As I shall be a wannabe gypsy for the next few months, I will alas have limited repurposing projects from my own home to share with you. However, this does not mean that the repurposing bug will not consistently bite me! Thus, if you have any particular vintage object or common household object that you wish you could find a few other uses for, let me know, and I would love to hunt and brainstorm repurposing ideas to publish for you!
With that said, many of us loved the versatile uses of upcycled ladders from the first edition, and I have gathered together a few other repurposing ideas that can make a ladder work double-duty! However, before I delve into the ideas, I suppose it is only fair and fitting that I explain why I am quite obsessed with ladders. It all began when I lived here….
This is a view of my former living room in my “treehouse” cottage in Hollywood where I lived a few years ago. To access the upper lofts and my writing nook, as well as the rooftop patio, I would climb up the 12′ ladder. I developed great upper body strength living here, as I often carried my cocker spaniel up the ladder under one arm! Let’s also just say that cocktail parties hosted on my roof were always an adventure. Now you know where my obsession with ladders spawns from!
While this alternative bedside table would take me a few nights to grow accustomed to, I do like how streamlined the repurposed ladder looks, as seen via Living Etc. This would be a great option for a small bedroom — or for someone (like myself) who simply cannot keep a nightstand organized.
Remember the horizontal bookshelf ladder from the last edition? If you can’t mount a ladder horizontally to the wall, you can still use an upcycled ladder as a bookshelf and display, as Southern Living did.
Do you recall the beautiful repurposed ladder that maya*made and her mom created in their artistic barn? I recently had the great pleasure of hearing from Nancy, the one and only mother of the talented maya*made — and the one who spends part of her year in the famously creative red barn. She shared with me this lovely photo of how Anthropologie in Berkeley repurposed ladders to use as alternative clothing displays.
This one also comes from Nancy, who says, “I thought you might like to see how an artist used [ladders]. They were featured in a gallery in the East Village last summer. I take my camera everywhere!” I’m so glad that Nancy takes her camera everywhere! These look like salvaged ladders, and they make me wonder if I should have paid more attention in shop class in high school.
And of course, a ladder propped by the back door can work double-duty as a shoe rack, as photographed by Trine Thorsen.
Now pray tell, has the upcycled ladder bug bit you too? 
