If you decide to create pieces of furniture for your child yourself, but do not have much experience, start easy. Make your own highchair.
“Handmade” is always an original work of art. Even using a ready-made master class in your work, you will still be the author of exclusive handmade work.
Furniture made by your own hands will be created “with soul” and love, and will also significantly save the family budget.
Types of stools
The most common types of stools include:
- children's;
- folding;
- stepladders;
- box stool;
- stool for a summer cottage.
To make these models, you will need certain tools. Of course, this will not be the complete set used by professional carpenters, but the minimum number of tools you need to have on hand.
Many of the required devices are available in every home, but some of the working devices should be purchased in specialized stores.
Tools
To make a simple piece of furniture yourself you will need:
- screwdriver;
- set of clamps;
- hammer;
- chisels of various sizes;
- tape measure and other measuring instruments;
- electric jigsaw;
- plane;
- durable table.
It is advisable to have a set of cutters and a grinder.
Tools for work
To work, you need to prepare a basic set of carpentry tools.
Without carpentry tools, making any piece of furniture from wood simply won’t work. Professional furniture makers have workshops fully equipped with special expensive machines. But just to try yourself as a carpenter, of course, you shouldn’t immediately purchase professional equipment, however, you will still have to prepare some tools.
The list of the most popular tools for working with wood is as follows:
Many operations are performed with a manual milling cutter
- It’s great if you have a hand router with a set of cutters that will help you process the edges of boards, timber and plywood, drill holes of different sizes, or carefully select grooves and grooves on any part.
The grinding machine allows you to quickly process parts to perfection
- To get rid of tedious operations, you will need a sanding machine with interchangeable wheels of varying degrees of grain to give the wood surface a smooth finish. This work can be done manually, but it will take much longer.
An electric jigsaw is extremely easy to use
- Electric jigsaw. This tool, of course, can be replaced with a hand hacksaw, but after sawing the boards with it, the edges of the parts will not turn out neat, and you will have to work hard on them using a router. Again, cutting the material by hand will take much longer.
No one can argue with the versatility of a screwdriver
- A screwdriver will be needed not only for screwing in fasteners, but also for drilling holes in parts. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a set of screwdriver bits and drills of different diameters. Instead of a screwdriver, you can use any drill and a set of hand screwdrivers.
A clamp is an essential element of a quality carpentry tool kit.
- Clamps of various sizes. If you want to make a really high-quality and durable thing, then you must have clamps on hand, since when gluing boards into a solid panel or individual parts together, they must be strongly compressed and left in this position for a fairly long time, and besides these no other instrument can do this.
- You always need a hammer and chisels of different sizes. Sometimes you have to resort to using a plane - it can also be manual or electric.
- Measuring and marking equipment is being prepared - a tape measure, a construction square, a wooden ruler 500÷1000 mm, a simple pencil, a thickness planer, etc.
In addition to these tools, to carry out the work conveniently, you will need a fairly large and durable table - a workbench.
Find out how to make a rocking chair with your own hands by studying several available options in a special article on our portal.
Children's stool
A piece of furniture that is light in weight, practical, and convenient for all family members will always have a “job” in the house.
To make a small stool yourself, you should use durable solid wood.
Do you want to build a very lightweight structure? Work with a lime board. All components of the item must be well polished, and sharp corners must be rounded.
A similar thing can be used both for sitting and as a footrest. A small stool can please both children and elderly family members who really like to put their feet on stands.
Product dimensions
When starting to make a chair for a child with your own hands, it is important to take into account the following rules:
- When sitting on furniture, your feet should be completely flat on the floor, your legs should be bent at the knees 90 degrees.
- The back of the chair is strictly vertical and fits tightly to the base.
- The outer edge of the seat should not put too much pressure on the inside of the knee.
Children's chairs are classified according to their purpose. The first group includes models for feeding. Such products traditionally come complete with a table. Most often they have sizes:
- chair height – from 840 to 900 mm;
- back width – 450 mm;
- height of the chair to the seat – 500 mm, to the back – 700 mm;
- width along the armrests – 400 mm.
The second group is a smaller copy of adult products. Tables that correspond to the height of the furniture and the height of the child will help you determine the size.
| Child's height, cm | Chair height, cm |
| Less than 85 | 180 |
| 85-100 | 220 |
| 101-115 | 260 |
| 116-130 | 300 |
| 131-145 | 340 |
| 146-160 | 380 |
| 161-175 | 420 |
| above 176 | 460 |
The parameters of the children's table must exactly match the dimensions of the high chair.
