Can’t find a vintage blanket ladder for a decent price? Make a rustic DIY blanket ladder easily with 2x4s and show off all your favorite throw blankets!
Did you know that I’ve wanted a Blanket Ladder for a long time? Dean and I saw one a while back at an antiques mall, but it was far too large (and much too pricey) for us. Then one of our lovely contributors made a 30 minute blanket ladder and I wanted to make one of our own too.
Finally decorate your own home – with confidence!
You’re so much closer to a beautifully-decorated home than you think. You just need a little help to get there!
DIY Blanket Ladder (for less than $25)
Supplies
- 3 – 2″ x 4″ x 8′ lengths of wood
- 16 – 3/8″ x 2 1/2″ carriage bolts
- compound miter saw
- drill
- 23/64″ drill bit
- sandpaper
- measuring tape
- hammer
- bar clamp
- pencil
- sun bleached oil-based stain
- dark walnut oil-based stain
- foam brushes
- old rag
Instructions
To make a DIY blanket ladder, you will need three two-by-fours. Cut two of them to 7 feet long for the side rails. Then from the third, cut four 16 inch long pieces for the rungs. Attach rungs to side rails with carriage bolts. Sand and finish as desired.
1. Cut two of the 2″ x 4″ x 8′ (2x4s) down to 7′ each. These will be the side rails.
2. From the third 2×4 cut four 16″ long pieces. These will make the rungs of the ladder.
3. Sand any rough edges on the side rails and rungs.
4. Using a pencil on each of the 7′ 2x4s place a mark at 18″, 34″, 50″ and 66″ from either end. Using a square, mark a pencil line across the width of the boards.
5. Clamp the rungs in between the two 7′ side rails, centered on each of the pencil lines as shown.
6. To affix the rungs to the side rails, at each marked line, drill one hole 3/4″ from each edge. There will be eight holes on each side rail, for a total of sixteen holes.
7. Hammer one carriage bolt into each hole.
8. Apply sun bleached stain to entire ladder with foam brush. Let sit for 5 minutes and then wipe off excess with an old rag.
For a step-by-step tutorial on how to stain wood, check out this post.
9. Apply dark walnut with another foam brush. Let sit for 5 minutes and wipe off excess with an old rag.
10. Let dry until no longer tacky, about 24 hours.
And now we have a blanket ladder of our very own, for less than $25!
So there’s a super simple alternative to tracking down a vintage or antique ladder somewhere!
Living Room Source List:
- Wall Color – Sherwin Williams Analytical Grey
- Curtains – Ikea
- Flooring – Sandy Hills Hickory “Handscraped” Laminate from Lumber Liquidators
- Area Rug – Moroccan Trellis in Tan from Rugs USA
- Couch – Ektorp Sectional from Ikea
- Pillow Covers – Porter Lane Home on etsy
- Pillow Inserts – FJÄDRAR inner pillow from Ikea
- Grey Plaid Throw – similar here
- Oversized Clock – Fulton St. Wall Clock from Wayfair
- Grey Knit Poufs – Addison Pouf Ottoman in Grey from Wayfair
- Chandelier – Hampton Bay Heritage 6-Light Iron Chandelier from The Home Depot
- Large Square Coffee Table – DIY Brickmaker’s Coffee Table found here
- Large Square Tray – Homesense
- Large Vase – Walmart
- Faux Pink Stems/Flowers – Michael’s
- Electric Fireplace – Canadian Tire
- Corner Floor Lamp – Logan Floor Lamp from Wayfair
- Leaning ladder – DIY Ladder Made with 2”x4”s found here
(Our source list contains affiliate links. That just means that we make a few pennies at no extra cost to you, should you purchase anything via one of the links. Thank you for helping to make this site possible! )
Beautiful!
Thank you!
I love the ladder but I priced the carriage bolts at Lowe’s and they are 1.98 a piece which would come to around $32 for the bolts alone. I was wondering how you were able to make it for $25?
Hi Connie, I don’t believe they were that much when we bought them years ago. I’m sorry if they’ve gone up in price!
Love it. I’ve been thinking about making one too.
Go for it!
I love the bolts on the sides! I’ve made a blanket ladder before but I might have to make this one for the lake house!
The bolts are my favorite part too!
Aren’t you a smart cookie! This is so simple it’s elegant, thank you for sharing. I’ve long hungered after a blanket ladder but the idea of dishing out a small fortune for one was a huge turn off. I don’t know why this never occurred to me. What is sun bleached stain though? I’ve never heard of it.
The sun bleached stain is made by Valspar!
This is the best DIY blanket ladder I’ve ever seen on Pinterest.
I’ve been wanting a blanket ladder for ages, but the directions seem to be so complicated. Love your step by step instructions. It seems so easy. I’m definitly going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing Shannon!
I’m so glad you like it!!!
Love this blanket ladder! Looks fantastic with those cozy plaid blankets!
Love the blankets!
LOVE this Shannon! And I love the fact that you left the wood markings to shine! I’ve never attempted using those carriage bolts before… I’m totally adding them to my shopping list!
Thank you, Donna. Wasn’t sure if I’d like the wood markings, but we were on a tight timeline after Dean was sick last week. I’m glad we left them! The carriage bolts are fun – I love lag bolts too.
Ahhhhh this is fantastic. I’m redoing our master and I need something with height. This might be the perfect project! Love it!
Sounds great!
I really like the stain wood finished you have achieved on the ladder. I think the whole thing looks fantastic.
Thank you so much Claire!
I love the look of this ladder Shannon! What type of carriage bolts did you use and how do you get them to stay without a fastener?
Just regular carriage bolts were used. The hole is just the right size for the bolt. You could also glue them in if you wish.
Hi, do you sell these?
Unfortunately not currently. We’ll let you know if we do in the future though!
This Is lovely! I’ve been wanting to make one for a while now, but am on a budget. How did you come about to say these were less than $25? My figure came up to a lot more than that. I have a drill and that’s about it.
Hi Kiki, The project assumes that you have the necessary tools.
Hey! Thanks for sharing your tutorial. The only part that bothers me is that the printing on the 2×4 is visible on the sides even after the staining. Any way to get rid of that? Thanks!
If you sand it off before you stain it, you’ll be fine. I didn’t mind the look of the stamps so I didn’t.
Thanks for the prompt reply!
Two girlfriends and I got together for a day and we all made one of these. They pretty much look identical to yours, minus the writing on the wood…we sanded our writing off. Thanks for the great directions and pictures. We are all pretty pleased. My husband keeps joking my ladder is the most photographed ladder ever…hahaha…I’m just so thrilled with the way it turned out. Thank you.
I’m so glad you made your own – and your friends too!
I’m going to build a few as gifts.
What a great idea, Jesse! Have fun. I’m sure the recipients will love them!
Love this ladder! What size drill bit did you use to make the holes for the carriage bolts?
Nevermind…just saw it in your list!!
I love it with the 2×4’s ! I didn’t think I would but I love how sturdy it looks…plus I have 2×4’s in my basement 🙂
Do you put an angle on the bottoms or do they sit fine just leaned against the wall?
We didn’t angle them…but if you want to you can! I’d anchor it to the wall if you have kids or climbing pets!
Thank you so much for your blog on the blanket ladder. You guys made it so simple to follow, everything was covered and when I made it, i was so pleased with the end result.
Oh I’m so glad! 😊☺️ It’s so satisfying to build something lovely, isn’t it?!