15 Creative Ways to Use Ladders in Home Decor

“Hey dad!  What you gonna do with that old ladder?”

I was in one of the “big box” home décor stores (for lack of a better term) the other day and found the coolest ladder.  It looks like one that you would have found in a Mayan ruin.  I fell in love with it because it goes with a couple of chairs I scrapped from an alley in back of a restaurant years ago.  So, I bought it.  We’re in the process of bricking a wall down our basement which we plan to use as the backdrop for these chairs and ladder.  I’m just trying to figure out how I want to display the ladder.  Do I want it on the wall behind the chairs?  Do I want it propped up in between the chairs?  It so happens that I have a cool black and white photo my brother took of a ruin that might look really cool attached to a rung on side of the ladder.  When I get it done I’ll post a picture and you can tell me what you think.  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, I’m open!

While pondering about my latest “décor dilemma”, I ran across some really fun ideas to do with ladders.  Talk about a DIY’ers dream!  I mean, seriously, ANYONE can hang a ladder on a wall, horizontally, vertically, prop it up, sideways, etcetera.

• Paint it a funky color or do a shabby chic thing……….plain old white is okay, too, or leave it just the way you found it in dad’s/grandpa’s garage.  THEN………
• hang your clothes from it
• stick your shoes on it
• Lay some plywood on the rungs from front to back and you’ve got a cool shelf to………
• Role up your pretty towels and BAM!….funky linen “closet” for your bathroom
• Don’t role up your towels and just hang them from it
• Kitchen spices……..just an extension to your pantry, or maybe it IS your pantry
• Oh yeah….put some books on it
• Put one in a closet for extra hanging space for kids clothes
• Put one in your closet for all those scarves taking up needed sock space in a drawer
• Great for plant stands……don’t forget about the shorties; the little two rung ladders. CUTE!
• Suspend one from the ceiling on your patio, hang some lanterns from it and behold….the most charming candlelit outdoor chandelier.
• Heck!  Hang it in the garage for all that…..stuff you could hang from it
• Don’t forget the laundry room.  Great place to hang those shirts you can’t put in the dryer
• Think TRELLIS ~ inside or out!

FUN * FUN * FUN