DIY Blanket Ladder
It's fall/winter season and if you're like me, you probably have a million blankets laying around. Looking for a unique piece of rustic and functional décor to add to your room? A blanket ladder may be the solution. I’ve been wanting one of these so bad (let me tell you, it’s tempting not to buy all the ones I’ve seen), but I also wanted to add my own personal touch and save some money as well..so here’s where a fun DIY project comes in!
What’s great about this one is that it doesn’t take an expert to build this...I will be honest, I had help from my husband but he just loves doing wood projects anyway (I begged him to do this one though :) ).
What I love about it is it adds great height to the room and holds 3-4 blankets perfectly without taking up a ton of space. It’s actually a space saver if you think about all the blankets you have laying around. I’ve even seen some inspiration to take the blanket ladder to the next level by adding a basket to the top, magnolia wreaths, and so many other ideas. I’ll get to that at some point, but for now blankets only!
Here’s how I made my ladder..
Materials needed:
2-6 ft 1x4 boards (to be used as the sides of the ladder)
1- 6 ft. ¾” dowel rod, cut into 4- 18” pieces (to hold the blankets)
Long screws
Wood stain (my favorite is dark walnut)
Paste finishing wax (optional)
Level
Bristle brush
Rag
Old towel
Directions:
Once we got all of the materials from our local hardware store, we laid out all of the pieces and spaced out how far apart we wanted the rods. We ended up spacing them 14 ½ inches apart and marked where each piece would be drilled. We drilled each rod into one side of the board. We found it easier to screw it in a little bit then hand twist it into the rod to make sure it was secure. Now here comes the tricky part..making sure it was perfectly level when the other side of the rods were drilled into the other board. We made sure to have a level handy with us to make sure the rods were perfectly even.
Once all of the pieces were secure, I wiped the ladder down really well to prepare for the next step..staining. I’ve actually never had experience with staining before, I’ve always used regular paint. What I love about stain is it allows the natural wood to show through, including all of the imperfections which is my favorite. I used a bristle brush to apply the stain evenly on the ladder. As I applied the stain I took my old rag and wiped down to make sure there were no drips. You may think that you’re wiping it all away, but no worries, the stain is meant to soak into the wood not cover the entire wood. If you’re looking to cover the wood, consider using paint instead.
Once the whole ladder is stained, let it dry for at least 24 hours in a well vented area (preferably a garage, shed, etc.). I actually had to let mine air out for a few days since the odor of stain is strong. To finish it off you can add some paste finishing wax. You don’t have to apply this, but it does help protect the wood.
The finished product turned out to be AMAZING. I was able to customize how light/dark I wanted it to look and the size of ladder. This size is just perfect for the space and really gives the other corner of our living room some attention now.
The best part..we did this all under $15!
Happy DIY-ing, friends!
