Recycle an old, wooden ladder and transform it into a fascinating piece of furniture
Bookcases, light fittings, shelves, tables, storage units: all these can be obtained at practically no cost from an old, wooden ladder. Both those with traditional rungs and those with broader, deeper steps (used with most foldable ladders), can be converted into different furnishing elements, all sharing an undeniable rustic charm.
The more robust ladders will be able to support significant weight, while others will have a more decorative purpose, but all of them can be integrated into the furniture of the surrounding environment in a pleasant and original way. Check out the ideas below:
A favourite and popular use for an old ladder is to mount it horizontally on a wall, using it to provide shallow, box shaped shelves to fill with photos, various frames or any other decorative object that will fit.
The upper side of the ladder mounted on a wall can also accommodate additional photo or picture frames.
If the ladder is very sturdy and you can mount it firmly on the wall so that it protrudes like a regular shelf, it is very nice to cover it with a glass surface and make it a cantilevered table or shelf to decorate as you wish.
Another very useful and popular project is to lean the ladder against a wall and use each step as a towel holder in the bathroom or blanket holder in the living room.
To decorate a little those that lean against the wall, apart from painting them, you can equip each step with a shelf insert in order to accommodate more objects. And the shelf insert could be a sheet of iron or some other wrought, rigid material. We suggest you screw the inserts down to ensure stability.
They are perfect as compact bookcases in different rooms of the house.
Even for ladders which are foldable, each step can be transformed into a larger shelf with a wooden board overlay, perhaps painted in the same color as the ladder.
And if you use long wooden boards as shelving inserts, they will be spacious wall shelves.
An alternative idea: instead of filling the interior space of a foldable ladder with shelves, why not use the top to hang baskets of plants from and arrange some decorative objects at the bottom? They could be plant pots or even old, stacked suitcases.
Here's a corner bookcase with vintage charm.
Not only a shelf on each step, but also a drawer: drawers which get gradually smaller as you go up the ladder!
A ladder that hangs from the ceiling, above the dining table and parallel to it, can be a support for both wiring with light bulbs (and thus becomes an unique chandelier), and for any other decorations you want show off.
And in fact you can use the same idea in other places in the home to hang frames with paintings or photos from!
Would you like to furnish your home using a wooden ladder?
