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Modern DIY Blanket Ladder

Gorgeous Modern DIY Blanket Ladder! Follow this easy tutorial to make your own sleek, minimal blanket or towel ladder in no time!

gorgeous DIY blanket ladder

Here’s the thing about social media… it’s not always real! lol. A couple of weeks ago, I shared on Instagram about how I have a few pieces in my home that migrate between rooms and photos. No, I do not have three of the exact same mid-century flower pot… I just moved it between the office, living room, and hallway. Same goes for my blanket ladder. I shared some lovely pictures of it in the bathroom and some in the living room. But friends…. it was the same ladder being moved around. Until NOW! Because I finally got myself together a built a brand new Modern DIY Blanket Ladder, and you’re all going to want to build one too!

buying long pieces of copper pipe

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I love working with copper pipe. It’s sturdy, easy to use, and doesn’t require any power tools! I’ve done several copper pipe projects in the past, and it’s the first product I thought about when I wanted to do this project!

If you want to save a little bit of money, you can use wooden dowels instead of the long copper pipe pieces. It will change the look a little bit because of the way wood absorbs paint vs. copper, but will look almost the same!

Copper elbows and tees

Materials Needed to Make A Modern DIY Blanket Ladder

If you want to skip over all of the DIYing, here’s a pretty affordable Modern Blanket Ladder that I have in my other room:

DIY Blanket ladder design

DIY Blanket Ladder Video Tutorial

Whenever I can, I try to incorporate a visual tutorial so that I can help the DIYers out there like myself, who want to watch a YouTube video of the process.

Here’s the quick video for this DIY Modern Blanket Ladder:

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Taking Measurements for DIY Modern Blanket Ladder

DIY Blanket Ladder Instructions

Copper Pipe Modern DIY Project

The first step is to cut all of your copper pipe pieces into 20″ pieces (x8) and 12″ pieces (x4). Measure the first piece, and then once you’ve cut one piece, you can just line it up with the copper pipe and make a mark with a sharpie for where to cut the next one.

Gorgeous copper pipe ladder

In the video above, I share two different ways to cut copper pipe. One with a power tool like the one above, and one with a simple handheld $20 tool that you hold!

Making a DIY Blanket Ladder

The next step is to glue together the copper pipe ladder. To do this, first line up all of the copper tees, elbows, and cut pipe so that it makes the design above.

I wanted to rungs to be at different heights to add a new, non-traditional design element to the piece! I made two sections that were 20″ x 20″ and two sections that were 20″ x 12″. I love the squares and rectangles, and I especially love the unconventional look when the towels are hanging on it (trust me…. you’ll see!).

Epoxy glue for gluing copper

I used a two-part epoxy to glue everything together and a small wooden dowel to get the glue inside the copper pipe fittings.

This glue is easy to use, easy to apply, and fast to dry. I’m talking five minutes! So it’s a great option, but you need to move quickly and make sure your piece stays flat while the glue sets.

Painting Copper Pipe

The final steps were to spray and protect the ladder. I used a flat black spray paint on mine and had to do about 3 coats of spray paint on both sides. I finished it off with a clear coat to protect the ladder’s finish.

Modern Design for Blanket Ladder

This is how the ladder looked without any hanging blankets or towels and I LOVED it already!

Our Finished Modern DIY Blanket Ladder [or Towel Ladder]

DIY Modern Blanket Ladder

Copper pipe was the perfect choice to make this piece! It is sturdy and strong, but still lightweight. Plus the 1/2″ pipe looks so chic and minimal. It’s the perfect piece to rest against the wall in a bedroom or the living room.

DIY Blanket Ladder for Living Room

The versatility of this piece is also in the different ways it can be used. I actually really love the look of this ladder in our bathroom. Leaning against the wall in the bathroom, holding all of our pretty turkish towels. It’s the perfect accessory for the space.

DIY Towel Rack for the bathroom
Copper pipe blanket ladder

I hope you liked this modern blanket ladder tutorial! If you re-make it, but sure to let me know, or tag me on Instagram – I’d love to see!

DIY Towel Rack for the bathroom

Modern DIY Blanket Ladder

Yield: 1
Active Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $100

Gorgeous Modern DIY Blanket Ladder! Follow this easy tutorial to make your own sleek, minimal blanket or towel ladder in no time!

Materials

  • 18 ft of 1/2" copper pipe (or dowels to save money!)
  • 6 copper tees
  • 4 copper 90 degree elbows
  • 2-part epoxy glue
  • Black spray paint
  • Clear spray finish

Tools

  • Copper Pipe Cutter

Instructions

  1. Use the copper tubing cutter to cut your copper pipe into sections. You will need 8 20" pieces, and 4 12" pieces. Use a sharpie to mark your copper pipe properly.
  2. Lay out your ladder design to make sure your pieces all fit. I did the ladder 20" wide, and then height wise, I did a 20" section, then a 12" section, the 20", and then 12". See the diagram in the post for more details about this ladder structure.
  3. Mix your two part epoxy and glue all of your copper pieces to the elbows and tees. Start at one end of the ladder, and more upwards, making sure to keep everything flat and level. Wood dowels are great for getting glue inside the copper pieces. Allow glue to set (only takes 5 minutes).
  4. Spray paint the entire ladder matte black.
  5. Spray clear coat to protect the finish.

Notes

This can be used as a blanket ladder or a towel ladder in the bathroom!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you love the look of this copper project, you might also love our DIY copper candlesticks!

DIY Candlestick with copper pipe

And if you liked the bathroom, be sure to check out the entire renovation and room reveal HERE! Including the beautiful wood vanity!

Gorgeous Blanket Ladder DIY

Emily

Saturday 9th of October 2021

I love this so much I decided to make two so I’d have one in the living room and one in the bathroom! I love the clean lines and how sturdy this is! I want to point out that this calls for eight 20” pieces but it actually requires nine at that length. I purchased enough pipe to avoid an extra trip to the hardware store but thought adding it to the comments might help others as well. Looking forward to exploring more of your projects!

Audrey j VanderSchaaf

Wednesday 9th of October 2019

how do you keep it from sliding on the floor?

Lindi

Thursday 10th of October 2019

Russ said we could put those little stoppers on the bottom, but we haven't had to! Most blanket ladders just lean on the wall. It stayed put in the bathroom and living room :)

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