DIY Scarf Organizing Ladder

They say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I, Amanda, have a vintage scarf addiction. ?? I have been picking them up from thrift stores for years, and for every one I purge, I somehow acquire two more. The worst part of it is, I’ve never had a smart solution to store all of these pretty little guys. There have literally been 50 scarves shoved into a garbage bag in the corner of my closet for years. #Classy I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here before; but I actually have an entire bedroom that I use as a closet. I somehow swindled Dillon into agreeing to rent a two bedroom for the sole purpose of storing all of my clothes, shoes, and makeup in one of them. Once again… I have a problem. ??‍♀️ Anyways, because of the space dedicated to my wardrobe, it seemed even more ridiculous that I wasn’t utilizing it and keeping my collection organized. After brainstorming pretty, yet practical, ways to store my scarves, the first thing that came to mind was a copper pipe ladder I have in my living room to store throw blankets. I posted some photos of my living room a couple weeks ago and received a ton of questions about the throw blanket ladder! For anyone wondering, it was a DIY I followed years ago from A Beautiful Mess. I decided that doing something along these same lines would work well, but wasn’t thrilled about spending that same amount of money for something that was mostly just for myself to see and use. I decided to swap out the copper for PVC pipe to cut down the budget and added some shower curtain rings for hanging smaller scarves. The outcome was exactly what I was looking for! ?? This project can be done in an afternoon, is really affordable, and totally functional. If you are a scarf hoarder like myself, give this a try!

Supplies:
(25 feet) ¾” PVC Pipe
(4) ¾” PVC Pipe Caps
(16) ¾” PVC Pipe Tee Fittings
(2) Packages of Shower Curtain Rings
Spray Paint
Pipe Cutter OR Saw

First, cut pipe into (18) 10” pieces, and (9) 15” pieces. Cutting the pipe was the most time consuming part for me. I only had a copper pipe cutter at home, which did get the job done, but was definitely not the most efficient solution. If you have any type of saw lying around, I would suggest using that to cut the pipe. The pipe cutter does do the trick with a little more elbow grease ?? so if that’s all you have, you can make it work! Another option is to have it cut at the hardware store; you just may have to pay a small fee per cut.

Once pipe is cut, lay your ladder out on the floor to make sure you have all pieces required. Then, start to assemble. This works best if you put together both sides of the ladder, and then attach the middle pipes last. Grab one piece of 10” pipe, slide a tee fitting onto one end, and tap with a hammer to set in place. Add another 10” pipe, and tap into the open end of the tee. Repeat this until you have (9) 10” pieces of pipe connected together using (8) tee fittings. Then, slide a cap onto either end and tap with a hammer to set. Repeat this on other side. Lastly, attach middle pieces to one of the side assemblies, and fit them into the tee fittings of the other side assembly. Tap with hammer to tighten. (Note: do not skip using the hammer on any of these steps. I tried to assemble the first side without using one, and it was not sturdy. The hammer is necessary to make sure all pieces are fitting together tightly and can hold weight).

Now, bring your ladder outside and spray paint it! You will have to spray one side, allow it to dry, and then flip it. I also opted to spray my shower curtain rings so that the whole project looked a little more uniform. The whole painting step is totally up to you and whatever you think will work well in your space. My ladder is on display in my dressing room, so I choose to do a gold paint job on it to fit in with the rest of the decor. If you are using this strictly for function in an area that no one will ever see, you could skip this step all together!

Voila! Attach the rings to the ladder, loop your favorite scarves around them, and step back to admire. ? This project will have you letting out a big sigh of organized relief. Every time I look in the corner and see this pretty display piece, I am so excited that it is replacing the previous trash (literally). I am not by any means a naturally organized person, so when I managed to get my life in order with projects like this I like to give myself a little pat on the back. ??

A couple of notes:

• I used Rust-Oleum Paint and Primer in One to make sure the spray paint adhered well to the PVC pipe. If you go with a cheap paint, there’s a good chance you will see some flaking over time. This is one of those situations where I would suck it up and spend the extra couple of bucks!
• This ladder is really, really tall. Almost 8 ½ feet when assembled. I have 10 foot ceilings in my apartment and was aiming for it to be almost ceiling height, so these dimensions are based off of that. If you have shorter ceilings, just eliminate as many of the 10” pipes as your height allows for.
• Shower curtain rings can be expensive; do not spend a lot on these! I picked them up from the dollar store! Don’t worry about what they look like, you’re painting them anyways. 12 rings for 1 dollar, not bad right? Never forget to check the dollar store when DIYing… #important

What do you guys think? Does this seem like the solution you’ve been looking for? If so, give it a try and be sure to hashtag #347DIY so I can check it out! As always, feel free to reach out to me and ask any questions along the way. ? You got this! ?? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be picking up even MORE scarves to fill this beaut ?

Xo Amanda