So my husband recently took up woodworking, which I am SUPER excited about (Oh, all the projects he can do for me!). I’ve already got a whole Pinterest board of stuff for him to make me.
One of the first projects we worked on together was a blanket ladder, which I’ve always wanted but could never find the strength to spend over $100 on it. Casually, I dropped a hint (or a Pin!) to my husband, and it magically worked! The next thing I know, my husband is asking me for specifics so he could make it for me.
We found a blanket ladder plan from Ana White that I loved, and then the fun part began! It was super easy, just needing a few materials to begin.
Materials Needed:
2×4 pieces of wood
Stain (we also used a pre stain wood conditioner and a poly acrylic sealer)
Equipment Needed:
Circular saw (or anything that can cut wood)
Sander (or you can sand by hand, but it will take a bit longer)
Step 1: Cut your pieces to length. We did about 86″ tall for the sides and each rung was 18″ across.
Step 2: Sand your pieces down. (You want it to be pretty smooth so that your blankets don’t catch on it. We sanded it, stained and sealed it, then sanded it again, then sealed it again. It was pretty tedious but worth it if you want it to be smooth.)
Step 3: Condition your wood with a pre stain conditioner.
Step 4: Stain your wood. I wanted a rustic look to my ladder and found a stain by Varathane called Briarsmoke that I loved. I also wanted a lot of the natural grain to show through so I wiped the stain off as soon I applied it so it was just a light layer.
Step 5: Apply a protective coating. I used a semi-gloss poly acrylic coating.
(Step 5b: Sand the pieces again and do another layer of coating.)
Step 6: Screw the rungs onto the ladder. We used 2.5″ gold construction screws. Since our ladder was 86″ tall, we spaced the rungs 13″ apart with the end pieces being 12″ from the top and bottom.
Step 7: Decorate with blankets. And, voila! Now you have yourself your very own blanket ladder at a fraction of the cost.
I had a TON of fun doing this project with my husband, and I can’t wait to build more things together!
