DIY Kid's Tool Bench

The DIY Playbook
by The DIY Playbook
$100
3 Hours
I DIY-ed a mini tool bench for my nephew's first birthday and am excited to share the process with you guys, especially since it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! Of course I could have saved a lot of time by buying a pre-made tool bench but I wanted to create one that looked a little less plastic/colorful and a bit more aligned with my sister's home decor style. That way it would blend in with her home and she wouldn’t feel as bad keeping it out and about 24/7.
Here's what I needed for the project:
  • 30″ W x 18″ H x 12″ D Unfinished Cabinet
  • Unfinished Oak Stair Tread (awesome because it has a rounded edge for safety purposes!)
  • 1×4 Piece of Oak
  • Stain
  • Varnish (optional)
  • Paint/Paint Brush
  • Handles
  • 3 pieces of scrap wood
  • Screws
  • Drill
  • Miter Saw
  • Two 1×2″ MDF Pieces
  • Pegboard
  • Pegboard Organizer (I used these)
  • Kiddie Tools (I bought these)
  • Touch Lights


Instructions
There are a ton of different ways you can tackle this project, and lots of variations you can add to customize it to your specific space. I’m sharing the steps my dad and I took to build this DIY tool bench, but please feel free to adjust the look/steps in order to make your tool bench align with your home!


The first thing you want to do is paint the cabinet. I bought this cabinet unfinished from Lowe’s and painted it Sherwin Williams’ African Gray ( If you’re looking to save money on this project, you can probably find similar sized cabinets at a home rehab store like Habitat for Humanity and still customize it to fit your space. This sized cabinet is the one that goes over the refrigerator, so keep your eyes peeled for that style so that it’s the perfect height for your little one.


I bought a 2’x4′ piece of pegboard from Home Depot, and had it cut down to size in store. I also bought two 1″x2″ MDF pieces that would act as supporting straps on the back of the pegboard. Regular wood would work for this part, but I went with the MDF because it was already white and blended well with the white pegboard.


Rookie Tip: Wherever you add the straps on the back of the pegboard, you won’t be able to add pegs/tools in that spot. Therefore the thinner the wood, the better!
To see the detailed steps on how I created the DIY counter out of a stair tread and then attached all of the parts to create this DIY tool bench, check out this detailed tutorial.
And we even "child-proofed" this bench so it was very safe for the kiddos to play with! Overall, this little guy LOVES his new tool bench and spends hours tinkering.
The DIY Playbook
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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