An Easy Wall-Mounted DIY Jewelry Organizer

Over the years, I have used all sorts of different solutions to store and organize my jewelry. From a jewelry cabinet and table-top box to mini Ziplock bags tucked into our safe (seriously!), I’ve tried everything from the really fancy to the really basic. By far, my favorite way to organize my jewelry (so that it remains tangle-free and easy to see AND wear) has been this wall-mounted DIY Jewelry Organizer. Not only is this a really fun (and easy!) DIY project, but its perfectly customizable to your specific jewelry collection. Let me show you how this unique jewelry holder comes together!

Lessons Learned

This jewelry storage project is actually my second attempt at making a wall-mounted organizer. Years ago, I followed a trend on Pinterest to use a bunch of drawer pulls and knobs (secured to a picture frame covered in fabric) to serve as earring, necklace, and bracelet holders. But over time, there were just some things I didn’t love about this setup:

• The cup pulls (which I originally intended to be earring storage) were too high to see into, so I easily lost sight/track of all my stud-type earrings.
• The knobs weren’t deep enough to hold bracelets securely (they fell off way too easily).
• I did like all my necklaces lined up on pretty drawer handles. But it was a nuisance to clasp/un-clasp the necklace every time I wanted to hang it up or take it down (since some can fit over my head without unhooking).

Why Store Jewelry On the Wall?

All that said, there were a few things I really did love about this first DIY wall jewelry organizer:

• Having my jewelry out in the open allowed me to see it all much easier (which then prompted me to actually wear it more!)
• Using the wall to store jewelry (instead of a cabinet) meant that I wasn’t lugging yet another piece of furniture from home to home (nor was I reliant on a particular bedroom layout to find space for it!)
• Having dedicated hooks for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings kept everything from becoming a tangled mess.

With these likes and dislikes in mind, I devised a system that not only stored my jewelry in a really functional way, but was also inexpensive, easy, and gorgeous!

My New DIY Jewelry Organizer

Instead of a single board, this time I used three scrap wood 1x2s and outfitted them with cup hooks arranged at specific intervals to hold various types of jewelry.

The top and bottom boards are essentially the same, with cup hooks all the way across. These two rows are ideal earring and necklace holders, since each individual item can be placed onto a single hook.

The middle board features just two hooks that hold a single wooden dowel. This makes a bracelet hanger, where any size and type bracelet can easily slide on/off when not in use.

Not only is this project super functional and fantastic to look at, but it really is a simple DIY project (I promise!) Let me break it down for you!

Supplies Needed

Here’s what you need to make this DIY Jewelry Organizer:

• Common Board or Plywood 1x2s cut down to your desired length (mine measure about 20″)
• Cup Hooks in your color choice (mine are brass)
• Wooden Dowel (be sure to pick a size that fits into your cup hooks)
• Paint and/or Stain for decorating the wood
• Tools
  • Painters Tape
  • Ruler/Tape Measure
  • Pencil
  • Drill and 1/16 Drill Bit
  • Sanding Block
• Command Strips (or other hanging hardware)

Step 1 – Prep the Wood Boards

Start by cutting down the 1x2s to your desired lengths and then sanding off any rough edges with a sanding block. Although you can vary the lengths of the boards, all three of mine were cut to the same dimensions (20″).

While you are cutting, also trim down the wooden dowel to ~2″ less than your wood boards. My wooden dowel measures ~18″.

Step 2 – Paint & Stain the Wood Boards

Next, you will want to stain or paint the 1x2s based on your design preferences. For some reason, I chose to paint the gold first then add the blue stain after, which resulted in tedious and unnecessary taping. If you’d like to do a two-tone design like mine, here is how to do it:

1. Start by staining or painting the 1x2s in your base color (in my example: blue).
2. Once dry, use painter’s tape to create patterns at various places across the boards. These patterns can be perpendicular or diagonal lines, and can be the same on each board or varied. If using spray paint, ensure you cover ALL parts of the board with tape that you DON’T want to get painted. Press down the edges of the tape to ensure no paint bleeds underneath.
3. Use your contrasting color (in my example: gold spray paint) to paint the exposed areas of the wood board to create the pattern design.
4. While your paint is still wet, carefully remove the tape to reveal your two-toned design!

While you have the paint out, give the wooden dowel a few coats in whatever color you want. I painted mine gold to match the cup hooks.

Step 3 – Measure & Pre-Drill Holes for the Hooks

With your boards fully painted and dry, it’s time to add all the hooks to hold your earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I chose to dedicate one board to each type of jewelry; but you can decide what hook placement will work best for your specific collection (even combining different jewelry categories onto one board).

Hook Placement For Earrings & Necklaces

The single cup hooks are ideal for holding both earrings and necklaces; and since these items tend to be small and/or narrow, you can place these hooks fairly close together.

Before you start drilling pilot holes, first determine how far apart you want/need the hooks to accommodate your specific jewelry collection (for reference, my holes start 1″ from the end and then are 0.75″ apart).

Use a ruler and a pencil to mark the hole placement, and then use a drill and 1/16 drill bit to make each pilot hole. These holes don’t need to go deep, but they should be in a straight line down the center of your wood board.

Hook Placement for the Bracelets Rod

To create the rod-style bracelet holder, I used two cup hooks to hold the single wooden dowel. Determine the placement of the these two hooks by measuring in 1″ from each end of the board (or match the outermost hooks on your other boards).

Step 4 – Twist In the Cup Hooks

With all the holes pre-drilled, plop yourself down with a pile of hooks and get to work twisting them in. Keep twisting until each hook is snug against the wood board and they are uniformly pointing forward. Twisting in all the hooks will take some time and patience. Thankfully, the bracelet rod requires only 2 hooks, onto which you can place the painted wooden dowel.

Step 5 – Mount the DIY Jewelry Organizers to the Wall

With your DIY Jewelry Organizer finished, it’s time to mount the whole thing to your wall!

You can certainly use some sort of screws or mounting hardware, but I decided to give Command Strips a try since I wanted the organizers to sit perfectly flush against the wall. Sure enough, several Large Command Strips are more than strong enough to hold these organizers in place (even once they are loaded up with jewelry!) Renter-friendly hanging for the win!

To hang the jewelry holders, place 2-3 Large Command Strips on the back of the wood board. Be sure to use a small level when securing each board to the wall.

TIP! In order to determine how far apart to vertically space the wood boards, hang your longest/biggest piece of jewelry on each one and use it to guide placement of the next one.

If you’re not sure how to hang items with Command Strips, see my tutorial HERE.

Step 6 – Hang Up All Your Jewelry!

Once the boards are fully secure to the wall (and you waited the “curing” time recommend with Command Strips), it’s time to load them up with your jewelry items! I hooked pairs of earrings and necklaces onto the single hooks, and then threaded each bracelet onto the wooden dowel.

This DIY jewelry holder is an amazing solution. I really love that all my necklaces and earrings have individual/dedicated hooks, and that I no longer have to clasp/un-clasp necklaces just to get them on and off. The bracelet bar is easier than I expected to manipulate; and I love how it perfectly accommodates bracelets of all kinds. Oh – and if you’re curious about my stud earrings, I keep them in a little pewter bowl on my bedside table.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love this easy DIY Jewelry Organizer. Besides preventing my jewelry from becoming a big mess, it is easily movable, totally renter-friendly, and super pretty to look at. If you just can’t find a jewelry box with compartments, shelf, or caddie that works for you, give this jewelry organizer DIY a try! I think you’ll love it too!