Our most recent home renovation has been on the basement. It has been on my radar since we moved in 3 years ago, but I couldn't seem to get Ben on board with my plans. That is until I uttered the magic words "Man Cave". Yes, I will admit that I have relinquished one area of Mi Casita to Ben. But after the blood, sweat, and tears that he put into it, I believe that he deserves it. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have an area that can be a mess and I can just close the door and ignore it...for a few days. I have to say that this "Man Cave" does come with one caviat (okay, there are more than one, but I don't want to get carried away). He has to share it with Maddie (and future kiddos). In my mind, this works perfectly. Picture this: Ben (and his man friends) playing PS3...for hours...while watching Maddie and the kiddies playing in the corner. Jackpot! I just scored myself some free time!
So in an effort to make myself some free time, I knew that the kiddie area had to appeal to my uber-crazy need to organize otherwise I would be spending my free time cleaning up. That is where the console table comes in. I purchased this table on a whim. I admit it wasn't my finest choice, but at the time I couldn't pass it up. Although, I cannot remember how much it was, I remember the pulse-racing, palm-sweating, adrenaline-surgin' feeling that I got when I laid eyes on that clearance tag. It was like the heavens opened up in the middle of Kmart, the angels started singing and a light shone on that table. Okay, it may not have happened exactly that way, but you get the idea. And so, I made the table mine. It was easy to convince Ben that this table was Per-fect for his Man Cave. See these are MAGIC WORDS, but use them wisely, they can only get you so far...
Wow, how did I get onto this tangent? Anywhoo, my plans involved making this table into a mobile bench complete with colorful bins for storage. I started by measuring the legs of the table. They were about 1-5/8" x 1-5/8". After searching some online sites, I realized my newest favorite store, Lowes, would be sure to have the wheels I needed. Thankfully my trip was successful and I left with these Hot Wheels for a mere $3.29.
I said a prayer as I tested the wheels out for size. Gloria a Dios! They fit! Well, the base was slightly larger than the leg, but I figured that I could live this it.
I decided to predrill the holes for the wheels because I knew that this would make the installation easier. Using the base as a template, I marked the screw locations by tracing the holes.
I interrupt this post for an important safety tip. Be sure to wear your safety glasses (no matter how silly you feel) and don't do projects like this in front of your infant. Yeah there is another heart racing story behind that but I will save that for another day...maybe...
See that bin of screws? It contains all of our random "extras" from projects over the years. I cannot remember purchasing screws, but they seem to keep accumulating, which works out well for projects like this one.
As simple as this project seems, it took me a few tries to get it right. I guess that is what happens when you go into a project thinking "I will just wing it". Uhm yeah, that isn't always the best way of thinking, hence a split in the first leg and only 3 screws in the base. After my trial and error first plan, I decided that the shorter screw would prevent the splitting and still do the trick.
Fifteen minutes later..WHA-LAH! I was scootin' this bad boy all over the kitchen and doing my happy dance. I love the feeling of completing a project ALMOST as much as I love a great sale.
Now I need your help. I am debating on what I should do with the table top.
Should I leave it, paint it or make it into a chalkboard? What is realistic? Remember little kids will be playing and coloring on this table. Do you have any other ideas for this toy storage bench?
Looks great but i can't believe you tossed that nugget of a story on "doing projects in front of your infant" without telling the story?!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I am impressed by your skills with the drill. Second, having had a kids playroom in our old house & some experience with a "craft table", I will say this: EXPECT the tabletop to get colored on, scratched, ruined. We had ours spray-painted white and every year Ryan would take it out to the garage, sand down the top and spray another coat of paint on to hide the damage the kids had done!:)
ReplyDeleteI think painting it with chalkboard paint might be fun. Do they sell something like a white board paper you could put on it? Then the kiddos could use dry erase markers?
ReplyDeleteKimi - stayed tuned for the post on the story!
ReplyDeleteKimberly - Good point! Although I love the look of a painted piece of furniture, it would break my heart to see it ruined. Maybe with this piece, less is more?
Rachel - I like your thinking...but now I am having second thoughts with Kimberly's advice. I do have a project on my list that will use the chalkboard paint...more to come!
To add to Rachel's comment for this project or a future project. I did notice at your favorite store, Lowe's, that they do have a dry erase paint. I'm not sure if this is what they have in our church conference room. But unless you knew it was a dry erase board, it looks just like a white wall.
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