Ladders are not just for climbing

Sometimes you need to fill a vertical space, for balance or to divide a room.

The Sapien bookcase can dot his well (or just a plain old stack of books).  I used one in my dad's room:

Art can be another way to do this, like the stack of frames I used in my dining room.

(The curtains and tree don't hurt, either).

Another great strategy is the decorative ladder.  I re-did a master bedroom where they already owned one--I just moved it and added blankets for softness.

I've been stumbling upon more and more of these ladders around the interwebs.

Amber Interiors, above and below

Design sponge, above and below

I recently came across these gorgeous ladders, but they're a bit spendy.

Bloak ladder

So I rounded up some options and better price points for you.  There are plenty of options out there in all styles: modern, bohemian, rustic.  Something for everyone!

For sources, go here and click through to the individual websites.

What do you think: would you ever use a ladder in your decor?

File under: I never would have done that, but it looks good!

Sometimes I realize that I have hard and fast design rules of my own that aren't, you know, like real rules.  And of course fake rules are meant to be broken.

Case in point:

Heather's rule: when layering rugs, one of them must be solid.

Breaking the rule beautifully:

A cowhide over a large-scale printed dhurrie!

What WHAT?!

And yet it works.  I think because both patterns have organic shapes, but one is high-contrast and one is low-contrast, and one has a regular repeat while the other is random.  See the house tour of these geniuses here.

I'm a gonna try my hand at this.  Look for some pairings next week!

Have a great weekend,

Heather