Look! DIY Kitchen Tower

Now this is the kind of hardcore DIY spirit that warms our heart. Like many of us, Ohdeedoh reader eatfruit coveted the Learning Tower, but the price tag made it off limits. So instead, she got her erstwhile husband onboard with the idea of making one. (This is, in fact, our favorite kind of DIY project: the kind that lets our partner do most of the work.) See another photo and get eatfruit's take on the project after the jump...

She wrote about it on her blog, Giddy Goat:

The LT has a great design and is pretty easy to transport around, although it’s super heavy. Ours isn’t as easy to move, but it does the job and he even built it so we can lower and raise the platform depending on the height of the kids, just like the Learning Tower. We still need to stain it and add some trim so the corners are not so sharp. Probably this summer.

For a guy who really doesn’t have much woodworking experience, [my husband] continues to impress me. He made a few errors along the way but I was proud of him for sticking with it until he figured it out. It’s not as elegant looking as the real thing, but it’s functional and super nice to have.

We bet it is! Eatfruit goes on to say that, if anyone is interested in the plans, she'd be happy to make them available. That's a pretty sweet offer.

Comments (9)

Very nice work. Where does one store such a thing, though? I don't have a tiny kitchen, but I would be hard-pressed to find a spot to keep that!

Yeah it's a monster. My kitchen is tiny (and messy, oops) as you can see. We have a 1930 bungalow with the dining room in a separate area. We don't have much in that room other than the table, so I just set the tower in the corner of that room when it's not in use. It's sort of an eye sore but in my house, there is no way I can make this place look like kids don't live here. :)

If you were really handy with wood, you could probably make a slot-type design that would come apart for storage when the tyke isn't using it.

Or at worst, make a flat top that clicks into place when not in use, and just put a big fabric cover on it so that it becomes actual storage space or extra counter room when the kid isn't helping in the kitchen. If you pretty-fied the design and stained it a nice color, you wouldn't even have to hide it with cloth. I would just look like an oddly original hand-made table.

That one really does look like the perfect size to become extra counterspace, too.

This is really cool. I saw this product when my kids were smaller, but the size of it scared me away. I love your comment about how you can't make your house look like kids don't live there -it's so true and a good thought to keep in mind :)

I would love to see plans posted!

I just said to my husband "There has to be a way to make a learning tower that isn't $200" and, bam!, you've done it. Our little one loves to help out and I end up doing ridiculous gymnastics to ensure that he's not falling off the chair next to me.

Here's what to buy to make this project with minimal waste:

2 8' 1x4
1 4' 1x4
1 4' 1x6
1 4' 1x8
1 4' 1x12

1 3/4 inch 2'x2' veneer piece of plywood
1 4' 1 inch dowel

1 box of 1 1/4" screws

To make the piece more aesthetically pleasing, countersink pilot holes and fill holes with 5/16" dowel after screws have been put in. Also, on the sides of the tower, the top and bottom exposed cross pieces can be rounded off with a jigsaw to reduce sharp corners.