a stylish & affordable kids play table

Now that the kiddo is getting a bit older (13 months already!), I've been thinking about carving out an "official" play space for her in our tiny little house. I've been looking at play tables, and while it's not hard to find stylish options these days, it is more difficult to find a good-looking option that's also affordable. I mean, it's gorgeous and I adore Serena & Lily's offerings, but who's really shelling out almost $400 for a table that's going to be used for just a few years max? That's a big chunk of change!


And even those play tables I found that were half that price still seemed too steep for me, for something that's going to be kicked and gouged, drawn and painted on. So, I figured this was a prime opportunity to diy. So yes, that means Michael has a new project ;-)

And besides, if we diy this, I figure that gives me a bigger budget to get the seating for this table that I really want—those adorable gingham poufs pictured above! And yes, I know they may get drawn and painted on too, but I can spot clean them, right? Or slipcover if they get totally trashed, I guess.

Anyway, some table ideas that I thought might not be too tough to build:

land of nod

west elm (unfortunately no longer available!)

paddington way

But here's the one we finally decided to model our diy on, with help from a plan from Ana White.


It's on sale now for $169, but I figure we can do it for less than half that (and in just a weekend day). We're also going to scale it down a bit so it fits into our limited space. I'm very excited for the girl to have her own little spot in our living room! Now let's hope I can nudge Michael to get it done in time to have it under (actually, near) the Christmas tree! 

2 comments

My House, My Garden said...

I love the way that Land of Nod has their play tables with removable legs that can be replaced with longer legs as your child grows. Genius! If you DIY it, maybe make sure that you can also upsize you legs eventually.

My 7 year old daughter still prefers to write and draw and play school at a small play table that she's had since she was 1 year old. So, your table may last longer than you think also!
Love your blog,
Vikki

Gillianne said...

In our area, craigslist regularly has small-top bistro tables for very little money. The legs can be cut down easily and the table redone to appeal to a little one. (Bistro chairs also can be cut down.) Perhaps that might be an affordable alternative to a total DIY?