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Repurposing old plumbing fixtures into home decor has been one of my favorite ways to add unique character to my home. I love the eco-friendly aspect of it, and it’s such a cool way to incorporate vintage or industrial elements that you just can’t find in new, store-bought items. Plus, reusing old fixtures saves money and gives me the satisfaction of transforming something that might have ended up in a landfill into a functional, stylish piece of art. That’s why I decided to repurpose a faucet into a towel holder (in addition to the fact that I already had vintage faucet handles & their faucet spouts laying around).
One of the things I really enjoy about working with plumbing fixtures is how versatile they are. Faucets, pipes, and fittings come in so many different materials and shapes—like weathered brass or rustic copper—and they’re perfect for creating everything from towel holders to lighting fixtures. Whether I’m going for a shabby chic vibe or something more industrial, these repurposed items always add a personal, handmade touch to the room. And the best part is, I don’t need a lot of fancy tools or skills—just a little creativity, some screws, a screwdriver, and some basic DIY know-how.
Why Should I Repurpose a Faucet into a Towel Holder?
One of the first projects we started on when moving into our new home back in 2015 was the bathroom remodel. You know I scour the garage sales and thrift stores for inspiration & bargains, but in this case I didn’t need to look further than our own house!
Once it was almost finished it was time for the hardware to be installed and instead of buying a brand-new faucet from a big-box hardware store we decided to make our own using parts from both a skeleton key door plate and an outdoor brass faucet fixture.
I wanted to make a hand towel rack with repurposed materials, so I figured out a way to repurpose a faucet into a tower holder. We really like the end result, what do you think?
Finding the Pieces
Originally I was going to use a 2″x4″, a skeleton key door plate, and a hinge bolt.
While I was in the garage cutting the 2″x4″ to the right length I saw this old brass exterior faucet with one of those nice old flowery-looking 6-hole handles:
I knew right then and there this faucet handle would replace the hinge bolt which I wasn’t so keen on anyway. Those old exterior faucet handles always reminded me somewhat of a flower so I knew it would look great, maybe even elegant, once we got the final coats of paint on this project to repurpose a faucet into a towel holder.
Prepping the Parts
I didn’t know how the faucet handle came apart from the rest of the mechanism, but after some twisting and turning with a couple pipe wrenches, the faucet handle and key plate fit together as one beautiful piece.
All the pieces were cleaned, sanded, and painted.
I distressed the handle and plate a little with 220 grit sandpaper and attached the towel rack to the board.
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The Finished Project
You can see that the combination of the old skeleton key plate and the faucet handle parts gives you a good distance away from the wood block, so you have plenty of space for hanging even the thickest of bath sheet towels.
Even though we painted the wood block with a single color and the faucet handle and skeleton key plate with another single color, I can definitely see the potential for using multiple colors on both the wood mounting block and even mix & matching the colors on the skeleton key plate and the faucet handle itself. Like for a kid’s room maybe using the three different primary colors on each part and doing a blue, yellow, and red combo for a fun pop of color! But I’m thinking maybe the bath towel I hang will be the best source of color for this DIY towel rack.
I’m glad for treasures like the key plate and faucet handle when I’m working on DIY projects like doing this one to repurpose a faucet into a towel holder.
Be sure to check out this other hand towel holder made from an upcycled faucet.
It’s a lovely pairing, don’t you think? We can see a number of places around our new home to use this repurpose a faucet into a towel holder project.
Maybe we’ll make some more of these to use over our refinished entry table so people can hang their coats as they come in the front door. The neat thing about this style of decorating is that you can mix & match the types of faucet handles and door handle key plates, and also change up the colors, and it’ll still look really pretty and country chic.
Have you taken some mismatched home hardware items and created something useful with them? Please share them in the comments below. I’d love to see your creations!
Other Plumbing-Related Projects That Inspire Me
If you’re looking for inspiration to get started on your own projects, there are a few blog posts that really inspired me. One is from Green With Decor, where Meg shows how she turned an old faucet into a beautiful towel rack for the bathroom. Another great idea is from Domestic Imperfection, where she made industrial pipe shelves that totally transformed her space. And for a unique twist on curtain rods, House of Hepworths used plumbing pipes to create an industrial look for her windows.
These projects have really helped me think outside the box and turn ordinary materials into something extraordinary. Give them a try—you might just get hooked on DIY plumbing decor like I did!
