DIY Step Stool (and Also ... I'm a Wood Hoarder)

Kate Hollingsworth
by Kate Hollingsworth
3 Materials
2 Hours
Easy

We all know people who hold onto their 4-sizes-too-small skinny jeans and think I might fit into these one day. Well, clothes aren’t my problem. Wood is my problem. I might need that piece of wood one day.


So when my mum asked if I’d like the timber from her broken bookcase, of course I said yes. I shoved it in the shed amongst all my other necessary spare wood.


Many months later we were faced with the challenge of staging an apartment, within one week, with the smallest budget in the world ($500). I love a good challenge so I whipped up a couple of simple pieces of furniture (for free!) using timber I already had.

I used these bookcase scraps:

… to make this simple piece of furniture (side table? console table? I’m not sure what to call it):

… which I staged like this:

When the apartment sold, we sold almost all of the furniture that was in it, but I took this little console table thingy back home and disassembled it, storing the timber back in the shed.


The other day, I came across  these plans for the Ana White step stool and I had a lightbulb moment. I could use the scrap wood from the bookcase/console table to make a step stool for the laundry sink.


People, imagine fitting into those 4-sizes-too-small skinny jeans. That’s how excited I get about hoarding and then using scrap wood icon

I used one long piece (cut into three) and some leftover pine 1×4.

Following the  simple plans from Ana White’s website, I whipped up a step stool in just a few minutes.

You can’t see from the above photo but I made a small adjustment to the original plans. Instead of the V cutout on the legs, I made an arch by tracing around a paint can icon .

I painted the step stool Dulux Diplomatic and then added a little detail striping using different width tapes as a painting guide.

Ta da! Isn’t it the sweetest? (Note the scratches on the floor from where the kids have repeatedly dragged a dining chair over to the sink.)

It’s the perfect size to give our 3yo the added height she needs to reach the taps.

I love how the slightly angled legs of the stool make it really stable.

And those little arches in the legs icon


I’m in the process of setting up an online shop for all the things I make (I currently just sell them locally on Marketplace) and I’d love to add these step stools to my range of products. I can already imagine them in a variety of colours.


(On a side note, I’ve finally joined the masses and created an Instagram account … and I love it! You can find me @house_of_hollingsworth)


I’m a wood hoarder … and I’m proud of it.

Suggested materials:
  • Scrap wood
  • Screws
  • Leftover paint
Kate Hollingsworth
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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