This simple project is a great way to turn a wooden ladder into a magazine rack for your family room or home office. You can add great architectural interest to new construction with this great vintage inspired magazine rack. This simple magazine rack also compliments a minimalist décor and evened a contemporary home décor with the right paint.
To make this simple magazine rack out of a ladder you should expect to spend about 1 hour or so on the project.
I find great old wooden ladders for about $20 all the time. Try checking out Craigslist and the newspaper or yard sales. You can always find great wooden ladders second hand.
If you need to buy paint to update or transform your wooden ladder a little then expect to pay about $15 more for this simple home storage craft project.
To Magazine Rack for Your Home office Out of a Wooden Ladder You Will Need:
1 Wooden Ladder (or as many as you want)
L Brackets (about 4)
Screws
Dry wall inserts or toggle bolts
Paint (optional)
Sandpaper (optional)
Paint Brushes (optional)
Wood Stain (optional)
Magazines!
Now, the first step is to apply your paint treatment to your wooden ladder magazine rack. You can keep it looking rustic and vintage or apply a few treatments to help it blend in or stand out in your home décor.
If your wooden ladder is just too rustic, then simply give it a sanding down with some fine grit sand paper. On the either hand if you get stuck using a new wooden ladder and want to make your magazine rack look old you could try hitting the magazine rack with your bicycle chain. This will add instant age!
You can apply a coat of primer next. I like to use Kilz. Now, you are ready to add any kind of paint treatment.
For a vintage looking magazine rack try using milk paint. Milk paint can be bought at almost any home improvement store. It has a matte finish and looks great on wood!
You can easily enhance the existing look of any wooden ladder by rubbing in a gel wood stain, brushing on a polyurethane, or even rubbing in some tongue oil or tinted wood wax.
Now, attach an L brick to each of the four ends of the wooden ladder magazine rack. You can simple screw in some short ¼ inch screws. You can predrill the holes if you choose. The L brackets should be facing the same direction that the ladder will be, which is vertical.
Now, choose a great open vertical space in your home office or family room. Hang the old vintage wood ladder running vertically. This is a great way to draw the eye up and take up some empty wall space. Try hanging this vintage inspired magazine rack near a comfortable chair for reading.
Use your dry wall anchors if you are not drilling into a stud and your walls are made from dry wall. You could also use a toggle bolt, which is the best for really hanging anything on a drywall in your home. The best choice would be of course to install your wooden ladder magazine rack on a stud
Now, once your magazine rack is installed you can lay a magazine over each rung on the leader. You can probably even fit 2 or three if you play around with the magazines.
This simple project is a fun way to organize your magazine collection and keep them handy and useable!
Tip: If you need to use a new wooden ladder or even one that fold out, then just remove the back of the ladder.
