Happy Friday! How was your week? Good I hope! This week flew by so quickly for me. Summer days are long but the weeks are short. Ha. ;) I’m sharing my new pool towel rack today. I’m so happy to finally have a solution for our outdoor towels! When we finished building our house and bought patio furniture I invested in some cute pillows and these nice striped pool/beach towels. I’ve loved them! In the summer when we entertain large groups of people I set them out on the bottom of our lounge chairs for everyone to use.
Or I hang them on these hooks in our little outdoor pool bathroom that’s on the side of our house. (They are on sale this weekend!)
During the winter months when we aren’t using the pool as much I store all of my pillows and towels in my little mudroom closet. We’ve used these pillows and towels for 5 summers now and they are still in great condition because I bring them in when we aren’t using them. I don’t like to use these striped towels for my kids’ every day use so that I can keep them nice for entertaining, but also because the towels are huge! I bought the largest size (that was all that was available when I bought them – now you can buy pool and kid sizes). My kids are in and out of our pool all day most summer days (with or without friends) and they just need smaller towels to use to dry off quickly.
I have old pool towels that they use for every day, but because I make them re-use them (so that I’m not washing towels ALL DAY EVERY DAY) our yard usually looks like a mess of random towels tossed over all of our outdoor furniture. It’s a beautiful sight to see out of our french doors every morning. ;) It hasn’t been a big deal, but I knew I could come up with a better solution so I started looking for pool towel racks/hangers on-line. There are a lot of options but everything I found I either didn’t love the look of OR it didn’t hold enough towels OR it cost a lot more than I wanted to spend. So I started thinking outside the box about what else I could use and found something I’m so excited about!
Then I had Kenny assemble it for me. While he watched Moana with the kids. He loves Moana. He seriously loves all Disney/kid movies a lot more than he loves assembling things for me so by pairing the two together I make it seem like a better deal. I’m tricky like that.
Ready to see my new pool towel rack?
It’s actually a coat rack! And it’s EXACTLY what I was looking for! You can find it HERE. This could be used in so many different ways to organize! I love that it has lots of hooks and racks below to set clean, dry towels or pool toys. I ordered these new pool towels that look like our other pool towels but are a lot smaller and less expensive for every day. (It looks like most colors of these exact towels are sold out, but I’ll link to lots of fun towel options at the end of my post). What I really wanted was towels that were smaller and light weight – perfect for my kids to use and reuse every day and a lot easier to wash when I do need to wash them!
This coat rack has so many hooks! I can easily hang lots of towels or wet suits out to dry.
Remember my cute vintage style hobnail pots from my last Friday 5 post?
I found a perfect home for them!
For now my towel rack is sitting by this outdoor furniture set. I’m loving that my kids always have a towel when they need one AND a place to hang their wet towels after they use them. Also bonus that my towels match the pillows so everything looks more put together. No more random old pool towels all over the yard. Mission accomplished!
{faux white hydrangea stems/similar marble coasters here or here}
Last summer I had real flowers outside on these end tables but this year I went with faux. It only took 3 of these hydrangea stems to fill my vase! Now I don’t have to worry about watering them/switching them out.
The simple addition of the towels and my pots made this spot feel more cozy. It also helps that my white cushions are now sparkling clean!
Remember how dirty they were before?
They look brand new again! (Details on how I clean my outdoor furniture here.)
I have no doubt my pool rack won’t look this tidy all summer and that’s fine (although the coordinating towels will help!). I’m just excited to finally have a place my kids can hang their towels and suits.
I thought I’d share this in case any of you are looking for a similar solution for pool towels or for wet suits from time spent running through the sprinklers!
It feels so good to have this area scrubbed, clean and decorated. Now it’s time to get cozy on this couch, watch the kids swim and enjoy it!
:)
Happy Friday everyone!
*P.S. I updated my SHOP page (so many cute things I’m loving right now) for anyone who is interested!
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Wow, Erin, what a fantastic set up! Your before with the towels draped on the furniture takes me back to being a kid and swimming in the pool in my backyard. That sure says summer to me! That isn’t a coordinated look(especially with 6 kids and all their friends swimming), though and your new solution is so clever! Looks like a great solution. Hope it works out great for you guys. Seeing your faux hydrangeas reminded me…I actually saw a bouquet of cut hydrangeas for sale at Target (of all places) the other day! The only reason I noticed them is I was waiting for my girls to get their Starbucks and was wandering around the cart corral area and that is where this store has their bouqets set up. I thought of you right away and even told my girls about how you have showcased them in your home. Anyway, thought it was fun and wanted to share. Oh my daughter wants to try pink lemonade in our ice shaver when we use up the yellow lemonade. :) Have a fantastic weekend. Happy Summer and Happy Father’s Day to your keeper of a husband and dad.
