Create a stylish and functional wall-mounted upcycled ladder shelf that combines stenciled burlap bulletin boards and hooks, perfect for organizing your workspace while adding a unique, rustic touch! All office supplies are within easy reach, making this office organizer helpful while fun to look at!
When a new empty space in my home becomes available, it doesn’t take me long to move in!
The before of this space
This IKEA desk setup use to house my son’s large TV. But with the TV now moved, I had visions to turn it into a home office for myself!
I’ve had my blogging office in my dining room HERE for YEARS! However I’ve always dreamed of having a table and chairs in that space instead. So now seems to be the perfect opportunity to at least ‘try’.
Should the TV ever come back into this space? I could move my office back onto a suitable rustic table which could also double as a table and chairs when the need hit. So this is a very fluid decision that I’m willing to try out.
This little IKEA desk use to also be a previous sewing station at one time! So this desk is certainly very adaptable! And I love the look!
So after I moved my computer and a few bare essentials onto the desk, it looked nice and clean! The room is cozy with lots of natural light so it’s pleasant to be in. However I desired to make something unique for the wall behind the computer to not only personalize it, but to also double space and make it more efficient for an office space.
Old wooden ladder – before
So I reached for an old ladder in my stash.
Truth be told? I actually yanked the ladder from THIS entry shelf since I couldn’t find another! But now that will lead me to new shelving in the front entry so there’s that. This is indeed an ever evolving home decor situation when you repurpose repurposed projects, am I right?!
I love ladder shelves! Here’s a few others I’ve also made in the past:
Ladder plant stand shelving in living room
Side table ladder shelving in bedroom
But nothing quite like today’s upcycled ladder shelf idea! So the challenge began. With an end result that is not only super quirky, this idea for an office is super productive too, styled to hang office supplies complete with mini bulletin boards! And of course, room for some cute home decor!
So just in case you have an old ladder nearby, perhaps this upcycled ladder shelf idea may work for a space in your home too!
Here’s what I did:
Versatile wall-mounted upcycled ladder shelf with bulletin boards
Supplies I used:
Old flat-style wood ladder
Bosch or Makita cordless drill
Bosch variable speed orbital sander
Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash (get 10% off)
Rustic stencils:
Stud finder (optional)
Wall anchors (optional)
Sanding the ladder
1. Sand the ladder to remove any roughness or to expose natural wood underneath if desired. Then cut it down to the desired length using a jigsaw clamped to a table.
My plan was to paint the ladder sides black, then leave the rungs natural wood.
So using an orbital sander, I sanded the sides only until they were smooth, then sanded much deeper using 60 grit sandpaper on the rungs until all the natural wood was revealed.
Because I just love a good black-against-wood-grain combo!
Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash (get 10% off)
Painting the ladder sides
2. Tape around the rung ends using painters tape, then paint the main posts in Fusion’s Ash.
I used a paint brush around the taped areas, then rolled the rest of the paint from a small roller to get the job done a little quicker and without brush strokes showing. Raising the ladder off the surface using scrap wood boards makes the job a little easier.
Creating mini bulletin boards covered with stenciled burlap
3. Measure two inside square spaces of the ladder, then transfer and cut the squares out of bulletin board material using a heavy duty exacto knife against a 24″ metal straight edge with cork backing.
Since an old bulletin board I had in my stash was painted black prior, the black background ended up being a better background to help darken the black stenciled lettering! So I suggest to paint it black.
Rustic stencils: Organic Coffee Pallet Stamps
4. Place bulletin board black-side-down onto some burlap material. Cut burlap to size with fabric scissors, leaving some overlap.
5. Wrap the burlap around the bulletin board edges, then staple into place along the back.
6. Stencil designs as desired on to the burlap.
I used the stencils Organic Coffee and Pallet Stamps to stencil rustic images in Ash that I felt married the burlap well!
How to stencil on burlap:
- Load a dome-tip stencil brush with paint, then remove some onto rag until brush feels drier.
- Tap paint through stencil until desired coverage is met.
Burlap stencils up amazing, since some of the paint absorbs into the fabric reducing paint bleed, creating nice sharp images. Plus it always looks cool too!
7. Place ladder good-side-down.
8. Position bulletin boards on top of the ladder where desired, then screw into place.
Mounting the ladder to the wall
9. Mount the ladder to the wall using two 2.5″ L brackets.
- Find studs in wall and mark with pencil. Attempt to mount brackets in these areas or use wall anchors prior.
