My wife wanted something our daughters could hang their school backpacks on, but it needed to be decorative and fit the rustic look in our house. Full of text books, their backpacks are very heavy. So, we mounted a flat piece of oak to the wall that was wide enough to be screwed into the studs in the wall, and then mounted the coat rack to the oak board which is about 2 feet off the ground. So with a little reinforcement, this coat rack is plenty strong enough to hold the heavy backpacks, AND it is a beautiful piece of decor, as well. My wife loves it!