The seat should be able to easily withstand the load placed on it. The optimal thickness is 60 mm. It is advisable to make the connecting strips of the seat frame up to 20 cm. The legs in cross-section can have dimensions of 5 x 5 cm - such parameters will ensure sufficient stability. The recommended length of the backrest jumper bars is up to 20 cm. All dimensions, drawings, diagrams of a do-it-yourself highchair and other models must be drawn up as accurately as possible.
A model of the future chair made of thick cardboard will help determine whether the measurements were taken correctly. Another convenience is that it is easy to make any changes to make the final product as convenient as possible.
Stool-box
Looking at photographs of hand-made stools on websites, special attention will definitely be drawn to the “combine” - combining a stool with a drawer.
This model is suitable for hiding rarely used items and freeing up additional space in the apartment. At the same time, the sides of the box will significantly strengthen the entire structure.
The fair sex can use the box as a place to store things for needlework, and men can store various tools necessary for the household.
Manufacturing materials
Materials used for children's furniture must be safe for the baby's health.
The first place in the ranking rightfully goes to the tree. The best species for production: beech, ash, alder, aspen. However, wood is sensitive to moisture, requires special care, has significant weight, but the main disadvantage is that a children's stool made from solid wood is quite expensive.
The second place in popularity belongs to plywood products. The material is safe in an environmental sense, bends well, and has an affordable price. It produces lightweight models of unusual shapes. But when exposed to liquid, the structure can become deformed and delaminate.
Plastic products are very light and come in a wide variety of shapes and shades. They are easy to care for. Mild detergents and plain water are suitable for these purposes; abrasive compounds should be avoided. The disadvantage of the material is its high fragility. If handled carelessly, the stool may crack. Another unpleasant feature of such products is that it is cold to sit on them in winter.
Chipboard is also used in the manufacture of stools. It is important to check for a certificate confirming the absence of harmful fumes. The surface of the board is laminated or covered with veneer, and the edges with a special film. In terms of durability and reliability, this is the weakest option.
In the case of decorating stools, work should be carried out with water- or acrylic-based paints. The accompanying documents must confirm that they do not contain heavy metals.
For seat upholstery, fabric materials and leatherette are usually used.
For kids, it is better to choose upholstery with a water-repellent effect. It’s a good idea to have spare covers made from natural fabrics. They will not only decorate the room, but also make the sitting process more comfortable.
All parts of the frame are thoroughly polished so that the child is not injured by protruding bumps or sharp edges.
Folding stool
Such an item is very convenient during “forays” out of town. The design is extremely compact, so it can easily fit in the trunk of a car.
In small apartments, in small kitchens, this is a very convenient thing. The stool can be kept unfolded, and, if necessary, folded and removed from the room.
The choice of seat shape for such a model depends on the taste of the craftsman. One nuance should be taken into account - for a round seat, you need different legs than for a square seat. The legs should be made from a wooden board or solid plywood.
The base of the structure consists of frames that fit freely into one another. Fastening is carried out with special screws on both sides, which allows the structure to be folded.
Decoration of the structure
Products made from natural wood require protection from external factors. Varnishing helps solve this problem. Experts recommend choosing the acrylic version of this material. It creates a coating that is not afraid of any childish pranks - spilled water, paint.
If you want to make the product more interesting, you can paint it. You should give preference to bright, but not harsh colors. Muted light green, mint green, pomegranate, coral and others are suitable.
The materials used must not contain lead, other heavy metals, or hazardous or harmful compounds. Contact with a surface treated with these paints and varnishes may cause a child’s health to deteriorate.
It is not recommended to decorate the table and chair with voluminous decor. First of all, due to the fact that it is one of the most common causes of injury to a child. The best decoration would be hand or screen painting. Appliques and drawings of fairy tale and cartoon characters are suitable for young children. Curly legs will look interesting. If the chair has a back, various figures are cut out on its surface with a jigsaw.
Combined option
A great idea is to combine a stool with a stepladder. There is always a use for such a thing both in the house and in the country. A stepladder is necessary when cleaning, while hanging curtains or pictures.
You can’t do without it when you need to get the right thing from the mezzanine or high shelf of the wardrobe.
The design allows you to remove the steps of the stepladder under the seat so that when assembled it would be an ordinary stool that takes up minimal space.
The stool turns into a stepladder without much effort. To make the steps and seats of such a product, it is necessary to use wooden boards. The stringer and legs can be made of high-quality plywood.
