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November 17, 2015 By Brandy 22 Comments

Home » Holidays » Christmas

DIY Stocking Ladder for Homes Without a Fireplace or Mantel

Filed Under: Christmas, Craft Tutorials, Holidays, Home & Garden Projects, Home Decor Projects

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it to display quilts!

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it to display quilts!
We live in an area that drops below freezing for only a couple of days a year. So having a fireplace JUST for the sake of having a mantel to decorate wasn’t very practical, but oh how I miss the mantel we had in our last home. Especially at Christmas time! We’ve been hanging our stockings under the bar with 3M hooks and I really haven’t liked the set up at all. I was searching for something that wouldn’t take up a lot of space and then it dawned on me…my quilt ladder!

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it for quilts!
Derrick made me this gorgeous quilt ladder earlier this year to display all of the blankets and quilts that I have been making. It takes up very little wall space and is something that I use all year long so it doesn’t require storing it in the garage during the rest of the year. I simply tied our stockings to the ladder rungs with twine and really love how it looks as a stocking ladder!

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it for quilts!
This was a 2-hour project and if you are interested in making one too for blankets, quilts, or a way to display stockings here are dimensions we used!

DIY Stocking Ladder

2 (6′ length) 2x4s, cut on a slight angle to lay flush on the wall.

4 (18″ length) 1x4s  for the ladder rungs.

Stain: Minwax Jacobean

The top rung is 3″ from the top and each rung below is spaced 11.5″ down.

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it for quilts!
The rungs are screwed in on a slight angle (tipping forward) to give dimension when hanging quilts.

We angled the back so that the blanket ladder lays flush against the wall, and I added felt pads so that the stain didn’t rub off on the paint.

Blanket ladder

We also angled the feet so that it sat flush against the floor. Just simple cuts on the saw will take care of this!

After screwing and assembling the ladder I applied a coat of Jacobean Minwax stain (my favorite shade, I’ve used this for other projects too) and let it dry for 8 hours. Then I applied a clear coat of spray lacquer and let it dry for 2 hours.

I’m not sure how much this would have cost to purchase, but we made it for under $15. We had to buy a can of stain, otherwise, this would have been a $10 project!

No mantel? No problem! This beautiful stocking ladder is perfect for hanging stockings with rustic charm. When Christmas is over you can use it for quilts!

How do you hang your stockings?

You might also like…

Make Your Own Burlap Stocking

Winterberry Wreath Tutorial

Here are more fun ways to hang stockings!

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Brandy
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Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

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About Brandy

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Charlene b Asay says

    November 16, 2016 at 11:38 am

    This is such a great idea to hang your stockings. THanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Tabatha Strickland says

    December 1, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    I just made of one of these and stained it, but I have a question. Did your rungs stain differently than the side pieces? I bought pine wood, but the 1×4’s are staining MUCH darker than the 2×4’s are.

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      December 1, 2016 at 4:10 pm

      Hi Tabatha! I had to go look at mine, but they all turned out about the same shade. The grain lines are bigger on my 2×4’s so there is more of a contrast of lines, but the shade is the same. I’m wondering why that is happening for yours!

      Reply
  3. Marilyn says

    February 16, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    How is this ladder attached to the wall ? Even with the felt pads on the top (of the sides)
    which will touch the wall! It seems there might be a really good possibility that even with barely a bump or touch, that it would simply slide away from the wall to the floor !

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      February 17, 2017 at 10:06 am

      I actually don’t have it attached to the wall. It hasn’t ever fallen and is pretty sturdy!

      Reply
  4. Debrashoppeno5 says

    November 13, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    How sweet this is. And it is especially nice that your husband made it.

    Reply
  5. Sara says

    November 14, 2017 at 9:01 am

    This is an amazing idea! Our stockings and hangars take up the entire mantel and there are so many other wonderful things that can be up there! My husband and I make all kinds of wooden furniture for our home so this should be a quick project! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  6. Natalie says

    November 15, 2017 at 5:36 pm

    What a cool and unique idea! Love it!

    Reply
  7. Florence @ VintageSouthernPicks says

    November 19, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    We do have a mantel, but if I didn’t have one, this would be a wonderful alternative! The stockings look great on it & so festive! This was a really clever idea!

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      November 20, 2017 at 5:47 am

      Thank you, Florence! You work with what you have! We moved this year and have a mantle again so it’s gone back to a quilt ladder, but it really did work out well as a stocking ladder those few years!

      Reply
  8. Natalie A says

    November 19, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    This is such a clever idea that you came up with. I love that this is an easy way to decorate with stockings, and it’s perfect if you don’t have anywhere to hang stockings! I’m a big fan of this stocking ladder idea.

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      November 20, 2017 at 5:47 am

      Thanks Natalie! So many of us don’t have mantels so this is a nice alternative!

      Reply
  9. Cassy French says

    November 22, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    Love this idea! Super useful for those of us without a mantel or staircase. I love that the ladder itself can be used year round too!

    Reply
  10. Sharon@bluewillowhouse says

    November 25, 2017 at 7:02 am

    Love this idea and I already have a small ladder. Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle and I am featuring your stocking ladder at the party today.

    Reply
  11. Kaurie says

    December 29, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    What do you use to hang the stockings?

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      December 29, 2018 at 8:41 pm

      Hi Kaurie! I tied them on with twine.

      Reply
  12. Jo says

    October 26, 2020 at 3:37 am

    What a great idea. We’ve moved, our Christmas tree space will be limited and I always struggled with how to present our 7 stockings. My blanket ladder is not being used so I’m wondering .. how exactly did you put felt on the ladder so it didn’t mark up the wall?

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      October 26, 2020 at 10:44 am

      Hi Jo! You can buy small circles of felt with a sticky back that are meant to protect flooring and walls from furniture. Peel the back off and press that part against the ladder. Worked like a charm!

      Reply
  13. Mindy Lay says

    November 10, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    Hi! Thanks for the directions for this cute ladder. I have asked my husband to build 2 for me, but he would like to know what angle you cut the top and bottom to make it flush with wall and floor? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      November 13, 2020 at 2:20 pm

      Hi Mindy! I honestly have no idea. My husband said he will try to figure it out and then I can update my post. He kind of just eye balled it. That would be a nice piece of info for others to have as well. I’ll update it soon!

      Reply
  14. Linda says

    December 3, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Did you ever check the angles on the stocking ladder?

    Reply
    • Ladyfir says

      March 4, 2022 at 10:18 pm

      I would like to know as well.

      Reply

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