Fish out of Closet: DIY: Storage Ladder

If you saw my closet before and after you'd have seen this new storage ladder I have. I saw a few pictures of these items on Pinterest, mostly in a more farmhouse style, and really wanted it for my closet. I've been using it to store my scarves and belts and things like that. It's great if you have some room and want to have more things on display rather than focus on space saving.

A little disclaimer - my Dad and I pretty muched winged this entire thing. It's a pretty simple build, but could be more refined if you take a lot of care in measuring to make things even. If you look closely mines a bit wonky, but I still love it. Also if you are using a saw be extremely careful. I don't want anyone to lose fingers.

Here's everything you'll need. For the wood we used 2 planks of 1x3" and some scraps we had hanging around for the rungs. I would also include gloves to avoid splinters and some eye goggles for all the dust from the saw.

First we measured out the legs of the ladder. Mine were 66 inches but if you want it a certain height and angle you could do some geometry to find your ideal measurement.

Next we took a straight edge and drew the line the width of the plank so we had an easier time lining up the saw. As you can guess most of this DIY is measuring.

Next, we cut the legs as well as the rungs. For this ladder we overlapped the rungs and the legs (instead of making them sit on the inside of the legs) so the measurement is how wide you'd like it to be. I kept it simple and chose a foot wide.

Next on the legs, measure out how far apart you'd like the rungs to be and center the measurement. I kept it simple and had a foot in between each one. Then on the centered measurement drill a pilot hole. This prevents the wood from splintering when we put in the screws.

Line up the rungs and drill in a screw on each side. I believe we used 1.25 inch screws, but just make sure for whatever size plank you use the screw is long enough to go through the rung but not so long to go through the majority of the legs.

Before I started on the baskets I did paint the ladder and sand down the edges of the rungs and legs. Then I planned out where I wanted the baskets to hang before getting started. Something to note: I got the baskets before making the ladder so I was able to plan out the rungs, so the baskets were useable. If you have a set number or kind of baskets you'd like to use I 'd recommend getting them first then using them or their measurements as a reference while you're building the ladder.

Next I threaded the wire through the decorative weave at the top of the basket. I cut about a 4 inch wire but the length will depend on how big your rung is. I then circled the rung as much as I could and with the two ends at the bottom of the rung.

Then I used the needle nose pliers to tie the two ends together and twist to secure before cutting off the excess. I repeated this on each side of the baskets.