DIY play table

Here we go again… it is Monday… I feel like I prepare for them but I am never ready for the start of a week. We had a busy weekend around here, having fun, working on projects, and generally kicking butt at life. My 6 year old read me the bedtime story last night. It was a big deal, when do they grow up? I don’t notice the day-to-day change, but then one minute I am cuddling my sweet tiny baby and the next my sweet Caleb is reading ME the bedtime story. This is not home decor related, but I had to share, as they say, “the days are long, but the years are short.” Enough with this sappy Mommy talk, that is for others places. This is a home decor blog, I know what you came for. Today I am sharing the DIY play table I created for my boys shared bedroom.

I redid their room late last year for the One room challenge and because I am a serious home decor blog slacker I still have the bulk of it to share. I shared the full reveal but never broke down the individual projects, including the monster that was the built in bunk beds. I have not been slacking with projects in general, I share them daily here. I did however get distracted by the holiday rush and then organizing my home to share the rest of this room. However, I am back and ready to divulge all of the ideas I put into this room, I planned this room from top to bottom to function 100%. It is a shared boys bedroom and while it is a good sized room it still has to fit two boy’s worth of stuff in it.

I talked about the toy storage and organization that went on a little bit ago. I wanted there to be set places for things, a method to the madness. I think making the bedroom work well has to do with the planning, making sure there is play space, toy storage, and ample room for all around fun. If the legit rock star worthy drum set in the corner does not tell you, this is a place for fun, loudness, noise, and Lego building. Lots and LOTS of Lego building. My middle child and oldest son Caleb is the die-hard Lego fan. He dreams about them, plans them, would bathe with them if it was not frowned upon at home. I knew I had to have a set plan for this Lego obsession, for the storage of them (which is an almost impossible task), the creation of Lego “things”, displaying said Lego “things”, and the act of building them all of which needs to be executed in this room. I planned to create a DIY play table that encompassed all of this.

I found these tin bins from Homegoods. This was my first trip to a Homegoods store, we just got one in that is about an hour away. Let me tell you, my bank account and husband appreciate that this is not a short drive from my home. It was love at first sight with the store and these bins. They are metal and almost indestructible. I say almost because…. well… kids. This is where the Lego’s will be stored when not in use.

In my quest to turn this room into a room fit for two big-ish boys and fill it with function I did a lot of shopping. I purchased two chairs from Ikea. These will be used for them to sit and create on. To keep it 100% real here we had a very detailed conversation about these stools, my kids wondering why there was a hole in the center. Me simply saying “because that is how the manufacture made them” did not cut it. After some deep discussing it was decided the hole is there, and I quote “for when you fart and the air can just, plop, go through the hole.” How nice of Ikea, so thoughtful with their fart planning.  I won’t tell you who came up with that, but the person is under 4 ft tall and a definite know-it-all.

I spray painted the stools a dark green. Yes, this is a spray painting area in my home. In the basement more specifically, I do enough spray painting of things to need an actual set-up. This is  a DIY house.

The stools fit in with the dark green, blue, and a little orange color scheme. It is an overabundance of color that I somehow juggled to make it all work. Yes, in the background of the above picture is a caged Minion. You have to keep those crazies in line.

The last piece to this DIY play table and Lego center is to create some Lego trays to fit in the table. Along with being a spray painting pro, I also hoard wood. This piece of wood was acquired sometime ago and had actual shoe print marks on it. To say this is a rough piece of wood is an understatement. But, this is just what I need to make the Lego trays.

I cut them into 2 inch wide wood pieces. These will be the sides of the trays. I am going to make two of these trays because I have two boys and like to spend my day doing more than breaking up fights on who gets the one Lego tray. I also measured and cut down to size a plywood board that will be the bottom of this tray.

Here is where I get fancy, I set my table saw to a lower setting. This allows me to have a shallow cut in the boards. I did this so that the bottom board can sit in the new groove that I created of all of the boards. This will help me build the trays itself, help in connecting them and making sure they are built to last.

I checked to make sure the boards were cut to the desired size then added a 45 degree angle to them. This way the corners are flush together.

Using wood glue was my best option here because of the cheaper and lower grade wood. I could not guarantee using nails would not have splintered the wood. Which is where the grooved and narrow cuts came into play.

I used clamps to hold it all together while the glue adhered. The above picture is of the tray all put together. I had to put 2×4’s on the sides to help hold it together with the clamps. Those are obviously not part of the tray, just wanted top explain the picture a little better.

 

The 45 degree corner’s fit snugly!

