We are a little ladder obsessed. I'm not sure what it is but we use ladders for everything from reaching high places (duh, that's what ladders are for!) to using them as a stand to photograph recipe creations on. Elsie found this inexpensive ladder at a flea market and wanted to add some simple shelves for holding books or potted plants.
The paint color she choose is Golden Avocado (from Valspar). Adding shelves to the ladder was a similar process as this golden side table. Trying to retrofit a ladder for shelves proved to be a little bit more complicated than I anticipated. Here's why.
I thought simply adding a few planks of wood the appropriate length would be enough but then I found that the rungs on one side of the ladder were slightly shorter than the other. This caused our shelves to slope downward, so much so that I worried display items might slide if we didn't try to fix the issue.
Our quick fix solution was to add a short piece of wood to the edge of the shelf planks to try and give the shelf more height. We used wood glue to secure the pieces together. In the above photo I have the shelf laying upside down while the glue dried. After the shelves were completed we finished painting and put everything together.
From this angle you can see how many planks we ended up using for each shelf. The shelves are not perfect but they look great in this display and I love how you can easily remove them to either repaint or use the ladder for it's original purpose. xo. Emma + Elsie




I love the project :)
Great post, as usual :)
Posted by: Diana | February 14, 2013 at 01:26 PM
If you guys ever have a garage sale, I'll be the first person there!
Lauren at http://inbetweenidols.blogspot.com
Posted by: Lauren S. | February 14, 2013 at 01:34 PM
Very cool! Love the color you used and it is so gorgeous.
Wonderful idea, as always!!
All the best,
Jeanine
Posted by: Jeanine | February 14, 2013 at 01:38 PM
I love this idea of using a ladder as shelving! so adorable, and adds so much character to a room <3
Posted by: kelsey {from p.s.heart} | February 14, 2013 at 01:44 PM
This color is so darling! Thanks for sharing! :)
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Posted by: Jessica | February 14, 2013 at 01:48 PM
this is great!
Posted by: anne | February 14, 2013 at 01:55 PM
What a wonderful idea and touch to add to a room!
Lovely post!
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Posted by: Sonia | February 14, 2013 at 02:00 PM
Great idea! I seriously need to create space in my house ;) xx
ENTER MY GIVEAWAY
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Posted by: Eva | February 14, 2013 at 02:03 PM
Love the colour! Great idea :)
Lulu xx
http://luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com
Posted by: Lulu | February 14, 2013 at 02:14 PM
What a cute DIY project!
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Posted by: Sarah | February 14, 2013 at 02:16 PM
I absolutely love this! I adore ladder displays but they're just so narrow and theres not much you can put. This is genius and the color is amazing!
Melissa
http://shakeshakee.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HEXNAILJEWELRY
Posted by: melissa | February 14, 2013 at 02:18 PM
I love it!! Beautiful idea and I really love the color :)
Posted by: Nina - Carolina | February 14, 2013 at 02:22 PM
I am totally in love with this color choice. I doubt I would have picked it off a paint chip, but I can't argue with the results. :)
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Posted by: Allyson | February 14, 2013 at 02:27 PM
Such a pretty, pretty idea! I absolutely love this one!
xo Heather
http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Heather | February 14, 2013 at 02:39 PM
very clever, and I also Love the color x
Posted by: Lisa | February 14, 2013 at 02:42 PM
That looks great. I like it. Have a nice day.
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Posted by: Denisa | February 14, 2013 at 02:47 PM
I LOVE that. Like...love love it. I need a ladder now....
Posted by: Lauren | February 14, 2013 at 02:51 PM
This looks so nice! Love the colour!
Katie x
http://thegravityandshe.blogspot.co.uk
Posted by: Katie | February 14, 2013 at 02:53 PM
great idea, so is the colour!
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Posted by: isabel | February 14, 2013 at 02:56 PM
Very pretty. I love the color, too.
Posted by: Flora | February 14, 2013 at 02:56 PM