You know those aspirational pictures of homes where you think, wow, it would be awesome to have that one day, but never gonna happen, so I’ll just admire from afar? I’m here to tell you a home library ladder wall (or room!) – so romantic, so vintage-y, so regal – is not one of those out-of-reach things. I coveted the look for years before I finally dove in and made it happen in two different houses, included our current living room. It’s easier and more affordable than you might think this.

In our last house, we had super tall ceilings in our living room, which made it pretty much a no-brainer as reaching top shelves on our built-in was a necessity. In this house with our 8′ ceilings (pic above), it’s for looks only (although it does make dusting easier, too).

You can definitely make your own, but there are also several companies that make kits to make it much simpler and help ensure you have all the necessary hardware, etc. I’ve sourced our Quiet Glide version through Van Dyke’s Restorers – a favorite source – and they have a terrific resource guide on how to plan out the components and lots of customization options, so you can balance how much you spend on base materials and various upgrades.

It does take some DIY know-how in terms of assembling the ladder and installing the rails – and leaving all the proper clearance for the slider, etc. – but if you’ve ever completed an IKEA hack, you got this.

Last time I purchased pre-made bookcases and a contractor ran a stringer board at the top to hold the ladder, but this time, we were filling in some uneven and odd-sized nooks to create one seamless wall of shelving, so we (my Dad) took a stab at creating the bookcase from scratch. Thankfully, there’s a jig that makes lining up the shelf holes a little less intense.

Since this is basically a wall of collected treasures – most items are vintage or made to look storied and old – I chose modern sconces and a high-contrast paint job as a crisp contrast.

If you’re even on the fence about wanting to add a library ladder to a space in your house, this is your sign to just go for it!