This article was originally published in the May 2016 issue of Cottage Life magazine.
Use up leftover copper pipe from your last plumbing job, and make yourself a shiny new matching hardware set. We made bathroom fixtures, but you can make a lot with pipe fittings. Think of it as Lego for adults.
To make wall hooks, drill a hole through a copper cap, and screw it to the wall. Attach a 1″ length of pipe and a 45° elbow. Then stick a T-joint onto the elbow, and add 1″ pipe lengths and caps to the ends. A few dabs of epoxy will hold everything in place.
For the towel bar, make two hooks as above, but with 24″ of pipe in between. The toilet-paper holder is just three pipe lengths connected with elbows; hang it using copper brackets. Voila! Almost as much fun as a Lego starship.