Children grow up so quickly that parents often do not have time to respond to their needs. Now the kid is already ready to eat on his own, and then to be creative - to draw, sculpt, make applications. It's time to purchase additional furniture! If you want to save a little or just create something, you can make a children's table with your own hands.
What are they?
The key role in what the table will be is, of course, played by the age of the child and the purpose of the piece of furniture. The table can be intended only for food, but it can also be a place for creativity, developmental activities, one of the key components in the composition of a children's room or kitchen.
The following options are possible here:
- simple small desk with a matching highchair;
- folding table, which can be removed to provide more space for outdoor games;
- folding table, which will be relevant for small apartments;
- Growing table with a rising table top - this one can serve the kid until school.
A writing desk is suitable for a student. It needs to be large enough to hold books, stationery, a lamp - and enough room to write comfortably and correctly. For children from 7 to 17 years old, you can do:
- a simple desk;
- a desk with a rising lid;
- a folding desk attached, for example, to a bookcase.
It is noteworthy that it is for children of senior preschool and school ages that the presence of shelves, drawers, pencil stands or jars with accessories for creativity at the table will be most relevant.
When the idea is approved by the family council, it is worth thinking about consumables. Children's furniture must be made from natural and environmentally friendly materials. The product must be strong enough, because you never know what a child will think of.
The material should be easy to process so that there are no scratches, irregularities, chips left on it, for which the baby can catch on. It is ideal if the table you have made can also be easily decorated.
Ideas for inspiration
With a wooden table, everything is clear - you need to make a drawing, buy or find material, make furniture … But there are several non-trivial options that will save the family budget and make the interior unusual and memorable.
For the smallest, you can make a table out of … cardboard! It usually resembles a breakfast table in bed - it has small legs. At such a table, as a rule, the child sits directly on the floor or on the sofa. Such furniture will be enough for the first time - for the very first creative activities of the baby.
You need to take a large cardboard box (from a TV or refrigerator) and cut the tabletop in shape - rectangular or with rounded corners. You need to make 4 or 5 such "countertops" in order to then glue them together and get a fairly strong and thick table. In the corners, holes are made that are equal in diameter, for example, rolls of toilet paper rolls. The sleeves fit snugly into the holes, acting as feet. The top of the table can then be pasted over with plain paper or self-adhesive foil with a bright pattern.
The most creative parents can paint homemade furniture with paints or decorate using decoupage technique.
Very original and stylish furniture (including children's furniture) is obtained from old pallets and wooden boxes … The bottom line is that many of the details in them are already glued / knocked together - they only need to be sanded and painted. Even if you have to disassemble the source material into boards, they will be perfectly even in size, which means that there is much less work with them.
Such furniture is very easy to decorate: for example, paint each board in any color. You will get a bright multi-colored table. You can cover the tabletop with glass - this will give the table a special charm.
An old coffee table can also be "presented" to a child. It is enough to paint it with bright colors or let the child paint it on their own.
If we are talking about a table for a student, the simplest option is a folding one. This is a model for the unassuming and economical.
If such a table is attached to a wall, it usually has a base that connects to the wall and makes it look more attractive. The table top is connected to the base by hinges, and on the back side it has a special fastener that allows the table to be kept in a "working" state.
Can be attached directly to the bookshelf - in this case, the hinges are attached to the end of one of the shelves (which is best suited in height). The main thing is to think over the fasteners (it is best to use special triangular brackets) and the angle of incidence of light, so that classes at such a table take place without harm to the child's health.
An original and stylish table can be made from an old crib … To do this, you just need to remove the front grill and set the bottom at the level at which the child will be comfortable. The slatted bottom will need to be covered with plywood.
Such a table is placed only against the wall, but it fits well into the interior of a children's room and is very suitable for girls. The workplace is large enough, and hooks can be placed on the side walls and the rear wall with slats. Scissors and other office supplies will be located on them, as an option - materials for needlework. Hanging paper organizers can be attached to them.
A more "adult" version is obtained if the removed front wall with slats is installed at the bottom (like a shelf for papers), and the tabletop is made at the very top (made of glass).
Materials (edit)
If you decide to make a full-fledged wooden table (plywood, chipboard, solid wood), it is best to make a list of all the necessary materials in advance.
Plywood is good for environmental friendliness and durability. It is easy to process and decorate successfully. For children's furniture, it is best to take high-quality birch plywood without knots and irregularities. It is better not to take moisture-resistant or veneered ones - it is treated with chemicals that evaporate into the air.
For work you will need:
• jigsaw;
• screws;
• liquid nails or other suitable glue;
• for decoration - water-based paints or polyurethane varnish.
The disadvantage of plywood is its price. As a result, such a table will be more expensive than the purchased version made of plastic or combined materials.
More affordable options are chipboard or MDF boards. Chipboard uses chemicals, but MDF does not, so chipboard is usually cheaper. Plates can be cut with saws, metal hacksaws, grinders and jigsaws. You will need screws, nails, glue, possibly hinges or brackets. Be sure to purchase end caps in the color of the table to help hide the mounting material. The edge tape will make all edge cuts aesthetically pleasing.
The most environmentally friendly and beautiful furniture is obtained, of course, from solid wood. For children, beech, pine, birch are preferable.
Making a wooden table for a child
So, having decided on the model and purchasing materials, you can get to work … Drawings and diagrams can be downloaded on the Internet or viewed in reference books. The main thing is that the dimensions are correctly indicated on them, the places for fasteners are marked and the recommended thickness of the boards is indicated - the strength of the furniture depends on this.
The easiest option is a table top and 4 legs. For the legs, you will need 4 bars 4 x 4 cm thick. Cut the tabletop of the size you need out of the furniture board. Alternatively, you can knock 2 flat boards together, and then cover the top of the tabletop with plywood or fiberboard.
The legs will be screwed to the frame at the bottom of the table top. For this you need:
• Mark where the frame will be. To do this, you need to outline a rectangle on the back of the countertop so that it recedes from its edge by 5 cm on each side.
• Place the future leg in the corner of the resulting rectangle and outline … Do this in each of the 4 corners.
• The frame should not extend to the edge of the line exactly the width of the leg. The length of the bar for the frame on the long side is calculated as follows: the length of the tabletop minus 5 cm and minus the width of the leg. For a bar on the short side: the width of the table top is minus 5 cm and minus the width of the leg.
• Screw the frame bars to the table top
• Screw the legs to the frame.
• Sand the table (first with coarse sandpaper, then fine-grained).
• Now the table can be varnished or paint with water-based paints.
A table with folding legs (on the principle of an ironing board) is perfect for children's rooms: after finishing work, it can be folded and removed so that it does not take up space and does not interfere with active games.
The easiest option is to make a tabletop from chipboard or plywood, decorate it, and screw ready-made metal folding legs at the bottom. You can buy them in furniture fittings stores.
If you want a completely wooden table, you can use a certain scheme.
A tabletop is cut out of wood, as well as legs, footrests and crossbars. The corners on the supports and legs need to be rounded off with a jigsaw or other tool.
Legs with supports are bolted together. Then the crossbars are mounted. After that, the legs are fastened to the tabletop with self-tapping screws.
Remember that all details must be well sanded.
How to make a children's table with your own hands - in the next video.