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 really like this!
xo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
Posted by: Jennifer | February 14, 2013 at 03:05 PM
Super cute idea! This would be great for outdoor plants too!
xx Allison
http://www.thrifted.ca
Posted by: Allison | February 14, 2013 at 03:06 PM
That is super cute. I have an old ladder in my garage that would be perfect for this - I never thought of making it part of my decor!
Posted by: Kristin | February 14, 2013 at 03:15 PM
Adding a bit of color will really brighten a room, plus, the small imperfections add to the character. :)
Posted by: Lisa @ SoTeaBeeZa | February 14, 2013 at 03:17 PM
Such an awesome idea and I love the colour!
Posted by: Becky | February 14, 2013 at 03:20 PM
first of all, 'golden avocado' is the best paint name ever.
second of all, this idea is wonderful. i like the different heights of things displayed, especially the abundance of plants.
M.
Posted by: Monica | February 14, 2013 at 03:31 PM
adorable! and love the color of the pain chosen too! xx. gigi. food and beauty blogger @ www.gigikkitchen.blogspot.com
Posted by: gigi | February 14, 2013 at 03:35 PM
Love it, love it! And the paint color too!
Posted by: sarah kate branine | February 14, 2013 at 03:35 PM
This looks great! I understand why you love ladders so much, this looks awesome!
Posted by: Marielle | February 14, 2013 at 03:38 PM
totally genius!
Posted by: Molly {Dreams in HD} | February 14, 2013 at 03:45 PM
Such a great idea! Now I need to find a ladder...
Jillian httpe://epic-thread.blogspot.com
Posted by: Jillian | February 14, 2013 at 03:47 PM
This probably one of my favourite DIYs ever! Ladder-love.
xx Kaisa
http://reindeertrails.blogspot.com.es
Posted by: Kaisa | February 14, 2013 at 03:48 PM
I love this. So creative.
-Jess
http://JessicasWonderland.com
Posted by: Jess Dynarski | February 14, 2013 at 04:00 PM
This is an amazing restyle project!
Posted by: Casandra Mastrangelo | February 14, 2013 at 04:03 PM
That a great a idea! It would look great in a balcony :)
Kisses
Posted by: The Daily Miacis | February 14, 2013 at 04:12 PM
This is awesome. All this home decor inspiration is great. Sometime in the next two years..I'm going to have my own place and finally be able to implement many of these cool ideas! :)
I especially love when you guys restyle something that is super common and super easy to find. Love love!
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Posted by: Dosta Radnjanska | February 14, 2013 at 05:26 PM
Gorgeous!! LOVE this :)
Posted by: Carli | February 14, 2013 at 05:29 PM
Ooo, I love this - it looks fantastic!! The yellow is such a great pop.
Posted by: Rachel | February 14, 2013 at 06:04 PM
That is a good idea for the ladder! It is still functional, but also put to good use as an art display, nice!
Posted by: Rachel | February 14, 2013 at 06:08 PM