Y’all, this winter hasn’t been kind to us. We’ve had pneumonia, tonsillitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, and ear infections sweep through our home, as well as 3 separate rounds of pink eye. We can’t catch a break! Projects have been slow moving around here, but Nick and I have mustered enough energy to drag our booties out to the woodshop here and there and throw around some sawdust. Our most recent build is this little convertible kids craft table that’s basically a double desk that extends out with a hinge to make it twice as long! I love the clean lines and modern vibe it has. This was a fun one to design!

The girls have gotten soooooooo much use out of this little craft table from a thrift store that we made over for their first Birthday (like, 6 years ago?), and the cheap particle board was starting to break down. We had to trash it, and start planning something that would fit our needs perfectly! I’ve gotta say, I wouldn’t mind having an adult-sized version of these convertible desks for myself! If you’d like building plans for a full-sized version too, leave us a comment at the end of this post.

We’ve got free printable plans for you to download below, followed by a supply list and tutorial. Let’s get started!

Supplies for Convertible Kids Craft Table

• 3/4”  birch plywood
• 1 1/4” fine thread Kreg screws
• 1” kreg cap screw
• Titebond Glue
• 23 ga 1” pins

 

Tools for Convertible Kids Craft Table

• Table Saw
• Band Saw
• Oscillating drum sander
• Drill
• Kreg Jig
• Router
• 1/4” router straight bit
• 1/4” round over bit
• 23 ga pin nailer
• Irwin 12” Clamps
• Handscrew Clamp
• Compass
• 1/8” drill bit
• 1/4” forstner bit

 

 

Hey guys, Nick here AGAIN, what!!!  So this was a fun, easy project.  Let me tell you this little kids craft table is a TANK! I am pretty sure I could climb up on this thing and dance a jig.

Check it out,  We got this sheet of plywood from our local Home Depot, and had them break it down into quarters! I knew they could cut stock down, but I was surprised by their willingness and commitment to get it done. Not at all surprised by the tomfoolery of our small litter of humans (for which we’re building this craft table).

Once we got it home, using a table saw, we continued to break the quarters down into the pieces and quantities called out by the plans you downloaded above

Then we laid out the grooves and dados, cutting them on the table saw. If you don’t have a dado stack that you love, you can make multiple passes on the table saw.  Doing this, will leave some ridges in the bottom of the grooves/dados.  We used a plunge router with this bit to clean up the bottom of the grooves/dado.

After checking everything for a good snug fit, glue and assemble the desktop using a 23 ga pinner and 1” pins.

Once both desktops are assembled, set them off to the side.  Cut all the remaining pieces out of the remaining plywood.

Glue and clamp all the doublers with their mating part (be sure to make a left and right leg).  Once the glue is dry, using the kreg jig, drill pocket holes in the leg top/bottoms,glue and assemble the legs.

Grab a compass and draw the 1 1/4” radius on the leg tops.  Then cut the radiuses with a bandsaw.   Sand the edges of the legs with an oscillating drum sander and complete the legs by routing the edges with a 1/4” round over bit. Drill three pilot holes the table legs, then using a 1/4” forstner bit we counter-bored the pilot holes about a 1/4” deep.

Lastly we assemble and add hardware! We used this piano hinge, and this locking drawer hardware, which is basically just a clasp to keep it closed and not pinch fingers!

It was so much fun to watch this kids craft table come together. And even MORE fun to see our girls faces when we brought this little beaut into the house!

 

If you’re wondering where the orange plastic chairs came from, they’re legit vintage straight out of a one-room school house. But I found some similar ones on Amazon here (although you have to buy them in sets of 4). We also have a tutorial for building kids chairs that would work perfectly with this table too, and you can paint them ANY color!

And the craft carousel is a DIY tutorial I shared a few years back, and it still gets used DAILY!

Here it is with the twins putting it to good use! (Cypress will use it too, but she’s not pictured because… naps)

How darling, right? I love the clean mid-century vibes and neutral colors that will blend in with my décor and not stick out like a brightly colored sore thumb like many kids craft tables. So cute and useful! I have a feeling this little double desk will get LOTS of use over the years!

~Bethany

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Thanks for pinning!