Table of Contents
What is a hook?
Immediately, the answer is almost self-evident, because we know hooks as parts that we mount on a wall to be able to hang something up.
But hooks come in many shapes, figures and materials - and in addition to individual hooks, you can also get a row of hooks that has several hooks combined in the same product.
If you were heading in to read about the phrase 'you're a knag', then look no further, because that's a whole other story, probably referring to either the practicality of a knag nearby or the related word 'knast ', there is something 'central' and 'essential' in many pieces of wood.
Hooks in different designs
There are almost as many different design options for a hook as there are creative people - but of course there are some elements that typically repeat themselves and some things to consider before buying a hook.
The traditional design
A hook is essentially a practical object, and its purpose is to provide an opportunity to hang something up.
If you don't care much about design, then it is probably not important to you exactly how the hook is designed.
However, a lot of people want a hook that fits the decor in the home, and here in Denmark we are quite famous for our stylish and minimalist decor with a focus on simplicity and quality.
The form is important
The vast majority of hooks you see - have their origins in the shape of a hook that faces upwards.
The picture: Gatis - wooden hook
A hook must 'point upwards', otherwise your jacket, tea towel and the like will fall down.
The Gatis hook that you see above - is a good example of a hook with a good slope and at the same time a nice and stylish design - and it is also one of the most popular hooks in the shop (and it is available in both natural and brown)
Hooks in such a design can hold many different things: jackets, tea towels, bags, etc.
If, on the other hand, you take a hook such as the Raitis hook (further down), then it is not suitable for things that require a large hook that points a lot upwards.
Conversely, you get two hooks in one, so there are several things to consider when looking for new hooks.
Hooks can be straight, crooked, curved - but generally the traditional design basically offers a hook function.
The picture: Raitis - hook in dark wood with two hooks
Coat rack
You can choose to buy a certain number of loose hooks and install them - but you can also choose to buy a row of hooks.
As the word suggests, it is a number of hooks, placed in a row with the purpose of giving the opportunity to hang several things in the same place - and with the advantage that you only need to mount once - and then you get more hooks out of it.
That's not to say that the coat rack is the lazy choice :) The coat rack is a practical and often relatively cheap choice that works really well in many rooms.
Coat racks come in many different designs but are always characterized by offering several hanging options in the same product.
The disadvantage of the coat rack compared to individual hooks is that you will not be able to place your hooks in an individual pattern with a coat rack.
Conversely, you have the option if you buy individual hooks and, for example, want to place them staggered, which I have seen in their entrance hall, for example.
The picture: Raitis in light wood - with two hooks
The creative solutions
In addition to the traditional shapes and designs, there are also a lot of creative solutions that give your interior a unique look.
Here in the shop, the category with hooks offers, for example, hooks in an organic teardrop shape, as well as you can get a hook designed with inspiration from the animal world - namely a deer.
You may also have seen the funny take on a hook from the creator of Mr. P (the urinal lamp, as it is popularly called here at home :)? Here is Mr. P's front step made into a hook that stands out nicely in the room, and it is available in a lot of different colors.
It is almost only the imagination that sets the limits if you do a search for funny hooks on Google, because you can get hooks designed as, for example, a clamp, almost all different animal heads, the butt of a dog, the third finger on the right hand in an extended state, smiley faces, figures that climb up the wall and a lot of other creative inventions.
Perhaps the classic design fits in best in certain parts of your home, while the fun and cheeky solutions fit in better in other parts of the interior - the possibilities are many.
The picture: Aivars - drop-shaped hook in light oak
Hooks in different materials
When it comes to choosing materials, you have many options to find a hook that fits your interior.
Tree
Wood is one of the most frequently used materials for hooks, and there are also several great advantages to using wood in your interior design:
- Wood is unique - no two products are alike
- Wood gives something natural and warm to your decor
- Wood in organic forms is often a very good solution and a good counterpoint to a minimalist interior design with clean, straight lines
- Wood is a natural material that lasts for many years
- Wood is an environmentally sound and sustainable choice
But wood is of course not just wood. There are countless varieties of wood and types of wood products.
Oak tree
A completely obvious choice and perhaps one of the tastiest choices for wooden hangers is oak.
Oak here is a really beautiful, light colour, and it is a very durable and strong type of wood that is very suitable for the production of e.g. wooden hooks , floating shelves and furniture in general.
Generally speaking, there are two ways to cut oak, which is very much reflected in how it ends up looking:
- Planar cut is the cheap way to cut oak. You cut through the entire tree and get large planks out of it with great variety and clear and large grain rings
- Quarter cut is a more expensive way to cut the wood. Planks are warped out of a quarter log to get a more uniform cut with greater strength and fewer grain rings and knots
In this blog post you can read more about the two methods of cutting the wood.
The challenge with oak is that it is also a slightly more expensive type of wood to use, at least if you are talking about solid oak.
Beech
A cheaper alternative is beech wood, which is a light wood - just like oak. Beech wood has a slightly reddish sheen and is also a type of wood that is widely used in Denmark because we have so many of them.
The beech wood is strong and uniform in structure, just like oak, but beech has the disadvantage that it continues to 'work' even after it is thoroughly dried. This makes it particularly susceptible to moisture.
Ash tree
The ash tree is another light type of wood that has many similarities with oak, however it is not as resistant to moisture as oak.
The prices of ash wood and oak are very close, so most people therefore choose to go with the slightly more golden oak in their choice of material.
