You Will Need…

Remote control caddy supplies

My particular caddy holds four remotes. I used 1/8″ black pipe with the following fittings:

Pipe:

• 2 – 2”
• 5 – 3”
• 2 – 4”
• 2 – Closes
• 3 – Couplings
• 4 – 90 Elbows
• 2 – Pipe Caps
• 2 – Tees

Other:

• 4 Magnetic Hooks
• Horsehair braid:
  • Narrow – 2 ft
  • Wide – 1 ft
• Stapler
• Straight pins
• Epoxy glue (optional)
• Self stick foam (optional)*

Horsehair braid is a type of tubular crinoline netting that is used to provide structure and give body to hems, hats and sleeves. For this project, it provides just enough flexibility to withstand the constant motion of placing and removing the remotes.

The schematic above will help you identify the pieces when assembling.

* Note: As an option, you can add self stick foam onto the front and back of the magnet hooks to give the remotes something soft to rest on. Just peel the backing, stick it on and cut around the edges (and the magnet to expose it) with an X-acto knife. If you look closely at the opening picture, you’ll see I covered the magnet hooks with black foam in this way.

Determine the Configuration

Trial Run

The size of the caddy will based on the number of remotes you have and how long they are, so it may take a little trial and error to determine the best configuration, size and scale for your own caddy. For instance, if your remotes are shorter than ours, you may not need 4″ pipe on the sides; maybe you could get away with using 3″ pipe instead.

In a nutshell, there are 3 main steps to putting this together: the pipe, the sling (made of the horsehair braid) and the magnets. I did a trial run first by putting everything together to make sure our particular remotes would fit. When twisting the pieces together for the trial, don’t over-tighten or they may be difficult to get apart again.

There are two tests of a good design: does the sling work and is the back of the remotes supported by the pipe? I tested both by putting the remotes into the loops of the sling and removing them again to make sure the fit was snug enough to hold them but loose enough to pull out when they’re in use. If the back of each of the various remotes makes contact with the pipe, you’re good to go. Once I was happy with the design, I took the top part off so I could slide the sling off.

To Start (refer to schematic in Picture 1)

To put the pipe together, start at the bottom by making two legs out of 4″ pipe with caps on the ends. Twist these pieces onto the two tees. Join them together in the middle with a 3″ piece, and add 2″ pieces on the outside followed by the elbows. At the top of the elbow, twist on 4″ pieces for the vertical sides.

To make the sling, I used two different widths of horsehair braid. I applied the narrow braid on top of the wider one, which acted as a backing. I secured them both to one side of the pipe using a straight pin to hold it in place. Then I measured Hubs’ remotes to determine how big the opening needed to be for each one. I left slack in the top piece to accommodate each remote and fastened it to the backing it with a pin so I ended up with ‘loops’. I fastened both pieces of braid to the other side of the pipe, again using a pin.

Attach Horsehair Braid

Once I was happy with the fit, I slid the braid off of the pipes, then I used a very specialized piece of equipment to permanently secure the loops in the braid where I placed my pins – a stapler! Using a stapler is the quick and lazy way to put together the sling that holds the remotes. It not only does the trick, but it works well with the industrial look I was going for.

Slide the braid back onto the frame.

Trim away any extra braid from the sides.

Close Pipe

Continue building the top piece until it’s fully enclosed: start by adding elbows to both sides.

Then assemble the upper horizontal support separately starting with a coupling in the middle.

On either side, twist on 3″ pieces of pipe, another coupling and then a close.

To get the horizontal support in place, insert it into the elbow and twist into place. Pull the sides of the frame apart and ease the pipe into the elbow fitting on the other side.

Snug it in until it nestles into place; it will hold together with gravity. Make sure everything is fitting tightly. Twist pieces as necessary to adjust the fit.

Ensure Frame Is Angled

Here’s how the frame should look when assembled before the magnets are added. Notice in the second picture that the frame is angled back – not straight up and down – to support the remotes.

If yours isn’t angled, you can easily press down on the legs and tilt back to adjust it. Once you have it the way you want it, make sure all the pipes are tightened.

Remote control caddy side view

Bottom Rest

The tricky part of this project is getting the remotes to rest properly on the bottom of the pipe since it is curved. Magnetic hooks solve that dilemma since they stick to iron and can be positioned to hold the remotes. I remembered I had three of them in a drawer – reclaimed from the days we had magnets on our fridge. You’ll need about one magnet for each remote. Luckily I also had an unopened package because I needed four magnetic hooks for this project!

By positioning the magnetic hooks on pipe along the bottom, and tilting them backward, it provides a perfect angle to rest the remotes on. If you have young kids in the house though, secure them with epoxy glue and let dry so they can’t be removed.

Here’s a closeup of the magnet:

The hook part of the magnet supports the back of the remote to keep it in place at the bottom.

The next picture shows how it looks from the back with the remotes resting on the magnetic hooks.

If you’re a visual learner, watch this quick video to see it come together in no time at all.:

Remote Control Caddy Video

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Time to Bring the Lazy Boy Wannabe and La-Z-Boy Together

The remote control caddy is a great enabler to help you spend a lazy weekend on the couch watching TV. Here’s my lazy boy wannable hard at work on his mancave during its completion.

Hubs’ final project for the mancave was to build himself this pipe table to go with his new remote caddy.

With the basement reno finally complete and the TV remote control caddy set up on his side table, Hubs can finally kick back in his mancave and enjoy! Now my lazy boy wannabe can chillax on his La-z-boy sofa with his remote controls at his finger tips. I can’t wait to see his best imitation of a couch potato; not all wives would say this, but I sincerely hope it lasts a while too 🙂

Remote Control Caddy Variations

After making the original prototype for Hubs, I made a new and improved version as gifts for my sister and brother-in-law using cork ribbon and black horsehair braid. The cork ribbon was wide, so I ended up cutting it narrower as shown below.

To make it more child-friendly, I used the plastic clips from a dollar store package of string lights to replace the magnetic hooks on the bottom.

The clips just snap right onto the pipe at the bottom of the caddy. They are difficult to remove and don’t require glue to keep them in place so are safer around the prying hands of little ones.

Instead of the twist-on metal end caps, I replaced them with these rubber tips. These are left over from Hubs’s kiting days and fit perfectly on the ends. They are a better choice because they help protect the table surface.

Whereas Hubs’ caddy had room for four remotes, I had to adapt the size of the caddy to fit three remotes for my sister and only two remotes for my brother-in-law.

To make these sturdier for gift giving, I sewed the horsehair braid to the ribbon with black thread instead of using the stapler.

Here they are the two different sizes side by side….

…. and from the back:

For the caddy holding three remotes, I place the clips facing backward: