• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Projects
  • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Snapchat
    • Twitter
Noting Grace
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Projects
  • Shop
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About
    • Projects
    • Shop
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Blog

    How to Make a DIY Blanket Ladder

    by Jennifer Fancher 22 Comments Published: 2/16/22 Updated: 3/14/22 This post may contain affiliate links.

    3247 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    We were able to make this adorable DIY Blanket Ladder using that leftover wood for free. Here's how we did it.

    Do you have any scrap wood laying around?

    Is it a huge saftey hazard in your garage that you are constantly herding your children away from?

    Are you also afraid of what creepy crawly, spidery things might try to make a home in that pile of scrap wood?

    We were able to make this adorable DIY Blanket Ladder using that leftover wood for free.

    And we were able to make our garage a safer place for little ones and a momma much happier.

    Here's how we did it in just a few hours.

    In our garage, we've been storing this pile of wood that we saved from some repairs we made to our deck last summer.

    It was aged just right and too pretty to take to the dump.

    Honestly, that stack of wood was in the way and was starting to worry me with visions of 2 by 4s falling on my boys heads!

    So I came up with a simple idea to use the wood and free up the safety hazard in my garage.

    If you are struggling with blanket storage in your living room or just want easy access to your throw blankets for movie nights, then I got you covered!

    Table of Contents

    • How to Make a DIY Blanket Ladder
      • Cutting the wood
      • Preparing the wood
      • Antiquing the wood
      • Assembling the ladder
      • How much does it cost to make a blanket ladder?
      • How tall should a blanket ladder be?

    How to Make a DIY Blanket Ladder

    (Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)

    • Scrap piece of wood - the more weathered the better!
    • Miter Saw or circular saw
    • Sandpaper or sanding block
    • Spare Wood Screws
    • Tape Measure
    • Carpenter's Square
    • Drill
    • Wood Stain or Antiquing Glaze - I like this one
    • Felt Pads
    • Optional: Wood Glue
    • Safety goggles and mask

    Cutting the wood

    The type of wood doesn't matter. We used old pine boards for our ladder sides and used some deck balusters for the rungs.

    First we chose the pieces we were going to use and made fresh cuts to the ends with our Miter Saw. If you don't have a mitre saw, a circular saw would work great as well.

    Figure the length of the ladder legs and measure and cut the sides of the ladder

    By making fresh cuts to the ends, that helps ensure a straight edge.

    This is a great time to also cut the length of the ladder rungs as well as the rungs.

    TIP: Make sure that you take proper safety precautions and wear safety goggles and/or a mask when cutting your wood.

    Preparing the wood

    rinsing and cleaning old scrap wood

    The most important thing we did next was lightly sand the pieces with 180 grit sandpaper and then wash them thoroughly.

    You want the surface of the wood to be free of any rough edges that may snag your blankets.

    Since our wood was old pressure treated lumber exposed to the elements, I gave them a good scrub.

    Mostly because I didn't want any of those creepy crawlies left around! Especially on my soft blankets!

    If you set them out in the sun on a warm day, then it speeds up the drying time.

    Antiquing the wood

    As you can see above, my pieces weren't the same color after the sand/wash step.

    So I used a little antiquing glaze to add uniformity to the pieces.

    If you are repurposing old wood, you want to make sure you are paying particular attention to where your cuts were made as those fresh cuts will look differently than the older parts of the wood.

    You can also take your favorite stain and a paint brush to give it a fresh look.

    Or if you wanted find a fun way to add a pop of color to your home decor, you could also paint it! The great thing about this project is that you can truly make it your own!

    We were going for a weathered, worn look. If you don't have antiquing glaze, a dark walnut stain could achieve the same look as our rustic blanket ladder.

    Assembling the ladder

    Start by laying the long pieces on a flat surface.

    Then we eyeballed where our braces would go.

    So this is where your carpenter's square comes in handy to make sure your 'rungs' are level.

    Once you feel you find the distance between the rungs you like, take a measurement and place each rung at the same spacing.

    Of course, little hands had to join in as well.

    This is a perfect beginner project for anyone!

    But moments like these make for wonderful times of teaching and gave the boys a chance to be manly men next to their Daddy!

    Trent used the power tools while the boys helped hold the side rails in place.

    So it was a fun family afternoon helping us assemble the ladder.

    OPTIONAL TIP: You could add a little bit of wood glue before screwing the rungs to the ladder. Have an old rag on hand to wipe away any excess glue that may ooze out when you screw the rungs in place.

    That's it!

    Seriously - it was the easiest DIY project we've ever done! Plus it only took us about 2 hours total including the little teaching moments and drying time.

    close up of diy blanket ladder
    close up of diy blanket ladder

    Since we were planning on placing this against the wall, one design feature we opted for was to make slight angle cuts to the legs to allow for an easier 'lean' on the wall.

    The angle cuts would only work if you have a mitre saw.

    carved wood corbel

    I also added felt pads to the bottom of the ladder and also to the top where it leaned against the wall to prevent scratches to the floor or wall.

    It looks nice and aged and is certainly a perfect fit for an empty corner.

    close up of diy blanket ladder

    I placed our surveyor's stick that we found for free on a trash run to the dump.

    How awesome is that piece! I still can't believe someone was throwing that away!

    close up of diy blanket ladder

    How much does it cost to make a blanket ladder?

    There are a few different ways to get supplies for this simple tutorial.

    We were able to repurpose scrap wood and screws to build our own blanket ladder.

    But if you don't have scrap wood around, you can purchase wood at your local hardware store.

    A 10 foot 2 x 4 and an 8 foot 2 x 2 would be all you need to make a new blanket ladder for your home.

    In fact, at Home Depot, you can have them cut the wood for you at an extra cost. If you don't have power tools at home, it's worth the additional cost to have the wood cut by their machines.

    blanket ladder in family room

    How tall should a blanket ladder be?

    There is no set measurement for the sides or rungs of the ladder, but you could take your folded blanket to see the width you may need.

    Another option would be to take your measuring tape to where you are wanting the ladder blanket holder to rest. If you have a limited space, measuring before you make any cuts would be key.

    Our blanket ladder was about 5 feet tall and was about 2 feet wide when we used this in our Tennessee Home.

    After moving, we didn't have the same space, so I trimmed the rungs down to about 18-inch boards to make it smaller for our current home.

    So what do you think? Will you be making a wooden blanket ladder?

    In just a few hours with a few simple cuts and basic tools, you can create this simple DIY blanket ladder for your home.

    It's so easy peasy that y'all will be making one this weekend! Just grab your power tools and a scrap piece of wood!

    Have fun making one of these and if you do, be sure to send me a picture so I can see it!

    If you like this project, then you'll love some of my other Pallet Projects.

    « DIY Hand Lettered Artwork That You Can Make Today
    Basketweave Knit Coffee Cozy »

    Join the List

    for your weekly Noting Grace fix.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. tsights

      September 11, 2016 at 10:38 pm

      I just love this! It is absolutely my style. Plus my linen closet is overflowing. Please make me one lol

    2. Stacey

      April 29, 2016 at 2:15 pm

      I want one of these! You were so smart to make your own ladder and there are a lot of different fun things you can do with it. Thanks for the inspiration. Happy TOHOT. 🙂

    3. Kathleen Charm Bracelet Diva {At Home}

      April 29, 2016 at 10:18 am

      This is so lovely, DIY rustic farmhouse is my favorite! I'm stopping over from Thoughts of Home. Would love for you to join us over at our Vintage Charm Party! You can enter it here: http://charmbraceletdiva.blogspot.com/2016/04/vintage-charm-party-28.html

      Look forward to seeing you there! Have a great weekend! xo Kathleen Charm Bracelet Diva {At Home}

    4. Leslie

      April 28, 2016 at 12:48 pm

      That blanket ladder is gorgeous. We have a bunch of scrap wood in our garage, but I'm not sure it's the right sizes for that ladder. I'm definitely going to have to go check, though!

    5. Richella Parham

      April 28, 2016 at 6:18 am

      A great project with awesome results! Thanks so much for sharing this at the Grace at Home party. I'm featuring you this week!

