Toy Bench

April 8, 2010
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28 comments

I just ran across some photos of the toy bench I made for the kids awhile back out of poplar wood.  I tried to design something simple with an open front.  I didn’t want a lid that could be closed on fingers.  It’s worked really well; just the right balance for the organized chaos of toy storage.  Also, note the cool latch hook pillow my mom made when I was a baby.

28 Responses
  2. fridica

    Aaaaaw they are adorable in that photo! Nothing more aaaw-worthy than siblings loving to play together! : ) Great storage idea!

  3. Maggie

    such a nice piece of furniture, great design. And you know, now I'm feeling like I might want to make a hook rug too, I'm having a distant memory of starting one as a child.

  5. Three Owls

    brilliant… yet again :) I need a thesaurus so I can come up with a more clever comment, but nothing else seems to cover it… thanks for another inspiring post.

  10. Laura M

    I can't believe nobody else commented on how awesome Jack' pants are! That was the first thing I noticed!

  11. Joel Henriques

    Ha, yeah Jack wanted to wear his new orange shorts, but it was too cold still, so we made him put on some leg warmers. he went for the rainbow ones. Nice. He does like color, that's for sure.

  17. Mary

    What a great design! I love how low it is. Of course, ideally, all their furniture would be this low and accessible, woudln't it?

  18. Hobgoblin

    Hi,
    I've just found this blog and it's the most inspiring blog ever!

    Thank you for this blog, i'll bookmark this one.

    Best regards,
    Hobgoblin from Helsinki, Finland.

  19. AG Ambroult

    a toy bench. it's a great idea! I love its sleek appearance. And you still have that latch hook pillow? Impressive!

  20. molly

    holy cow, how fabulous! for blocks, especially. hmmm, i'm suddenly developing a serious case of benchy envy…

  22. Jolie Events, Inc.

    Love this. Thanks for the inspiration.

    I read you used poplar wood…how do you cover the nail holes? We use a finishing nail gun, and cover up with wood putty…but we always paint the pieces. If we tackle this one, we might leave it unpainted…How did you finish it?

  23. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everybody!

    Jolie Events – I use a nail punch to pound the finishing nails further into the wood, then use a similarly colored wood filler putty. When it's all sanded you can hardly see where the nail was. Then to finish the wood, I put a few coats of this great non toxic Crystal Urethane from http://timberprocoatings.com/

  24. bjahlstrom

    My dad made us toys, too, when we were little. Seeing those square wooden blocks stacked inside the bench really brings back memories.

    1. Joel

      Thanks Christine! As of right now, I don’t sell them. Perhaps in the future though! I’m in the process of starting a Made by Joel company, and we’re working on producing some toys. I’d love to produce some kids furniture eventually too.

      Thanks again,
      Joel