This is where my home decor and DIY slacker-ness shows, I did not take any pictures of the finished tray without paint on it. I blame kids, the One room challenge craziness, the dog ate my homework, allergies…. so much. Anyways, let’s pick up here. The tray is painted a fun green and now I am going to add some handles to the sides for ease of use with this twine.

I drilled tiny holes into the sides of the tray. The way they will sit in the table the shorter sides will be facing out, and where the handle makes most sense.

Knotting the ends on the inside of the tray.

I made sure it was just snug enough to pull slightly away from the tray. I am loving the little rustic aspect to this.

The tray can hold two of those flat Lego sheets to build on, the kids pull them out when building. It keeps their specific Lego’s in place and also organizes their work in progress piece. If there is Lego’s in one of these trays my three kids know not to touch it, the pieces are claimed an the child will cut a b**** if you mess with the Legos in this tray. You have been warned!

I had grand dreams of creating a new DIY play table for their bedroom, with pull out drawers, built in bench seating. Guys it would have been amazing! But, the One room challenge has a strict 6 week timeline and most of that time went to building the built in bunk beds. There was no time for a new play table. Luckily I have a ton of furniture that I create already in my home. I made this TV stand which I shared at Homedit a while ago and it was in the basement for the game room. However I saw the potential for this to be the play table of my dreams, part deux.

I repainted it with the lovely navy blue. A little backstory, I had planned to paint the bunk beds this dark blue, but a late night conversation with some of my favorite home decor blogging ladies made me see that this would be a big mistake. I saw the error of my ways and decided to use this blue as the furniture accent colors and painted the bunk beds white, a decision I am so relieved I made. Friends don’t let friends paint bunk beds a dark color, or make decorating decision on a whim. Shout out to those ladies who literally saved the day!

Here it is folks! The DIY play table, Lego center and all around awesome play space for my boys. 

This table is perfect for the use with these trays, the kids can easily slide them in and out when needed. I love when decorating all comes together and with this table being a last minute adjustment I am surprised it works out so well.

I am going to geek out for a minute, the rope in the Lego tray matched the rope on their ladder. Yes, I thought about things that much.

The Lego can be stored in these and pulled out when needed. I thought about trying to color coordinate the Lego and separate into bins, but then i realized I have three kids and that is a crazy thought. This room may look pretty but it is all for them and their needs. What they do not need is a crazy lady hollering at them to keep the Lego’s color coordinated. Not going to happen, play away little ones!

I moved the ceiling light, took out the fan that was there and put in two pendant lights from Ikea. It allows a great work space for the kids at night, literal spotlight on this table.

I created the gallery wall in this bedroom and shared the simple ways I added to it and put it together.

 

I love this combination of blue and green. It is a great mix but also my boys designated color. In our home Nora gets pink everything, Caleb gets blue and Gavin gets green, it is their favorite colors. I do wonder if poor Gavin never had a chance to pick blue or another color. From the time he was born his older siblings informed him that green was his. He does like the color and relishes in it being G for green and  G for Gavin. But one has to wonder what came first, the chicken or the egg… or in this case… Gavin’s natural love of green or the lack of any other option. We will never know….

There is even more subtle rope elements in their room, the poster frame I created has rope on it as well. You can see it in the background of this picture. I warned you I planned this ahead of time. I really enjoyed thinking of every little thing, and will never commit to something this detailed again. So enjoy the subtleties here my friends because it will never happen again. Random acts of decorating from here on out!

I found this rack at Goodwill. I am not even sure what it was intended to be used for, a tiny gun rack? No clue. I thought it would work great as a Lego display case. No guns here, just Lego creations that deserve some time to shine. I painted it the same green as the trays and hung it on the wall.

 

This DIY play table and Lego play area gets a ton of use, and I am so happy I planned it out this way. I joke about it being a lot of work to plan it all, which it was. However, this room functions soooo well. There is toy storage, play space, a creating spot, reading nooks, a rock out corner, and a legit Lego making station! It was worth all of the work to have this room function so well. Maybe I need to up my game all of the time and who knows what I could come up with in my home. The possibilities are endless!

This week I have a ton to share with you guys, a few simple crafts and a decorating challenge. I am working on a bunch of things behind the scenes around here. I explained the current projects going on and I asked some decorating advice. I loved to hear what you all had to say, it is fun knowing there are people out there actually reading this and getting all hot and bothered about kitchen counter tops. You are my home decorating obsessed peeps and having that conversation flow was amazing! Let me know what you thought of this Lego table, how do you keep those Legos organized and away from the bottom of your feet. Inquiring minds and poor, sore feet needs to know!

       

Here are some posts your might have missed –

Organization station

Hallway transformation

Kitchen redo

Installing upper cabinets

How to install tile floor

Master bathroom redo reveal