- Prop ladder up on a stool or ? at the height you wish to mount it on the wall with a construction level on top.
- Position the L brackets on top of the ladder and hanging down along wall. Pencil screw holes on the wall, then remove ladder and screw the brackets to the wall.
- Reposition ladder under brackets, then attach with screws.
Loading up the upcycled ladder shelf
10. Decorate / load up ladder as desired!
Since ladder sides are shallow, I used the ledges for small office supplies, small faux plants, etc.
Adding cup hooks to hang office supplies
Along the bottom of the ladder, I screwed in black cup hooks so I could hang up other office supplies such as scissors, rulers, clipboards, etc!
The completed office with an upcycled ladder shelf
And my new cute office is now officially ready to work as hard as it looks good! Isn’t it perfect?!
I am LOVING the upcycled ladder shelf for a helpful office accessory! The office supplies I use most often all have a place within easy reach while looking intentional, further theming the room!
The shelves are just deep enough for a small stapler, plants, little mouse holding push pins, etc!
Cup hooks hanging clipboards, rulers, scissors, etc.
And the hooks provide the perfect spot to hang longer items such as clipboards, wires, straight edges, scissors, or whatever you need.
Mini bulletin boards covered in stenciled burlap
The bulletin boards are just big enough to hang up some receipts I don’t want to lose until I can file them later.
And when not in use, the bulletin board’s stenciled appearance makes pretty neat rustic wall decor!
Honestly, this particular ladder shelf would make a pretty epic kitchen coffee station addition with hanging mugs along the bottom! Or even pots and pans.
All I know is, I’m really enjoying this upcycled ladder office shelf! And my new office! It’s cozy, functions well, and has a nice clean appearance so it no longer distracts me from my work.
Don’t need a DIY ladder shelf as an office accessory? How about one of these ideas instead?
Other ways to use an upcycled ladder shelf:
- Hanging tools in a workshop
- Coffee station for hanging mugs
- Kitchen wall for hanging pots and pans and holding recipe books
- Livingroom to display pictures and hang cozy blankets
- Bedroom to display art while hanging clothing
- Entry to hang coats
- Paint station for stacking paint pints and hanging paint brushes
- Hanging gardening tools and other supplies
- Bookshelf for smaller novels
Plus so much more! Once you vision, you just can’t stop!
And you know what that now means, yes?
Time for a new dining room revamp where the old blogging office use to be… coming soon! Yay!
What do you think of the upcycled ladder shelf? How would you put it to work?
See other unique related projects to make:
See more upcycled ladder projects HERE
View other unique office projects HERE
Check out many other DIY bulletin board ideas HERE
Wall mounted upcycled ladder shelf for office
Supplies:
- Organic Coffee stencil
- Pallet Stamps stencil
- Construction clamps
- Construction level
- Fusion Mineral Paint - Ash (get 10% off)
- Wider paint brush like this Palm Pro
- Painters tape
- 2 2.5 inch L brackets
- Bulletin board
- Burlap
- Dome tip stencil brush
- Staple gun and short staples
- Stud finder (helpful)
- Wall anchors (helpful)
Instructions:
- Cut a solid wood ladder to desired length with a jig saw.
- Lightly sand the wood. Use 60 grit sandpaper if you wish to sand down to bare wood.
- Tape around rung ends, then paint as desired. I used Fusion's Ash for the sides, and left the rungs bare wood.
- Measure two spaces in the ladder, then transfer measurements to bulletin board material. Cut out with an exacto knife against a metal ruler. I suggest to paint the bulletin board black if you are stenciling black letters on burlap as this will make the letters look darker.
- Place bulletin board pieces on top of burlap material. Cut burlap, allowing some overlap. Pull burlap around edges of board, then attach with a staple gun from the back.
- Stencil the front of the burlap as desired.
- Position ladder front side down. Place bulletin board pieces on top, good side down, then attach with screws.
- Locate studs in the walls.
- Attach ladder to wall using 2 L brackets.
- Screw in black cup hooks along the bottom of the ladder to hang office supplies.
- Stack the shelves with small office supplies, hang up your gear and enjoy your new upcycled ladder shelf office organizer!
This is such a great idea!
Repurposing the repurposed!?! Does it get any better?!? Love it!!! I have a ladder holding some camp blankets in our LR but this is making me think about another ladder I have in the garage that hasn’t been used as decor in awhile. Thanks for the inspiration!
You always come up with the greatest ideas! Always thinking outside the box. 👍👍❤️