Q: Do you have any suggestions for where to find up-to-date/modern wood plans for kids toys or furniture? My husband would like to make some toys for Christmas and everything we find is cheesy and outdated. Help!
Sent by Kaitlyn
Plans for Building Wood Toys and Furniture
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Editor: Any woodworkers in the crowd? Help Kaitlyn out with ideas and suggestions in the comments. [p.s. The plans for the modern table and chair set shown above are available here.]
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Comments (6)
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For uh, next Christmas, right?!
view burnttoast's profile
Kaitlyn,
I'm happy to answer questions or give some tips for your husband. I build three or four pieces of kids furniture every week so maybe I can offer some advice. Feel free to email me at kiersten@modmomfurniture.com.
Kiersten
view modmomfurniture's profile
My partner made some great wooden toys for our infant, including a baby gym, a couple of rattles, and a double triangle stretchy toy. He couldn't find any inspiring patterns online, so he had me find images of commercial wooden toys, for which he made his own plans. The baby gym in particular worked out really well. The hardest thing was finding good stains or paints. He ended up liking beeswax better than any of the colored water-based dyes or non-toxic paints. Good luck!
view toindc's profile
I'd start with unearthing copies of the Nomadic Furniture books from the 70's. Pretty good modern furniture designs.
No ideas on toys though, maybe search ebay for some vintage Creative Playthings?
view foglite's profile
Wait! Make Magazine has wonderful toys, with measured plans even! I saw a nice boat/yacht on there.
view foglite's profile
Check your library, and I bet you'll find a ton of books from the mid-20th century with plans for kids. Some you'll like all on your own, and others you can probably modify pretty easily.
Rockler.com sells plans, too, along with the necessary hardware for a bunch of toys, and some of the more common pieces of kid furniture, like high chairs and cribs.
When it's time to finish the furniture, you could do what I did and email Kiersten for advice. I believe it came down to one word: "Shellac."
view MikeT's profile