Furniture

Simple DIY Toy Box with Faux Slats

This easy to build DIY toy box is the perfect storage solution for your child's playroom, your entryway, or even the end of the bed for blankets and pillows.

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Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 4.5–8.5 hours
Cost: $$

About this build

This easy to build DIY toy box is the perfect storage solution for your child's playroom, your entryway, or even the end of the bed for blankets and pillows. Made from only one board and some plywood, it's a simple build, but the faux slats give it some visual interest without adding the extra work.

Tools

Essential

Circular Saw
Drill / Driver
Jigsaw
Miter Saw
Pocket Hole Jig

Materials

Item	Qty
Board, 2x2 96"	1 board
Plywood, 3/4" Thick Full Sheet	1 board
1 1/4" pocket hole screws	46 each
30" piano hinge	1 each
Soft close hinges (optional)	2 each

Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L
Legs	4	1" × 1" × 20"
Long Sides	2	3/4" × 18" × 31"
Short Sides	2	3/4" × 14" × 18"
Bottom	1	3/4" × 14" × 31"
Top	1	3/4" × 18" × 36"

What to buy

Buy 4 boards at 8 ft.

1" × 1"

1 board

20"20"20"20"

3/4" × 18"

2 boards

36"31"
31"

3/4" × 14"

1 board

31"18"18"

Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →

Start building →

Instructions

1Cut your Plywood Pieces
This entire box was made from 3/4" plywood except for the legs. It makes the project go faster and more efficiently if you cut all your plywood pieces from the beginning. A Kreg Rip Cut and a Kreg AccuCut both make cutting down full sheets of plywood so much easier. Pair them with a set of Kreg Workhorse Sawhorses and you will be a plywood cutting machine ;) So, all that being said, the first step is to cut your plywood down to the sizes listed in the cut list.
2Optional add Slats to Sides
- This step is optional, but I think it adds to the overall appearance of the box to add the slats. You can use a table saw to do this or a circular saw and a Kreg AccuCut.
- Adjust the blade height on your table saw or your blade depth on your circular saw to cut into the wood about 1/4".
- Adjust your rip fence on your table saw to 3 1/2" from the blade and run each side panel piece through on each end (to cut two slats). See video in the extras tab for details.
- Then do the same thing adjusting the blade 7" from the sides this time. That gives you five slats on each side panel. OR, using a Kreg AccuCut, line it up to cut 3 1/2" from each edge and cut a slat with the circular saw.
- Then do the same thing, but adjusting to 7" from each edge.
3Cut Out Finger Slot
The slot on the front of the toy box adds to the visual interest of the project, but also is helpful if this is going to be used by small children. it can help protect fingers from getting smashed between the box and the lid. Using a jig saw, cut a slot (you can decide how big you'd like yours, but I made mine about 1 1/2" deep and about 16" wide) in the top of the front side panel.
4Add Edge Banding
Next, apply glue on edge banding to the top sides of the side panel pieces. This just gives a cleaner edge to the sides you will be seeing.
5Drill Pocket Holes in Side Panels
Next, drill 3/4" pocket holes into the edges of each side panel piece using a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. I drilled 4 holes on each edge that will be attaching to the legs.
6Assemble Side Panels
- Now it's time for assembly.
- Attach the two short plywood side panels between two 2x2 legs using 1 1/4" Kreg pocket hole screws to make your two sides of the toy box. Make sure to attach so that ONE end is flush with the top of the 2x2s. And make sure to attach so that the INSIDE of the toy box is flush.
7Cut Legs
Cut your 2x2 legs for the toy box using a miter saw. These should be 20" long. If you want a taller toy box, you could make these longer.
8Attach Front and Back Sides
Now that the two sides are assembled, attach the front and back panels between them using 1 1/4" Kreg pocket hole screws. Make sure the inside of the box panels are flush with the inside of the 2x2 legs.
9Add Bottom
Next, drill 3/4" pocket holes along all four edges of the bottom plywood piece and attach like shown using 1 1/4" pocket hole screws.
10Add Back Trim Piece
I didn't realize when I designed this box that you wouldn't be able to open the lid using a piano hinge unless it was flush all the way across the top of the back side. With this particular design, since the plywood was inset from the legs about 3/4", if I used a piano hinge, the lid wouldn't open. So, I took a piece of scrap 1x2 and screwed into the top of the back side like shown. This gave me something to attach the hinge to in the next step. You can use a small piece of scrap plywood here or a 1x2. But you just need something 3/4" thick to screw along the top for the hinge.
11Install Piano Hinge to Attach Top
- Apply edge banding along the top piece for a cleaner look.
- Then, attach the top to the box using a 30" piano hinge like shown. You will attach the bottom of the hinge to the trim piece from the previous step and the top of the hinge to the top of the toy box. As an optional feature, you could also install soft close hinges as well. I added some soft close hinges that are designed to work WITH the piano hinge to help prevent smashed fingers for this toy box. You can find the details at the link in the extras tab.
12Finish as Desired
I actually finished the top and the box separately before I installed the hinge. You can finish before or after...whichever you wish. Feel free to paint or stain however you'd like. Then sit back and admire your work ;)