Make it from pvc pipe, and your bf is right. Make it from iron pipe and paint it white, and it could hold mink coats, no problem.

The link only goes tot he jpg and not the instructions but if it's steel pipe, it should be sturdy enough to hold a fair amount of clothing. If it's PVC, it'll be really flimsy.

I agree with m'elizabeth. The one in the pic looks like it's made from iron pipe. PVC and copper would probably both be too light.

If you do go ahead with it and are worried about the stability, you could always make the base a bit deeper, or you could fill the support pipes with something heavy like sand or stones.

I used pvc for a curtain rod, and I needed to strengthen it by putting a wooden dowel inside the rod. It's still not great. I used electrical conduit to build a drying rack for wet clothes, and that works awesome. About 10 years ago, when copper was cheap, I built stuff out of that too.

Making it from galvanized steel and painting it white will give you a VERY sturdy rack.

It looks top heavy. I would make the base wider so it is more sturdy.

Go for the black iron pipe (indoors only) or galvanized (some rust resistance). Under no means should PVC be used for connectors or pipes, it's too flimsy.

I have built this and can share a few tips:
Very important, and not shown in the photo: If you are using threaded connectors, you will need an extra connector called a union, used to join two threaded pipes in a straight line. Otherwise you cannot complete the square that makes up the hanging rail, sides, and lower rail.

An alternative to threaded connectors is to use Kee Klamps (R) or similar. You would insert an unthreaded pipe end into the connector and tighten it with a set screw. This method of building is much easier to measure and assemble, TRUST ME. Little more expensive, though.

Finally, you absolutely must wash the pipes to remove grease and oils that would damage your clothes and/or cause paint not to stick.

Cool project. Good luck with it.

Yep, use steel pipe and fill the bottom pipes with something like a bag of lead BBs, (lead is very heavy) and it'll be very sturdy.

BB's might be noisy though, so you might want to go with sand or a mix of BB's and concrete.

If you're very worried about tipping (say, if you have kids or dogs) you could make a VERY similar looking rod that just has a pipe going off the back to the wall and screw it in place. It would still look very nice, though it would no longer be portable.

I made a rolling rack out of metal pipes. Mine is about 4 feet long with pipes that are 1.25 inches diameter. I haven't had any problems with the pipes even remotely bending or not being strong enough. You can figure out your dimensions and the hardware store can cut pipes to fit. I would suggest making the base wider so that it doesn't capsize as you shove hangers.

Further to Splomo's comment, when you get the pipes cut, you can get them threaded as well so that you can use regular elbow/t-joint/flanges for connector. Just make sure to get the right diameter. And DO wash the pipes before assembling. The cutting/threading machine uses a very oily lubricant which will get all over your clothes if you don't.

I made a closet sort-of like this with PVC pipe in graduate school (including a few decorative faucets). We used the stronger gauge of PVC, and solvent to make the joints sturdy. It didn't fall down, but it was really ugly (large base for stability).

So, this is a little bit of a re-hash, but I've done similar and my roommate has done nearly the exact thing as this picture. First, as others have said, definitely use steel pipe and paint it. It's cheap, you can get it threaded, and it just takes a little diagramming before you buy to get all the right pieces. As for the base, make sure it is wide enough. I can't imagine needing to weight it down, though. And USE FLANGES or casters as your base. They will give you the stability you need. If you use flanges and have hardwood, I'd suggest felting the bottoms of the flanges, too.

Thanks everyone for the great advice! We currently have an Ikea rack that is not at all sturdy so I really wanted something a bit more functional. Sounds pretty easy so we'll get started this weekend!

You could do pull-ups on that coat rack, no problem. Looks like 3/4" black iron. I agree with the other comments that it might be a little tippy, but you can easily use longer pieces of pipe on the base and that should take care of the problem. When you get your supplies at home depot, make sure the person threading your pipe knows how to use the machine- I did a closet project once and the dude running the machine didn't run the pipe all the way through the die, so the pipe wouldn't go into the fitting. I had to take my pieces of pipe to the shop at work and thread them myself late at night. Also, make sure you get some furniture pads to stick to the legs- I would use pipe caps on the bottoms and get sticky furniture felts to keep from marring my floor.

would anyone know where i can find that cat print?

I have one of the cheap ones from Target, and it's been holding up all of my costumes (I'm a costumer, so it's full!) for some time now. All I really had to do was tape over all the joints and it's good to go. That's the trick: reinforcing the seams.

I also bought a cheap one from Target and used it for all of my clothes... and then everything fell over and fell apart.

Go to urban outfitters and check out what they hang their clothes on...it looks just like this.