Raise your hand if you currently have or have ever owned those cloth storage containers that fit cubby shelving units?
You know.. these guys:
Should we throw them all into a fire and burn them together? Is that safe for the environment or no? All I know is, my #momlife sanity has broken many, many times over those cubes.
I remember one day I was yelling at my kiddos to clean up their toys, when I realized they really don’t have anywhere to put them. Every storage cubby was somehow full. We had so many storage cubbies that we had no shelves left to store them in. Enough was enough.
I had an abundance of scrap plywood hanging out in my garage at the time. I had also really been wanting to build some sort of console table for underneath our mounted TV in the living room. I had two accent chairs that didn’t have a home, just stashed there for the sake of space, which resulted in them being a landing zone for miscellaneous toys!
I decided to build a simple console table to house legitimate storage totes. I knew I wanted doors to hide the storage and having toy storage in the living room is perfect for us since this is where we spend most of our time.
Here is our ingredient list:
- Storage Totes
- 3/4″ Plywood
- 1/4″ Plywood
- 2x4x8
- 1x2x8
- 3/4″ MDF
- Wood Glue
- 1-1/4″ Pocket Hole Screws
- 2″ Wood Screws
- Door Hinges
- Door Handles
- Magnet Door Catch
My first step was to decide which storage totes I wanted to use. I stumbled across an ad from Target and fell in love.
Their Room Essentials Y-Weave totes are phenomenal. They’re very affordable at $4 to $8 per tote, come in a variety of sizes, and the best colors. They’re strong and have held up perfectly against a solid year of toddler abuse. I cannot rave enough about the size. They store so freaking much.
I decided how many totes I was going to buy and planned the dimensions for my console table based on those totes.
I bought four of their 11” cubes, four of their XL bins, and five of their medium bins.
This resulted in my console table being about 61” L x 18.5” W x 38” H total.
The XL bin is the largest, measuring about 17” D and 13” W. The medium bin is shorter, at only 14” D. I used these dimensions as a guide when planning the shelves.
So using ¾” plywood, I cut:
- L and R side panels at 17” W x 37” H
- 2 bottom shelves at 17” W x 57.5” L
- 1 top shelf at 15” W x 57.5” L
I glued and screwed these pieces together using my kreg jig and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws. I left a ¾” gap between the bottom shelf and the floor so it didn’t rub right against the floor.
Next, I cut two 2×4’s at 57.5” length and attached them across the top for support. I used 2” wood screws and went directly through the plywood into the 2×4, pre-dilling with a drill bit first to avoid splitting the wood.
For what they call the “face frame”, I used a piece of ¾” plywood measuring 2.5” W x 59” L across the top, and 1×2’s along the L, R, center, and bottom. The bottom 1×2 was also cut at 59” L. The left, right, and center 1×2’s were cut at 33” length. However, I would strongly encourage you to scribe these pieces for a perfect fit. What that means is, first hold the 1×2 across the bottom and mark the edge with a pencil (where you need to cut), then make your cut. Repeat this method with every piece to make sure the piece fits your build perfectly. Then I used my kreg jig and pocket holes to attach the 1×2’s together.
Once the face frame was assembled, I laid the console table on its back so the front was facing the ceiling. I applied wood glue to the front of the console table and laid the face frame on top until it was lined up where it needed to be. I used 18G 1-1/4” brad nails to attach the face frame to the actual console table.
This was when I could sand it all down and prep for paint. I just did a quick sanding with 220 grit sand paper.🤷🏽♀️
I painted the outside of the console table in Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze, which is a dark gray with a brown undertone. I painted the inside of the console table black. I then cut a piece of ¼” plywood to fit the back (17” H x 59” L) and painted it black on both sides.
For the countertop, I cut two 1×10 boards down to 61” L and stained them with a blend of Varathane’s Weathered Oak and Summer Oak. I connected the two boards using 1-1/4” pocket hole screws to make the countertop about 18.5” wide.
Remember those 2×4’s we attached along the top of the console table for support? To attach the countertop, I pre-drilled through those 2×4’s and into the bottom of the countertop. I used 2” wood screws to attach the countertop. Now the top is smooth without any screw or nail holes that can be seen.
Things were feeling so much better already!
Now for the hardest part.
THE DOORS.😳
This was my first project I’d ever attempted doors. Making the door fit, attaching hinges, all of it intimidated me!! But.. this is my console table and my only judges are two toddlers, so we’re going for it.
I measured the openings on my console table which were 27” W x 32.75” H. I used ¾” MDF for the doors. I did this because I wanted to use my hand-held router to create a design on the front and MDF does much better with this design than plywood.
If you’re interested in how to do the design: I just used a straight board I had on hand (in this case, it was a 1×4). I clamped the board at an angle going across the MDF slab. I used a ¼” router bit and created a diagonal line along my straight board’s edge which only went down about 1/8” deep (hardly anything). Then I re-positioned my 1×4 lined up with the groove I just cut and repeated this process.
Next, I cut strips of ¼” plywood about 3” wide and added a frame around the edges of the doors to make them prettier.
None of these steps are necessary! Just an added touch of flare, lol.
I painted the front of the doors in Urbane Bronze and the back of the doors black.
While those dried, I chopped the left over ¼” strips into smaller pieces (about 3” tall) and painted them black. I used my cricut to add words and images to use as labels. I used a drill bit to make two holes along the top of the label and attached them to the storage totes with zip ties.
Let me tell you: this was a GAME CHANGER.
My kiddos are 3 years old and 4 years old: they cannot read, lol. By adding the image next to the word (example: a fork on the kitchen bin, a truck on the truck bin), my babes know exactly where to put their toys! They love keeping these bins organized and get frustrated at ME if I put them in the wrong place! Haha WIN!!
I used these door handles and these hinges for my cabinet doors. They were A BREEZE to attach.
I set the door in the opening, and added index cards (“shims”) to the bottom of the door until everything looked even. I held the hinge up to where I wanted it and marked the screw holes with a pencil. I took everything down, and pre-drilled all my pencil marks with a drill bit.
I first attached the hinge with screws to the cabinet door. Then I put the door back in the opening, added the index card shims again, and attached the rest of the screws onto the console table.
These hinges have held up perfectly. Note: my kids are the furthest from gentle. They hang on the doors, slam them, constantly open and shut them. Yet, the doors still operate flawlessly and everything has stayed attached just like day 1.
I did end up adding these magnets on the inside of the console table to make sure the doors stay shut when the kiddos close them.
That’s a wrap.
I could not be more pleased with this hidden toy storage.
The Target totes hold a mind-blowing amount, the bins are so strong and sturdy, and everything stays hidden away with the simple shutting of a door.
The kiddos have a proper place to put all of their toys now and they can visually see exactly where everything should go (no excuses! Haha). This has also been so helpful when they’re looking for something, they know exactly where to find it!
I sincerely encourage you to create this custom storage space for your home. Whether it’s in your main living room, a playroom, or in your kiddo’s actual room – it is absolutely worth it.
We have said goodbye to the cloth cube bins FOREVER.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I would love to see your photos if you decide to tackle this build yourself! I am always here to help if you have any questions along the way.
