DIY blanket ladder for $10

You might think this is an odd time of year to write about building a blanket ladder. But if that’s the case, you probably aren’t from Nova Scotia.

Blankets are kind of a year-round thing — at least in our (chilly) house where we refuse to turn on the heat between April and November.

Blanket ladders, sometimes called quilt ladders, are really coming back into style, and I’m glad. It’s so convenient to have a designated spot for throws in the living room and it would be great in a guest room, too.

I knew it would be simple to make a blanket ladder, (pictured to the left) but it was even easier than I figured. It’s literally just a ladder . . . and mine cost less than $10 to make. Ten bucks for a workhorse that stores three to four blankets at all times? Yes, please!

All you need is three 2×2 inch boards that are eight feet long. These are my new favourite because they’re so sturdy but still small and easy to saw. (Sawing 2×4 inch boards makes me a little jittery, which is admittedly ridiculous since they’re not any thicker.)

Two of your boards are already perfect — no cuts required — unless you want a blanket ladder that’s shorter than eight feet.

Some homeowners secure their blanket ladders to the wall, but I wanted mine to lean, so I nipped off the bottoms on a slight angle.

To make the ladder rungs, I chopped the third board into five smaller pieces and trimmed them to make them exactly the same length.

There’s not much to say for the construction. It took me about two minutes to screw the five rungs into the vertical boards — only roughly measuring (i.e. eyeballing) to make sure they were close to the same distance apart. I knew the lowest rung would just be decorative, since it was too close to the floor to hold a blanket.

I originally stained the vertical pieces and then painted the rungs taupe …

… but I got bored with it quickly and repainted the entire thing navy (Midnight Blue by Fusion Mineral Paint). Since it holds mostly neutral blankets, it’s nice to have a dark contrasting colour.

It’s been a chilly spring and our new blanket ladders has gotten a lot of use. The kids love grabbing a furry throw and wrapping themselves up in the morning — likely because they’re wearing summer PJs and the house is freezing. I like taking one of the quilts I’ve made and laying it over my lap while I cross-stitch at night. The dog uses the blankets more than any of us, actually. She’s a big napper.

My favourite part about our new blanket ladder is that our main-floor quilts and blankets have a designated home. Everybody knows where they go, and there are no excuses for not putting them away.

Even the kids can fold them and re-hang them neatly, which is worth way more than the $10 it cost to build. 😉