Thank you Jeanne! I love that towels on the furniture remind you of summer. Isn’t it cool how things like that bring back good memories? We didn’t have a pool growing up and I always wanted one! It’s fun to see my kids enjoying ours. I’m constantly reminding them of how lucky they are. I need to check out the faux hydrangeas in Target! Thanks for the tip! I’m obsessed with faux flowers. They look so realistic these days and are such an easy low maintenance option to brighten up a space. YEA for pink lemonade! I’m totally trying that in our shaved ice machine now too! :) Happy Father’s Day weekend to you and your sweet family! xo
It’s finally hot enough here in Toronto so that we can use our pool & I was just thinking about where to hang all the towels too. With 5 of us in the family, the towels are everywhere. When company comes over I use a drying rack, but that takes up too much room & doesn’t look nice. Great idea with the coat rack! Time to shop online! Thanks for solving my problem. You are definitely my go-to problem solver!
I’m so happy this was helpful Mona! I’m also happy to hear I’m not the only one with pool towels hanging over every corner of the yard. Ha. I’m thrilled I solved this problem for both of us! ;) Thank you! Enjoy your weekend and that pool! xo
Genius idea!! I’ve been struggling with the same issues and have yet to find a towel rack I liked. I‘ve been considering just putting up hooks but that would mean drilling into the brick wall which I am loathe to do. You’ve inspired me! Coat rack it is!
YEA! I’m so happy to hear this will be helpful for you Jennifer! You made my day. :) I don’t know why there aren’t better pool towel rack options out there! Nothing looked that great or if it did it was $400. I’ll take a coat rack please! :)
We live on the water and have a boat and jet ski. I like your solution, but it will not work on our dock, unfortunately. We don’t have the floor space and a good storm wind will take it away. It looks nice in your yard! I wanted to share a picture but it won’t let me.
Hi Debbie! Thank you! You definitely have a different situation that needs a different towel set up. How fun to live on the water! xo
Erin,
You read my mind! The mess of beach/pool towels, both at our home pool, and at our little beach townhouse! Less of an issue at the home pool, More room to get the towels out of the pool yard and onto a standard clothes drying rack, but the Beach townhouse! The HOA says NOTHING bolted into the cedar shakes on our Little brick patio. This leaves my daughter and all her college buddies towels over the fence, and on all the breakfast table chairs, or just dropped upon the brickwork! My little grand children from the other daughter, are worse! And then there is Family visiting and using the house!
Sand, wet suits(although adorable, have you noticed HOW cute KIDS swim wear is NOW?) and then, also, wet towels in the entry way!
I am going to order Your solution(so compact for a small, beach place!) and pass the news around our Vacay village! some folks rent out their places, and although, AGAINST restrictions, the renters FLY wet towels like flags off the balcony and front porch chairs! Everything from Disney Mini Mouse, to tasteful, nautical stripes(I have your towels!) to the 1990s THREADBARE! So lovely-NOT! Now, onto your pool bathroom! SO SMART! We have wet feet everywhere, coming in from the pool to the deck, through the family room , thru the kitchen, to the hall, to the guest bath! some carpet, but MOSTLY reclaimed oak board flooring! Needless to say, after 4 kids, and a pool, it BADLY needs refinishing! I better get thinking of at least a little 1/2 bath, more convenient to the pool. This may be a LOT to swallow for my husband, b/c of limited pool use in the Northeast.
Mid June-to Columbus Day IF WE ARE LUCKY, even w/a heater, b/c in the fall we have ALL THE LEAVES in the pool! Then, time to close!
