Snowboard to Coat Rack – Ski Town Aesthetic

At this stage in my upcycling project, the vision has evolved significantly—but the core aesthetic inspiration remains unchanged. From the beginning, I’ve aimed to create a functional, personal piece that reflects the ski town aesthetic: an intentional blend of ruggedness, simplicity, and repurposed charm that captures the spirit of mountain life.

My original concept centered around building a table using discarded skis and snowboards. I envisioned a bold, repurposed furniture piece with four snowboards forming the tabletop and two pairs of skis acting as legs. This idea was inspired by the many creative uses I’ve seen for retired ski gear in ski towns—from benches and wall art to shot skis and shelving. I thought a table would be practical for my Boulder apartment, visually engaging, and fully aligned with the mountain design principles that first inspired me back in 2013.

However, I quickly ran into an unexpected challenge: sourcing materials. I reached out to friends and family to see if anyone had broken or unused gear they were willing to part with. Unfortunately, most people had already thrown away damaged equipment, and I wasn’t having much luck. I then turned to ski rental shops and local stores in Boulder, visiting places like Christy Sports to ask if they had any unusable gear. While the staff were kind, I found no success. It became clear that collecting enough snowboards and skis for a full table would be much harder than I anticipated.

Luckily, I had a ski trip to Vail planned, and I decided to turn that into a scavenger hunt for materials. I managed my expectations and brainstormed scaled-down alternatives—perhaps a small bench, a chair, or a minimalist coffee table using only one board and a few skis. Then, on my third store visit in Vail, I struck gold. A rental shop handed me a damaged LIB Tech Orca snowboard. The board’s minimalist yet striking design, inspired by the Orca whale, immediately stood out. I realized then that cutting this board would be a mistake. It was more than equipment—it was a piece of art.

This changed the project entirely. Rather than building a table, I decided to turn the snowboard into a wall-mounted coat rack. This new idea would allow me to maintain the visual integrity of the board while creating something functional, simple, and unique. I found transparent hooks online that would blend with the board’s graphics and started mapping out placement, keeping in mind the board’s directional shape.

Currently, I’m finalizing hook placement and planning to mount the board using repurposed nails through the existing binding holes. The project may look different from what I first imagined, but it’s becoming even more aligned with my original intent: to capture the essence of ski culture in a way that’s both personal and practical.