I am SO ecstatic to have Kristi, the ever so talented girl behind Making it in the Mountains sharing her DIY Ladder Shelf today! Kristi never seizes to amaze me with her inspiring projects that she creates, they are always something to make you swoon over! Make sure to head on over to her page and check out all of her amazing projects, as well as follow her so you never miss a thing (and believe me you don’t want to miss a thing)!
I absolutely fell in love with this ladder shelf when I saw it. From the amount of space to the amazing color, it was the perfect touch to her outdoor makeover!
Good morning!!! I am SO, SO excited to be here! I’m Kristi – the girl behind making it in the mountains where I blog about my journey to turn our cookie-cutter house into a rustic, mountain retreat.
I can’t wait to share with you today one of my most {favorite} DIY projects! We created this DIY Ladder Shelf as part of our Outdoor Makeover series where we worked to transform our courtyard deck – you can check out our full reveal {here}.
It all started with this soon-to-be empty corner of our courtyard deck (we intend to move the BBQ to the backyard, so that we’ll have access to it directly from our kitchen doors).
This corner gets a ton of sun, so I knew right from the start, that it would make the PERFECT spot for a plant stand. And so, off to Pinterest I went in search of some inspiration. At first I was picturing a potting bench style table, but then this bright shelf by none other than my favorite handy-gal, Ana White, totally caught my eye. Knowing we eventually want to build a small bar table in another corner, it seemed like a much better idea to go with something completely different for this space. I also really liked the idea of having a bit of a ledge around each shelf to help keep everything contained and safe from any wind. My mind was made up the moment I saw it … I needed this shelf!
Following these plans, Brady got to work building the shelves and the frame in just a couple of hours. We did make a few changes along the way, the first of which started with the lumber – because our little hardware store didn’t have any 1×3 available, we decided to use 1×4 in it’s place around each shelf.
Brady followed the instructions screwing the ends together, but decided to use finishing nails along the bottoms of the shelves to avoid having a zillion screws show across the front.
And then it was my turn to get to work with some painting. Thinking it might be easier to get into all the nooks and crannies, I wanted to tackle this part before it was all put together. First up was a good coat of primer because, let’s face it, I don’t want to have to repaint this thing every year! I slapped on a generous coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 heavy duty primer and let it dry overnight. The next morning, I did a really quick all-over sand as recommended on the back of the primer can and then I was finally ready to paint! With some help from my friends on Facebook and Instagram, I decided on an absolutely GORGEOUS paint colour (Benjamin Moore Origins’s Sweet Turquoise OR-368) and I just couldn’t wait to see it on my shelf!!! Because this baby is going to live outside, I was sure to pick up an exterior paint to help protect it from the elements. Here’s how everything looked after some primer and the first coat of paint:
And the second coat:
It was definitely LOVE at first sight! In fact, I smiled a HUGE, this is the prettiest colour ever, smile with the first brush of paint!!! Even more … I loved it SO much that on my walk back in from the garage to our main level, I found myself looking for more things that I could paint! Perhaps this will be the summer of Sweet Turquoise (I couldn’t possibly regret that, right?)!
Finally, it was time to put it all together! Brady went his own way with this part too – the original instructions called for the shelves to be offset a bit, but he really wanted the shelves to all line up along the back. So, to do this, he simply placed the shelf frame with the back down on his workbench and, after marking the suggested distance between each one, he set the shelves in so that their backs rested on his workbench too, creating a flush back. Lastly, he attached them all to the frame with a couple of screws on each side. Here’s how it all came together:
If you liked this project, pop on over to check out the DIY Painted Charger Plates and DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Table that we created for our new space!
Huge thanks to Tara for having me today!!!
Huge thanks to Kristi for sharing her ladder shelf!!! Head on over to Making it in the Mountains to see all her other AMAZING projects!
I LOVE this! I’m going to move mine indoors for all of my food photo props… thanks!
Thank you SO much Sandy! It would be perfect indoors or out 🙂
This is awesome! I sent it to my husband, the avid gardener and
Oops! Got cut off! I was going to say he loves projects outside.
Thank you Tamara! It’s a super quick and easy project with a {big} impact for sure!
Besides the neat and clean look of this ladder shelf, I got to tell you that it’s the color that inspired me a lot! This ladder can be used as a decorative plant stand in my yard. Love it!