The difference between solid wood and veneer
A solid wood product means that it is pure wood of the same type of wood throughout.
A cheaper solution is veneer, where plywood is particularly popular.
However, there are other significant differences than the price of solid wood and veneer.
Generally, plywood is used for thinner products. With plywood, many layers of wood are glued together, and veneer planks are very thinly cut lengthwise from the trunk.
You can read much more about the difference in this blog post
The vast majority of wooden hooks will typically be made of solid wood, as you want a look that matches the advantages that solid wood provides - namely that one piece of processed wood hangs on the wall rather than a product with several, visible layers.
Metal
Metal is another popular material for hooks. It will typically be either lacquered iron or stainless steel used for metal hooks, and it gives a completely different look to a wooden hook.
Metal hooks will typically give a more rigorous look with a slightly industrial look to it.
At the same time, the expression will be more raw and robust and take up more space.
Many people buy metal hooks for the bathroom to match the other elements, which are typically made of stainless steel.
Plastic
I'll just mention plastic as an option as well. Plastic can be used for many things, and hard plastic is therefore also used as a material for hooks. Typically it is painted in one color - and the price is often at the low end, because plastic is a cheap but unfortunately not very sustainable choice.
Combinations of several materials
You also have the option of finding a hook in a combination of several materials.
For example, the deer model here in the shop is made from a combination of ash wood and either brass or stainless steel, and it's a really nice and elegant way to combine two materials, and it gives a good opportunity to make it match your existing interior.
Image: Deer - wooden hook with steel antlers
Another thing you also come across - especially with coat racks - is a combination of a wooden 'skeleton' with metal hooks or arms.
The combination of wood and metal is interesting because it aims to combine the cool metal with the warm wood, which fits well with many styles.
Typically you see that the arm has a tilting function, so you tilt it down when you have to hang up your jacket.
Metal in combination with other materials such as cork is also a possible solution if you are looking for hooks in several, composite materials.
Here again it is the interplay between the industrial metal and a softer black that is aimed at, and it is actually somewhat the same story if we look, for example, at wooden hooks with details in plastic, where there is ample opportunity to combine the natural color and glow of the wood with, for example, a plastic dut full of color and life.
Hooks with finesse
There are both completely ordinary hooks - but there are also hooks that have fun features, special designs or stand out in some other way.
I have previously mentioned the hooks where, for example, you get two hooks out of one hook - or where the hook is designed so that it looks like an animal or something else, but subtleties are also about the little things that you otherwise don't notice.
For example, the Gatis hook here in the shop is not the same at both ends. One end is pointed with soft edges - while the other end is completely rounded with soft edges.
Another example is also the drop-shaped hook from Normann, which is designed in 3D and gives a nice depth - or the coat hanger range from the same company, which is designed as a lot of metal hangers that go criss-crossing and really puts a smile on the lip.
Installation of hooks
Some of the subtleties that are not so visible are usually found out when the hook needs to be installed - just like with wooden floating shelves .
The traditional and easiest method is to make a hole in the hook, where you then screw the screw through so that it holds the hook in place.
The advantage is that it is easy to draw up where to drill. The disadvantage is that you can see the screw visibly when the hook is fitted.
The solution with which the hooks here in the shop are mounted is via hidden screws - in several different ways.
Some of the hooks are hung by mounting two screws in the wall, into which the hook is then inserted and pulled down so that it locks into a 'keyhole' in the back of the hook.
Another method is with a single screw with two heads, where one part is screwed into the wall and the other part into the hook, which is then turned on.
Finally, there are also hooks where you first mount a punched 'base' - over which the hook is then placed.
The disadvantage is that it takes a little longer to measure up - on the other hand, the screws are hidden once the hook is mounted.
Finally, there is also the option of completely avoiding drilling - namely using double-sided tape.
It has the great advantage that it is very easy to go to. The disadvantages are that, firstly, you don't get the same load-bearing capacity as if you mount with screws - and secondly, you run the risk of damaging some of the wall's wallpaper, plaster or similar, if one day you want to remove the double-stick tape.
There are therefore several different options according to temperament, and often the installation is thought of as part of the design - and is sometimes also reflected in the price.
Manufacture of hooks
Hooks are made in many different ways.
There are the cheap, mass-produced hooks, which are manufactured in factories by the thousands, and which perfectly fulfill a need to be able to hang something.
It is typically industrial design and materials such as iron or plastic, where function and price are the things that are highly valued.
Within wooden hooks, there is a little more work in creating a delicious material, but here too there are large factories that specialize in creating delicious products in wood. However, there is a big difference in where the hooks are produced, which wood is used, whether sustainability and local materials are considered - or whether the focus is on a low cost price.
Finally, there are the smaller manufacturers, which are typically a small company, a carpentry workshop or a similar type of production, where there is a limit on how many wooden hooks you can produce, when the quality must still be top notch.
Typically, both the cost price and the retail price are higher here, because there are no economies of scale and because much of the work is done by hand - e.g. sanding and painting.
If it is also manufactured in the EU, the hourly price is higher, and this is reflected in the price of the product.
However, it is worth noting that in both Denmark and the EU we generally have fairly high standards in the production of wood, so you can usually expect to get a product that is delicious and created with the aim of delivering high quality.
If you look a little away from the big mainstream brands, you will also find some unique hooks, where there is a passion for both design and manufacturing, and where the focus is on creating something special, and then the price is also higher.
In return, you get something unique - and something that will last for many years, and which you can enjoy.
Have fun hunting for your next hooks.
