$25 DIY blanket ladder

Hey loves! So I received a few questions about the blanket ladder I made and posted on IG last week. A few of you asked for me to make you one and send it, but Ummm that's nearly impossible plus shipping would be a nightmare. Others asked for an instructional blog... which is actually possible so here it is!

We like to watch movies eat and cuddle in the living room and that means several cozy blankets. When those blankets arent in use I was folding them and keeping them on the couch or draped over the arm of it. (both options I hated) so that's why I went to search for a cute way to keep them out of the way. This blanket ladder retails for about $60 and I'm frugal AF when it comes to certain things. My husband is a real "I can make that shit" kind of guy and I've adopted that idea when it came to this.

I spent about $25 on my materials. Here is what you'll need:

Two 2x4 pieces of wood

4 Metal rods size 1/2 inch x 18 inch

8 metal brackets

8 end caps for your rods

Spray paint of your choice

Wood stain (I used espresso)

Stain Sealant

16 Screws (had at home)

Power Drill (had at home)

The rods, brackets and end caps can all be found in the plumbing department of Home Depot or Lowes. Also, both stores will cut the wood to your desired length FOR FREE. the length of mine are 6.5 feet.

You can always add more rods to yours or use a different material (pvc is a cheap lightweight option) I chose iron rods over PVC pipe because I didn't want it super lightweight.

I peeled the orange and white stickers off of the iron rods before spray painting and used some old curtain rods pushed into the grass to make them stand up so I could spray them evenly.

I also spray painted the screws I used because they were tan (and I didn't want to go back to Lowes to buy new ones)

The end caps are optional for the rods. I chose to get them and spray paint them as well so that the threading on the rods wouldn't be exposed and It would look a little bit more 'finished'.

For the wood, I used two coats of the espresso stain. How many coats is totally up to you but I like the darker look where you can still see the wood grain coming through. I used a brush to apply the stain but you can also use an old rag. Gloves are also a good idea (my nail color is currently white so I had to protect that). Just be sure not to leave any excess stain that may run. I also used a spray sealant after the stain dried (not pictured)

The rungs of the ladder are spaced 16.5 inches apart. I used a tape measure and made little indents on the wood to mark where my screws would need to go. I plan on adding rubber stoppers to the top and bottom because the stain has transferred just a bit to the walls.

If you have any questions send me a message, if you decide to put one together please please share the outcome with me!

Note: The screws and power drill are not included in the $25 I spent. These are things we have on hand at home. However, you swap out screws for nails and use a hammer instead. You would just have to make sure your nail head is wide enough to cover the bracket holes so they hold.