Grayson is always messing with light switches, handles, knobs, buttons, and other various “non-toys” around the house. If you have or have ever had a toddler you know what I mean when I say they would much rather play with anything BUT their toys. After our laptops and tv being turned off during use, by a toddler who will remain nameless *cough* Grayson *cough*, we thought that maybe if we built him a little table with “non-toys” on it he just might play with it.

Off to Home Depot we went in search for the cheapest dodads and whatsadoodles we could find. Oh, and some wood too.

To be honest it turned out to be a bit more that we had expected. Who knew a basic door stop was almost $3.50? I sure didn’t. The total cost of the table came out around $50, but that is because we had to buy the majority of the items for our table. For many of you out there I bet you have lots of this stuff lying around in the garage. Especially if you are a DIYer and have done some updates to fixtures and/or furniture in the past. Go did through your husbands workshop and see what he has just lying around, or better yet…Grandpa’s workshop. Grandpas always have random things like this.

As soon as we got home Derek got to work. He was so excited about making Gray this table. It was so cute.

 

For some items that would normally sit behind a faceplate in a wall Derek had to drill/cut holes in the wood to drop those pieces in.

For the top and bottom of the table we used MDF since it’s much smoother than plywood. Here’s a view from underneath.

You’ll probably want to clip the wires hanging down from the doorbell. Since nothing is connect to any kind of circuit we were comfortable leaving the underside exposed. Grayson doesn’t even notice that items are exposed underneath. If you are nervous about your child hurting themselves on the objects protruding below you can always tape over it with duct tape or glue/screw scrap wood over the holes.

We used scrap wood we found at my in-law’s house for the legs. After adding the legs Derek felt that the table wasn’t sturdy enough so he decided to add the remaining MDF to the bottom. After the table was assembled I had Derek sand all the edges and corners to dull them a bit, and the legs to dull them and ensure there were no fragments hanging about that could lead to a nasty splinter. I don’t even want to attempt getting a splinter out of a squirmy 1yr old’s finger. The kid barley lets me touch them to clip his nails.

We tried to find various household type items to put on the table. We wanted Gray to not only to have fun (and not destroy our house), but to also learn how different objects work.

Gray’s Gadget Table includes…

~ doorbell (not a working one)

~ door stopper

~ toggle switch

~ two rope ties (to loop/wrap rope around)

~ door latch

~ door chain lock

~ light switch

~ drawer pull w/ a spring link to latch on & off (attached by rope)

~ water on/off valve

~ phone & internet access outlet plate

~ dresser handles

IMPORTANT :: As for the phone/ethernet cords, you should either securely attach a short version of each cord to the table either by staple gun or other method, or only give them the cords to play with under adult supervision. We take Gray’s away when he is done playing or if we have to leave the room. You know, so he doesn’t wrap it around his neck and somehow manage to cut off his airway. 

Look at those chunky little legs in his New Balances. So presh!

I wanted to paint the wood to give it a more finished look, and Derek wanted to leave it natural for a more manly look. I let him win. Did you see that, Sweetie? I LET you win. Since we left the wood au naturale we gave the table some personalization by using cheap little stick-on house letters people use to put their last name on their mailbox with or something.

No matter how hard you might work at keeping your child entertained with unique and off the wall playthings they still have the attention span of a nat, and will wander off to play with something else eventually.

This is his iPod touch. We don’t let him play with our iPhones. Grayson likes to throw things, and I’m quite certain my phone would instantaneously become a projectile. (His iPod touch is a free one that I got years ago when I purchased my MacBook Pro. We so did not spend that much money on something he might break within 6.2 seconds of being placed in his hands.)

He and his daddy send each other emails. With assistance, of course. It’s so cute.

Here’s a view of the entire toddler table from the top.

The table was a hit. No, he doesn’t play with it 24/7, but what kid would. We just like having the option of a practical toy. Plus, you gotta admit…it is kinda manly. We left some room in case we think of something new to add. Any suggestions? Has anyone else built something like this for your kid? What did you put on yours?

P.S. – I still have dreams of painting this bad boy. Sounds like a perfect project for when Derek is at work and can’t stop me.

 

I’m linking up with Someday Crafts on Whatever Goes Wednesday, It’s Overflowing! on Overflowing with Creativity, Wicked Awesome Wednesday.

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 4:01 am and is filed under Daily, DIY. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.