Stool for the garden
The best solution for a summer cottage would be to make a portable stool shaped like a bench.
Plywood cannot be used, because... it will delaminate under the influence of precipitation. It is necessary to stock up on massive wooden beams.
The best option would be a board made of larch or oak. When choosing other types of trees, do not forget to generously soak them with a water-repellent composition and paint them.
One of the fundamentally important differences between outdoor products is that it is necessary to leave small gaps between the back and the seat so that melt or rain water does not linger on the surface, but flows to the ground, and all parts of the structure are quickly ventilated.
Popular types of stools
Even such a simple piece of furniture can be made in different variations and used for different needs. To decide which model you would like to obtain as a result of the work, you should consider several similar products.
Children's stool
This stool option will not be out of place in any home, as it is convenient not only for children, but also for adults. It is light in weight and compact in size, so it can easily be moved to any convenient place in the yard or house where it is needed at the moment, and even a small child can move it.
A “children’s stool” is often necessary for adults as well
It is best to make such a model from a solid board, which should be well processed first. If you want the stool to be very light, then dry linden is used to make it, which has a beautiful textured pattern and very low density.
If the thickness of the board taken for a small stool is at least 25÷30 mm, then only three main parts will need to be made - these are two legs and a seat, which can be fastened with dowels, even without the use of additional reinforcing elements.
All parts of the product must not have sharp corners or burrs. The workpieces must be rounded and well sanded so that there is no risk of injury or splintering.
This piece of furniture can be used not only for sitting, but also as an ottoman, placing it under your feet - this is especially often used by older people. Therefore, by making such a stool, you can please both kids and grandmothers, showing them your care.
Stool - box
It's common to run out of space for small items in the kitchen or workshop, and this stool model is perfect for clearing out some of the currently unused items on your counter. The boards that form the walls of the box strengthen the entire structure well and at the same time create a box where things that should always be easily accessible can be placed.
A stool with a drawer allows you to optimize cramped kitchen or workshop space
For example, women can use such a box to store needlework, as it is spacious enough and there is room in it for balls of yarn and knitting needles, as well as everything necessary for hand embroidery or sewing.
The male half will calmly hide in a box under the seat some items of his home “arsenal” that are most often needed in the household - a hammer and nails, pliers and other not too large tools.
To make such a product you will need a well-processed timber 50×50 mm, a board 200÷250 mm wide and 20÷25 mm thick, plywood for the bottom of the box and fasteners.
Folding stool
A folding stool is suitable for small apartments with small kitchens or for small country houses. It can be kept constantly unfolded, and, if necessary, put away in any closet or niche between the furniture and the wall, since when folded its thickness will be approximately 60÷80 mm, depending on the material chosen for manufacturing and design features.
stool
Folding stool – easy to set up or hide as needed
The seat for this stool model can be made round or square, but each option has its own design for attaching the legs. The legs for such a stool are made of boards or thick, 20÷25 mm high-quality plywood. The base of the product consists of two frames, one of which must fit freely into the other. The frames are fastened together on one side and the other with special screws with bushings or a pin axis, which allows the structure to fold.
Step stool
Another option for a stool that can serve not only for sitting, but also act as a stepladder. This model is always useful both in a private house and in an apartment. For example, it is difficult to do without a stepladder during general cleaning, and without it it is not easy to get the right thing from the top shelf of a high cabinet.
A step stool can be used in any household
When folded, this design will be no different from a regular stool, since the steps will be under the seat. Turning a stool into a convenient staircase is not difficult - you just need to pull the top of the temporarily inverted steps and carefully place them on the floor. The result is a reliable and stable stepladder, which can also be used as a comfortable footrest when sitting on a stool.
To make this model, you will need massive boards for the seat and steps, as well as thick plywood for the legs and a stringer for the steps.
Stool for the garden
If you plan to use a stool in your summer cottage like a bench, only in a portable version, then you need to prepare a wooden beam for it, since plywood will not work in this case. It will begin to delaminate under the influence of moisture, and the product will soon be hopelessly damaged.
If the stool is intended to be used outdoors, then only natural wood is used as the material.
Larch or oak are best suited for making outdoor furniture. If you choose other wood, then it will need to be thoroughly impregnated with moisture-repellent compounds and then painted. Moreover, the process of pre-processing of lumber is carried out even before the structure is assembled.
Furniture used outdoors differs from that found indoors in that between the parts from which the seat and back are assembled (if a bench is made), gaps must be left so that rainwater does not linger on their surface, and parts were ventilated faster.
