The Perfect Drying Rack...and it's on a Pulley!

My family strongly believes in homemade Christmas gifts. Sometimes, this proves to be very challenging because it's hard to come up with appropriate ideas for the recipient. So, this Christmas, I helped out my folks and specifically asked for a clothes drying rack!

I had been talking about the drying rack for over a year.....designing it in my head and bugging my husband and dad about it. Then, this Christmas, my dad finally acquiesced and built it for me as my Christmas present!!!!

Are you dying to see this custom-designed drying rack that's the best drying rack you'll ever find?

Here it is:

Above: This is a side view. The slats are about 6 inches apart. Hangars can easily slide in between the slats to hang clothes, or clothes can be draped over the rods. Also, the slats are close enough that sweaters can be laid on the top (notice the pink sweater in the center and the black sweater on the right side).

Above: The overall dimensions are about 3 feet by 4 feet. The pulleys are on all four corners, and they attach into the "ceiling" of the laundry room, a.k.a. unfinished storage room, catch-all room. 

Above: The drying rack is on the right side of this picture. If you look at the ceiling, you can see the rope for the pulleys. Then, if you look on the left side of the picture, you'll see the ropes tying down to the left leg of the built-in  storage rack. I can lower the rack low enough to serve as a folding table, too, when I lay a towel over it to keep socks from falling through. 

Since this was a birthday present, I don't know and, therefore, can't share the cost of the project. I can say that the project required MANY trips to Home Depot (thank goodness we live very close to Home Depot!). There was minimal blood loss during this project, which is rare for house projects in my family. And, technically, the blood shed was a result of moving the light fixture to make room for drying rack and not the drying rack itself.

Do I love this drying rack? YES! I can fit LOTS of clothes on it, and the clothes aren't on a rack in the middle of the floor or draped over furniture in the family room. It meets all my requirements and was homemade!