Erin, such smart ideas! Hope you and your lovely family are ALL well. The past 3 months-such aVERY terrible time for many of us………
Sharon
I’ve been thinking about you and your family so much! I’m so happy to hear we aren’t the only ones with towels hanging all over the place.. ha! The struggle is real. ;) You would definitely love a little half bath but I agree.. a lot to take on if you aren’t using it all year! Your beach townhouse sounds so charming and I’m thrilled this solution looks like it might help! I hope your husband is feeling better. Hang in there. It has been a hard few months in so many ways! Take care and happy Father’s Day weekend to your husband and sweet family! xo
We love oversized turkish towels as our pool towels. They’re large enough I can knot it around myslef as a quick cover up, the kids can wrap up AND they dry quickly! We also reuse pool towels so I appreciate the quick-dry aspect. So smart of you to use your outdoor space to create a drying zone! I use the mudroom area for ours as there aren’t coats on the hooks in summer. But it’s still up to me to get the towels ON the hooks. They just get left everywhere! Rotten children! ; )
P.S. Who doesn’t love Moana? Definitely a fave for me!
Ha ha.. rotten kids for sure! ;) Turkish towels! So smart Jen! Love that idea. Thank you! :)
I absolutely LOVE those pool towels! I may have to get some new ones. The ones we have are super thin and don’t absorb a lot of water.
I also love the towel rack! What a great idea! We don’t have a pool, but we do a water blob (SO FUN) and I hate wet towels all over the yard, porch, and floors :) Then again, with my kids, I could buy a rack and they would probably STILL be all over the ground! ha!
Thank you so much Monique! I know right!? No guarantee the towels will actually make it to the hooks.. ha. :)
Erin, your blog is always such an inspiration to me! Thank you for all your brilliant ideas and hard work! We are getting a hot tub soon, and I am using this same color scheme for our stone patio and screened porch! The cabana towels were hard to find in those colors, but I ended up finding the navy and teal at a place in North Carolina called Big Lots (go figure)! I’m all about a good deal and they were just $5 each… so we’ll see they’ll hold up. Also I had a quick question- do you remember what color your West Elm Reflected Diamonds rug is? Officer blue, Light Pool, or Blue Teal? I adore the color but West Elm seems to have the colors mis-labled on some of their sample/real life pics on their website. Any help would be so appreciated. And the drying rack- so smart and easy! Thx! Also, you actually got me excited to clean my outdoor cushions with the kids! Again…brilliant! Borax here we come :)
You are such a sweetheart Kari! Your kind words seriously made my day. Thank you! I’m thrilled you found those towels at such a low price! SCORE! I just checked West Elm for you and I have the “officer blue” rug. It’s a nice navy color. I hope that helps! Enjoy that hot tub! Such a smart purchase.. we use ours almost more than the pool! And happy cushion cleaning! Ha! It’s actually a really fun little project to do on a sunny day. :) Thanks again for your kind comment! xo
Thank you! YOU are a sweetheart. So lovely that you respond on your blog. Have an amazing day. 💙
You too sweet Kari! xo
I love this! Just ordered the towel rack. We are getting a pool installed right now and I’ve been looking for ways to organize everything outside. How do you organize all the pool toys & small accessories (googles, sunblock, etc)?
So happy that was helpful Ana! You can see how we store our pool toys in this post:
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2019/04/organized-outdoor-pool-and-toy-storage/
:)
This brilliant. Your space looks amazing.. With 2 kiddos I feel your pain of constant towel washing!
I wonder how your coat rack has held up? Do you leave it out when it rains?
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much Amanda! It has held up so well and I still love this solution! I leave it outside all the time. It’s covered under my back porch so rain isn’t an issue. Once last year we had a really windy day and a few of the towels blew off but they didn’t go far because they were under the porch roof. :)
Hello I recently found your blog post about using a coat rack for your pool towels. I don’t know why I haven’t thought about that I’ve been racking my brain trying to find a way to conquer the pool towel issue. I just wanted to know how it has held up with being outside and in the rain? Wondered if it was very rusty or no?
Hi Belinda! Ours has held up great but it’s covered! We have it on our back porch under the roof top so it never gets wet. I’m not sure if it would rust or not?
I have been wracking my brain for months on how to hang pool towels and I can’t believe this simple and elegant solution was there the whole time!! I immediately bought a similar coat rack and I’m so excited! Thanks so much!
Oh YEA! I’m so happy this was helpful Desiree! Thanks for letting me know! :)
New here and love your content! REALLY would love to know where I can get the lounge chairs by the pool?
Hi Barbara! Thank you so much! Our pool lounge chairs are from Restoration Hardware! Leagrave set.. we’ve had them for over 10 years so I’m not sure if they still sell them? xo