by-6 and the one edge of the 1-by-3.
Just a reminder: You may need to purchase shorter boards; your space requirements may be different from what we had.
I then placed the 1-by-3 on the 1-by-6, creating an L-shaped shelf. I attached the boards by first drilling pilot holes with a countersink along the 1-by-3. Then I ran a bead of glue along the top edge of the 1-by-6, placed the 1-by-3 in position and secure with 1 1/4-inch drywall screws. After assembly, lightly sand the edges of the board; apply a primer and paint the color of your choice. If you want to be a little fancier, you could purchase oak and stain the hanger.
I found a variety of coat hooks at my local home-center store that work great for the hangers. I tried to find a style that wasn't too big, because they will hardly be seen. In fact, you could use cup hooks for this. I just thought if your hat collection wasn't quite full, the hooks should be a little more attractive.
Space the hooks on the board by placing the hats along the 1-by-6, allowing a little space between the hats; I used about an inch between each hat. Make a pencil mark where the hat should be placed and drill a pilot hole for the screws that come with the hook and attach. The hooks should be placed about 2 inches from the bottom of the 1-by-3.
To mount the board to the wall, I drilled four pilot holes evenly spaced along the board. Then I made the hole large enough so that small wooden buttons could be placed in the hole. The buttons will hide the screw head once the hanger is attached to the wall.
Set the hanger in position, make sure it's level and push an awl or nail through the pilot holes into the wall. This will indicate where to place self-anchoring molleys. Hold the hanger back into position, and attach with drywall screws. Hide the screws with the buttons, and touch up with paint.
That's all there is to it, a really simple way to display all the hats you have collected — and will collect.
Matt Fox and Shari Hiller alternate writing this column. They also co-host the Home & Garden Television show "Room By Room." For more on Matt Fox & Shari Hiller, visit www.hgtv.com or www.mattandshari.com.