Cape Town Design Capital Inspiration – DIY

I’m generally a little yellow-crazy, and since Cape Town was announced as the Design Capital for 2014 it has turned my crazy into obsessed.  People around me will have frequently heard me saying ‘this is so cool, but wouldn’t it be so much better in yellow’ or ‘lets paint it yellow!’.

Due to the completely rational obsession with the colour yellow, I decided to paint an old ladder (that is actually too old to be used as a ladder) yellow.  Our sunroom needed something interesting and I needed to satisfy my obsession, which means I get to see a big yellow ladder every day. YAY!

Even better theres a DIY for you!

You’ll need:

• An old ladder
• Paint of your choice (I chose yellow)
• Wood filler (If your ladder is as old as mine and filled with holes and cracks)
• Paint brushes (in a variety of sizes)
• Thin wood/board (for shelves)
• Nails
• Hammer
• Sandpaper
• Small scrapper

Instructions:

1. Clean ladder, using hardware brush.  Use Woodfiller to evenly coat the ladder, with the scrapper.  There is no need to do the steps of the ladder as these will be covered with the wooden board (shelves).
2. Once the wood filler has dried, use the sandpaper to smooth the surface.  Dust ladder of any excess bits from the sanding.
3. Measure the distance between each parallel step for the shelves.  I took the measurements and board over to Mica (in Bergvliet, on Kendal Road) and asked them to cut the board for me.  It cost a mere R20 to have it cut.
4. Place each board over the steps and hammer nails into the four corners for each shelf.
5. Paint your ladder and shelves.  I would suggest doing at least 2 or even 3 coats, depending on how bright you want the ladder to be. Allow the paint to dry between coats.
6. Once the paint is dry, decorate you ladder shelves with plants, regular decor, pictures, books, whatever you would like really.
7. Tell me or send pictures of your ladder DIY.

And the end product….

Let me know your thoughts…

Le’Chelle