Through the years, we have gone through dozens of closet changes. Many donate or trash old clothes and shoes, but one piece of apparel that always stays around: your hats. Hats are the last items in our closet that anyone considers tossing. And over time, they accumulate and take up space. Yet, we still can’t throw them away! Read on to understand 12 of the best hat storage ideas to maximize space.
1. Wooden shelves
There are several wooden shelving ideas to store your hats away. High shelves at the top of a closet could be great if you don’t reach for these hats too frequently. Floating shelves are a stylish option if you want them on display. However, shelving units with wooden boxes built-in specifically for hats may be your best option. These are a clean, attractive solution that you can get your hands on at your nearest hat store.
2. Hanging compartment shelves
These shelves have become a closet trend over the past decade. They’re made of soft material and can hang next to the clothes in your closet. Most name brands of these shelves usually have a velcro attachment to grip the closet rod. Each compartment shelf has plenty of space to stack numerous hats. These compartment shelves keep your hats secure while also being easily movable.
Pro tip: These shelves are best for ball caps rather than fashionable hats with bigger profiles.
3. A peg board
This is the most common hat rack among all hat storage ideas. There are various kinds, from wooden dowels to accordion styles. The peg board is a standard fix to get your hats off the shelves and out of the way in your closet. You can display it openly in your home or apartment, but most people install their peg boards on wide closet walls.
4. A metal pipe
The industrial steampunk style metal pipe is a new fashionable way to store your hats. You can purchase metal piping made explicitly for hats or buy the piping at your nearest hardware store. It will involve using a drill and finding the proper stud in your wall due to the dense weight of the metal. This can be installed vertically or horizontally. These pipes provide one of the most attractive styles.
5. Store neatly in drawers
Yes, it's obvious, but drawers are usually not appropriately compartmentalized. If you do some rearranging, you’ll more than likely notice that you have a dresser drawer or two with a lot of space all of a sudden available. Hats can fill this space perfectly and get rid of the hat stack that is building in your closet corner. A deep desk drawer or workbench drawer can often fit great for hats that aren’t worn often.
6. A teepee hat rack
These racks are cost-effective for storing your hats on display. They consist of three to four wooden or metal poles with a "teepee" at the top. The tops of the teepees are used for hanging your hats. These always look great for your more fashionable hats.
Pro tip: You can’t hang more than a handful of hats using the method.
7. Dress hanger hooks
A newly innovative hat storage idea involves a dress hanger. Most dress hangers in your closet can now be purchased with hooks or hoops attached, which you can use to latch onto your hats. If your hats are ball caps, you can hang them directly from these hangers. You can buy several of these and manage to hang dozens of hats.
Pro tip: Fashionable hats, or wide-billed hats, will not hang properly from these hanger hoops or hooks.
8. File cabinets
As we live in an increasingly paperless world, our old file cabinets are becoming antiques. And yet, the look and style have become a popular furniture addition or storage item. Strip out everything in them to make for the perfect hat storage container. You can stack all kinds of hats in each drawer. The typical file cabinet size would provide up to 20 hats' storage space.
9. Wire mesh with clothespins
Wire mesh is another appealing option at a bargain price. Chicken wire and other wire mesh types can be found at any garden supply or hardware store. Using heavy-duty scissors or a utility knife, simply cut a large square or rectangle out of the wire. Using nails or screws, mount the wire to your room or closet wall. Using clothespins, easily clip your hats to the wire for a fun, trendy look.
10. Hooks
Alongside the peg board style, you can purchase an unlimited amount of hooks designed for hats. Sometimes the plainest hook provides for the trendiest fashion. Many will hang their fashionable hats from just nails on the drywall. If this isn’t for display purposes, you can plant various hooks and nails onto any wide-open wall in your closet.
11. Horseshoe cowboy hat rack
If you don’t have horses, you can still find horseshoes cheaply online or at flea markets, and they make for a uniquely fun hat storage idea. Mount the horseshoes at an angle to a single wooden plank. Screw or nail through the holes in the horseshoe onto the plank. When displayed at an angle, you can hang multiple ballcaps or two fashionable hats per horseshoe.
12. Chain rope
If you’re into the industrial-style look, a chain link rope could be your answer in hat storage. Stringing the chain across a room or closet ceiling favors a fashionable look within its multi-use. Hang as many hooks as you want from the chain links. Longer hooks are probably best for stylish or wide-billed hats. Ball caps, like all the ideas above, are easily hung by any hook style.
Conclusion
The odds are likely that you will continue to buy hats. And the odds are even more likely that you won’t throw the old ones away: they'll continue to take up space if you don’t find the answer. Keep them organized in one place for proper storage and daily accessibility. Choosing some of the hat storage ideas above solves it and may also add a new style addition to your home.