    6. alicia brothers

      April 26, 2016 at 11:17 am

      What an awesome idea! Found you through a blog hop and I love this tutorial! I might just have to add this to our farmhouse

      xoxo
      Alicia

    7. Jennifer Fancher

      April 26, 2016 at 10:21 am

      Happy Day indeed! Love that you are inspired by little ole me! And your compliment about my photography made my week. I'm still learning and that is HUGE coming from someone as talented as you.

      Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    8. Jennifer Fancher

      April 26, 2016 at 10:19 am

      Yay! This made my day! Thank you so much for the feature!! I always love linking up and am honored to be included with all the other talented features!

    9. Jennifer Fancher

      April 26, 2016 at 10:17 am

      Great - glad it inspired you! Be sure to send me a pic of yours!

    10. Jennifer Fancher

      April 26, 2016 at 10:17 am

      It's a surveyor's stick used to measure land. One guy looks through a scope while the other guy holds a stick like this. I believe it measures the slope of the land. Hope that helps!

    11. Jennifer Fancher

      April 26, 2016 at 10:15 am

      Thanks, always, for hosting Laura. I love to link up and see what everyone else contributed!

    12. thistlewoodfarm

      April 25, 2016 at 8:38 pm

      Love your photography! You go girl!!!!! So happy to have met you at the Country Living Fair this weekend! What a fun project and now I'm glad I didn't get any ladders at the fair because I can make my own. 🙂

      Happy day!
      karianne

    13. Stephanie Confer

      April 25, 2016 at 7:26 pm

      Great job! Isn't it nice when you can turn your scrap pile into something functional?! I'm featuring your project at the Talented Tuesday Link Party!

    14. Debi Carser

      April 22, 2016 at 4:36 pm

      I really like how it turned out. It would be great for a cottage. I'm looking for something for our beach house for towels. Thanks for sharing!

    15. Anonymous

      April 22, 2016 at 8:16 am

      Lovely! Question, is that a ruler of some type to measure well depth??

    16. Laura Ingalls Gunn

      April 21, 2016 at 6:22 pm

      I'm pinning this for Mr. Decor. What an absolute delight this post is!!! Thank you so very much for joining the gathering at Thoughts of Home on Thursday.

    17. Jennifer Fancher

      April 21, 2016 at 8:09 am

      I always love linking up - thanks for hosting, Jemma!

    18. Jennifer Fancher

      April 21, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Thanks for checking it out Audra! Have a great weekend!

    19. [email protected]

      April 21, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Great project-it turned out positively wonderful! Pinned too:)
      Thanks so much for sharing this with us at TOHOT!
      Jemma

    20. Audra @ Renewed Projects

      April 20, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      I love when simple & functional meets cute! The felt pads on the bottom are a great idea!

    Primary Sidebar

    Jen and Trent Fancher of Noting Grace

    Hi, We're Jen and Trent!

    We’re the DIYers behind the projects here at Noting Grace. We know that having the home of our dreams isn’t a reality for most of us, but you can create a home you love with a little bit of ingenuity.

    Our hope is to encourage, inspire and provide you with all the tools to help you create a home with intention that you love to live in.

    Want to know a little about us?

    More about us →

    Latest Posts

    • Do Painted Floor Tiles Last - Our 2 Year Review
    • Welcome Home Saturday with Cloches and Lavender
    • How to Easily Make DIY Soundproof Panels
    • Welcome Home Saturday with Cottage on Bunker Hill

    Trending Now

    • How we Changed our Bathroom Tile for $150 bucks
    • The Epic Gift Guide for Musicians and Music Lovers
    • 3 Secret Tricks to Removing Popcorn Ceilings
    • DIY Flooring: How We Changed our Kitchen in 3 days for Less than $400

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Meet Jen & Trent

    ABOUT
    PRIVACY POLICY
    DISCLOSURES

    Newsletter

    FREE PRINTABLES
    SUBSCRIBE to our Newsletter

    Contact

    CONTACT
    WORK WITH US /
    Brand Partnerships

    Noting Grace is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed
    to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

    COPYRIGHT © 2022 NOTING GRACE

    3247 shares