12 Jan

Repurposed Mondays: Climbing Upcycled Ladders

Finding the perfect vintage ladder has been on my treasure hunt list of late.  Providing both style and chic storage functionality, repurposed ladders can be used from bathrooms to living rooms.  If a ladder graces your home in a room other than the garage, I would love to hear about how you have repurposed it.

1brocadechairstepladrrhsprnt

The unexpeted combination of a construction ladder and a delicate chandelier creates a lovely ambiance via Brocade Home.

science-ales-of-idle-hand-tattoo-sf

No upward ladder climbers here!  At Idle Hand Tattoo in San Francisco, science!alex spooted an upcycled ladder turned into an unexpected and quite practical bookshelf.

mayamade

The creatively talented Maya and her mother created an absolutely intriguing vignette using an old ladder, barn wood, and wire baskets.  Even better, you can enjoy the full DIY tutorial at maya*made!  I could spend hours exploring all of the vintage treasures artfully displayed on this fantastic upcycled ladder.

real-living-australia

With the addition of a few planks, a vintage ladder is repurposed in Real Living into a stylish display piece.  So long curiosity cabinets!

martha-stewart-apple-picking-ladder

Of course, your guests will be delighted with Martha Stewart‘s idea of using an antique apple picking ladder as a chic towel holder.

vintage-bathroom-repurposed

From an older repurposed bathroom post, a bathtub caddy is fashioned with the help of an antique ladder.

collectors-eye

Of course, if you find yourself in my shoes, desperately lacking a vintage ladder, then be inspired to make your own.  In this image from Christine Churchill’s  The Collector’s Eye, the featured ladder could be created with decorative molding or trim, fastened to even two long branches.

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38 Comments

  1. 1 January 12, 2009 at 1:19 pm
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    I never thought I would ever pine for a ladder, but somehow I do now.. though sadly I haven’t got a vintage apple picking ladder, or a place to put one but lovely photos and ideas, if I ever find an old ladder in need of a new home.

  2. 2 January 12, 2009 at 2:31 pm
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    I am not an owner of a vintage ladder….but I love the idea of it on the wall as a bookcase for a studio! Haven’t seen that one before! Great ideas, thanks for sharing!! ~Cheryl

  3. 3 January 12, 2009 at 2:41 pm
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    i love ladders! I wanted to use one for my wedding to hang the escort cards on but I was never able to find one I liked.

  4. 4 January 12, 2009 at 3:23 pm
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    I love this post! Maybe I should scout the sales to see if I can find a vintage ladder for my studio bookcase… Thanks for the inspiration.

  5. 5 January 12, 2009 at 6:07 pm
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    That ladder bookshelf is genius! My apartment would not accomodate a ladder, sadly.

  6. 6 January 12, 2009 at 6:51 pm
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    You obviously know that I love a good vintage ladder upcycle, and probably suspected that I would enjoy this post. Did you know how insanely happy it would make me? I love each inspiration you chose (thanks for including my mother’s!) and can’t wait to figure out how I can incorporate at least one of those new ideas into MY home! Thanks, Grace! You are magnificent!

  7. 7 January 12, 2009 at 10:17 pm
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    what a fantastic post! love them all but my favorites are the horizontal bookcase on the wall and Maya and her mother’s vignette… really ingenious and ‘thinking outside the box’ style, which I love!

  8. 8 January 12, 2009 at 11:07 pm
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    i love the use of the ladder for the books!

  9. 9
    Grace
    January 13, 2009 at 7:04 am
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    There really are limitless uses for ladders. If you find the right ladder and repurpose it for your home, I would LOVE to see photos!

    ljcadv, your idea for using a vintage ladder to hold escort cards is splendid!

    Maya, thank you for allowing me to share your mum’s fantastic ladder! I look forward to seeing photos of its most recent displays.

  10. 10 January 13, 2009 at 2:24 pm
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    Oh my! Now I need to go hunt one down! Im clearing out my craft space and I am in desperat need of a bookself that doesnt take up much (if any) floor space. I adore all of them!

  11. 11 January 13, 2009 at 9:16 pm
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    Love these ideas. I never thought to repurpose a ladder as a bookshelf, but now I think it is brilliant.

  12. 12 January 14, 2009 at 7:15 am
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    these pictures are SoooOOOOOoooOOOooOo awesome!!!

  13. 13 January 14, 2009 at 3:47 pm
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    I’ve had a longtime lust for ladders in interiors. They look so graphic and rustic at the same time. but i think you’d need a fairly expansive space to have one in—i can just see tripping over the darn thing all the time!

  14. 14 January 27, 2009 at 9:16 pm
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    Splendid ideas! I love the idea of using it as a bookcase.

  15. 15
    Becky
    February 21, 2009 at 9:41 pm
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    I love to recycle ladders.And I love ALL the ideas.I have a ladder just the right size to hang in my kitchen across my wall.I am going to put my cookbooks on it!THANK YOU!

  16. 16 September 7, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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    book shelf is fantastic! simple things can be used very different if you just simply think!

  17. 18 May 8, 2010 at 12:18 am
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    LOVE these! I will be blogging about them very soon.

    T. Rivera
    http://www.flippinfactory.wordpress.com

  18. 19 July 8, 2010 at 10:40 am
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    I love these ladder ideas! I’m on the lookout for an old ladder now. I’ve already got one in the tipi, but I’m using it in there!

  19. 21 July 15, 2010 at 8:21 pm
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    An old ladder hung horizontally from shelf brackets is the perfect roost for my hens in my chicken coop. (I would also love it indoors as a stylish decor piece, but livestock comes first on the farm.)

  20. 23 September 10, 2010 at 3:13 am
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    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette—failed to report on the exact same violation that took place at the University of Pittsburgh

  21. 24 October 16, 2010 at 4:03 pm
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    I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.

  22. 25 October 16, 2010 at 11:59 pm
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    @Markus I get your drift on where you were going there. I often think of my past and use it as a means to analyze where I am and where I want to get to. Where I struggel is balancing it all out. How do you guys balance things out?

  23. 26 October 18, 2010 at 8:10 pm
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    I enjoyed reading your blog! Thanks for posting such awesome material.

  24. 27 November 8, 2010 at 7:33 pm
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    I love this idea and would love to know how to do it. I have the same typewriter as the one in the last pic. Can someone tell me how to do it.

  25. 28 November 19, 2010 at 1:19 am
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    I bow down to your upcycling supremacy

  26. 29 December 11, 2010 at 4:29 pm
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    Great read thanks!

  27. 30 December 11, 2010 at 4:34 pm
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    Great post thanks

  28. 31 December 11, 2010 at 4:36 pm
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    Great post thranksks!

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3 Trackbacks

  1. [...] turning to repurposing for a solution (remember the repurposed ladder bookshelves seen here and here?).  I have wanted to stay away from cliche themes, hoping to create a place that simply inspires [...]

  2. [...] Photo: Poetic Home [...]

  3. August 19, 2010 at 7:16 am

    [...] ** Click HERE for more ** Junk in my Trunk IDEAS!!   DIY Ladder Shelf… great idea via Poetic Home via Maya*Made       Ladder as ART ~ image via houzz     Another LADDER Shelf ~ with DIY [...]