How to Make a Decorative Wooden Staircase Step by Step

4 Materials
$30
1 Hour
Medium

With this decorative homemade wooden staircase, even Ikea won't be able to compete. You only need some wooden slats and the help of a tool to build it. Create it in the measurements you want and enjoy a low-cost decoration object that will stand out in your bathroom. Don't forget to apply a varnish or stain last to protect the wood from moisture.


WHAT DO YOU NEED?


Tools

  • Spade bit
  • Squad
  • Flexometer
  • Pencil
  • Pallet
  • Keyhole saw
  • Sandpaper block
  • Driver drill


Materials

  • White glue
  • Lacquer for wood
  • Rectangular wooden slats
  • Round wooden slats


For this tutorial, we suggest you make a wooden ladder to hold towels in the bathroom. It will be beautiful thanks to the contrast of the tile with the wood, which always brings warmth to the decoration.

1. Cut the wooden slats for the sides of the ladder

Although it may seem like a no-brainer, the ladder will rest on the ground, so to get the entire bottom surface of the ladder to touch the ground when it rests the top on the wall, you'll need to cut the bottom of the slats at an angle. Depending on how much you want to move the ladder away from the wall, you should cut more or less angle. The most important thing is that the two sides are cut at the same angle so that the ladder does not limp.

As for the slats, we have chosen pine wood. Of the noble woods, pinewood is cheap and easy to work with.

Cut the slats with a jigsaw. If you don't have one, you can also use a hand saw, although it will cost you more effort.

For a good finish on the ends, sand the cut areas with a sanding pad. If you want to be a pro, you can use a glove with built-in sandpaper.

2. Make symmetrical holes in the two slats to fit the round rungs

First, measure how high you want the slats on the ladder. Take into account the height of the towels you want to hang and how many steps you want to install. This will depend on your taste, the height of your bathroom and your towels.

So that the holes in the steps come out perfectly symmetrical, join the two wooden sides and mark a perpendicular with the square, at the height of the steps you want. As in the photo!

To mark where to make the holes for the rungs, on the perpendicular line, measure half the width of the slat and mark.

Now is the time to drill the holes for the steps. Remember that the points marked to make the holes must be symmetrical so that the round slats fit well.

Important Tip : Choose a wood spade bit to make the holes, the diameter of your steps. In our case, we have used a 22 mm drill bit.

3. Cut the rungs of the decorative wooden ladder

Trick.  For the steps, decide how wide you want them based on the space you have and the width of most of your folded towels.

We have made steps of different widths so that the ladder has a convergence effect. The bottom rung is the widest on our ladder and the top rung the shortest. We took between 3 and 4 centimeters from each step. You can also make a ladder with the rungs of the same length. This, according to taste.

Cut the rungs of your towel decorating ladder with the jigsaw.

Exploded view of slats for the decorative stair

Although the cutting of the slats will depend on the design you make of the staircase, here is ours in case it inspires you.

- 2 side pieces of 200 x 2.7 cm.

- 6 steps with the following measurements: 25 cm., 28 cm., 31 cm., 35 cm., 38 cm., And 42 cm.

4. Glue the steps to the sides with white glue

To glue the rungs to the sides of the ladder, use white glue. If you have thought about only inserting the rungs into the round holes and leaving them that way, do not trust yourself: they will move.


Enter and place all the rungs that your wooden ladder has well. Once the white glue takes effect, it will be difficult to move them. That's what it's all about, so don't take this step lightly and place the steps carefully.

5. Apply an interior wood stain to the ladder to protect it.

A stain is a kind of varnish that protects and decorates the wood at the same time. For our decorative staircase, we have chosen a glacier effect stain that will give the wood a cold touch as if it were Scandinavian wood. Long live the Nordic decoration!

Apply the stain all over the wood and let it dry for the time specified by the manufacturer.

Once dry and the wood is not sticky to the touch, you can hang your towels on the ladder. Enjoy!

Suggested materials:
  • White glue
  • Lacquer for wood
  • Rectangular wooden slats
See all materials
Josephine Donna Rexlan
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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 1 comment
  • William William on Jan 30, 2021

    Great looking ladder rack. Love the idea of making it tapered rather than straight up and down. Good share

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