I love how it turned out.
LMS loves that she can actually find her toys
I love that it didn't cost an arm and a leg, like a storebought version would have
LMS loves that her dress up clothes are easy to find
I love that I was able to customize the design to fit our needs
LMS doesn't mind putting her toys away now that she knows where they all go
I love that it's easy to keep things organized
I found the plans on Ana White's site, the drawers were here and here and the shelf unit was here.
I love her site! I found it a year ago, and when I did, I had a total epiphany. Instead of wasting money on shoddily built furniture, being unhappy with ugly furniture, or just doing without furniture (which is what we've been doing), I realized I could build it myself. And I could customize the dimensions, colors, and so on, to fit our needs and desires. Ana provides free plans to build furniture, and the directions are clear and easy to follow.
I built the drawers as the plans said, but I adjusted the shelf unit. It wasn't originally supposed to be used for toy storage. I flipped it on its side, shortened the length by two inches so it would be the same length as the drawers, moved one shelf up and eliminated another, added a backing, and and added hooks for dressup clothes. It was all relatively easy to do, though I didn't pay as close attention to some of the instructions as I should have, so the far right column of shelves is a bit narrower than the others. Not really a problem, other than it's too narrow for the metal framed baskets to fit in. For safety, I screwed 1x3's into the back, securing the drawers together and the shelf to the drawers. I definitely don't want the shelves tipping over when (not if) she tries climbing them.
It did take longer to build than I planned, but I really like how they turned out. I can't wait till we move to house with an actual workshop. I think I'll be able to get a lot more done if I'm not sweating like a pig or freezing to death on the screened in back porch where I've been doing my woodworking.
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wow!
ReplyDeleteI love it and for half a second thought about linking to the site. But I know right now I would never find the time to do it. I still have a dress of Gabby's that I need to hem . . . from a month ago. And I don't think I am precise enough to like the results of my own work.
I was worried about that aspect as well, since I tend to eyeball things way more than I should. If you look close, you can tell where I messed up here and there, but I look at that as my learning curve :)
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