Preparing for work
Before starting work, you should create a drawing of the stool. When drawing up a sketch of a future structure, you should immediately apply all the necessary parameters.
It is absolutely not necessary to carry out a drawing in strict compliance with all the laws of drawing. It will be enough to draw the diagram by hand. The main thing is that the master himself can understand how and what needs to be done.
You can use the drawing diagrams available on the relevant websites.
For beginners who are getting down to business for the first time, let us explain a few specific terms:
- drawers - wooden scraps that fasten the legs of the structure;
- leg - an element that gives stability to the stool. It is located at the bottom of the legs and holds them together;
- “crackers” - corners made of metal or wood, located in the inner corners of the stool under the seat.
When drawing up sketches, be sure to clearly indicate not only the external dimensions of the stool, but also the parameters of all internal elements.
Materials and tools
We will need the following materials:
- sheet plywood, 15 or 20 mm thick;
- various fasteners: screws, confirmats, eccentric couplers and external plugs for fasteners;
- furniture wood varnish or water-based paint;
- decorative elements.
Tools:
- jigsaw;
- milling cutter with various attachments;
- Forstner cutter;
- screwdriver;
- fasteners (optional);
- paint roller or brush;
- sandpaper holder;
- sandpaper sizes 120, 180 and 240.
Simple design
The first steps in a new carpentry craft need to start with the most basic things.
Numerous instructions posted on the Internet will help DIYers on how to make a wooden stool with their own hands.
To work you will need the following parts:
- 4 well-finished legs;
- plywood or wooden board;
- legs and drawers (4 pieces each);
- self-tapping screws;
- special glue.
Choosing a design and shape
The shape of furniture created by yourself can be absolutely any and depends only on your imagination. However, given that the furniture is intended for a child, it is better to choose a standard square tabletop with rounded corners and a chair with a classic square seat, which is the most comfortable and practical.
How to choose a high chair is described in this article.
Children's folding table without sharp corners.
Structural stability is one of the primary requirements that should be taken into account when choosing a craft model.
An important point is the height of the back of the chair. In order for the child to sit comfortably, leaning against it, it should not be too low, as in the photo below.
Tip: the approximate height of the backrest should be equal to the distance from the floor to the seat of the chair.
There are many materials from which you can make a children's table and chair. Traditional, of course, is wood, but such a set will be quite heavy and more expensive.
Chairs made of wood (solid wood).
Therefore, it would be more rational to use thick plywood. Despite the lighter weight of the table and chair, the structure is stable and is not inferior in strength to solid wood furniture. Therefore, we will take as a basis this kit, which we will make from plywood.
Since furniture, as a rule, is intended for a specific child, its sizes are best selected individually, in accordance with the height and age of the little owner. It’s also better to involve your baby in the decor. Here are some tips on how to beautifully and simply decorate homemade furniture:
1. When decorating such an exclusive piece of furniture for your baby, do not forget to take into account the opinion of the main exploiter and involve him in the creative process.
2. Use your child’s favorite colors, but don’t lose sight of the overall color scheme of the interior of the room in which the furniture will be placed.
3. A good option for furniture decor is images of your favorite cartoon characters on the tabletop or in other parts of the chair. You can use the decoupage technique or paint the surface of the furniture yourself.
4. A simple and quick way to decorate a craft is regular varnishing. This type of furniture processing looks natural and harmonious in almost any interior.
We'll look at other decor ideas and life hacks a little further, but for now let's decide what we'll need in our work.
Assembly of the structure
Step one. When forming a seat from two boards, they should be glued together, tightened with clamps and wait until completely dry.
Step two. The height of the legs is checked. To prevent the stool from “limping,” all legs must be the same length. Markings are outlined for such elements as legs and drawers. Mark where to make the notches for the grooves and tenons.
The recesses for the holes are made using chisels. The “pits” are made in such a way that the parts with spikes fit tightly into the grooves.
Third step. Legs and drawers fasten the legs of the product. The parts with spikes are coated with glue and inserted into the grooves. The resulting structures are tightened with clamps.
In order to give additional strength, after the glue has completely dried, the parts are strengthened with self-tapping screws.
Another additional reinforcement can be screwing “crackers” to the sides and legs.
The final fourth step. A seat is attached. Holes of the required diameter are drilled in the corners. Glue is poured into them and the legs are inserted.
Any glue that comes out of the holes should be removed immediately. After the glue has completely dried, you can say that the first stool made with your own hands is done!
