DIY Kiva ladder....

I must say that I am a Pottery Barn addict.  I love it when my catalog comes and use it as a mini guidebook to decorating.  I saw them use a kiva ladder like this and was determined to get my hands on one.  Unfortunately for me, they are VERY expensive.  In my backyard is a pile of old poles that were used to brace up our new trees.  They were rotting away and useless, bleached by the AZ sun and frankly, an eye-sore.  So, I decided to make my own ladder using these old poles.  Here is how I did it.  (By the way, you can buy these poles at Home Depot or Lowes for next to nothing).

 What is left of the ugly bone yard of poles in my backyard.  Still deciding what to build with these beauties. 

 I selected poles of the same length that had the least amount of damage.  I cleaned them and let them dry.

 Then I sanded them until they were smooth and stained them in a dark walnut.  The stain already had polyurethane in it but after it dried I added a coating of modge podge.  I have little kids and I really didn't want anyone to get a sliver. 

 I then drilled holes in each pole and screwed it all together.  Then I took twine and wound it around each joint.  Then I took wood glue and generously glued each joint.

 Here is the finished project.  Still trying it out in different places but I am loving it thus far. 

It was fun and other than the stain, free.  Gotta love that.  Give it a try.