Convertible Furniture for a Child’s Play Area

By The Mother Earth News Editors
Published on November 1, 1983
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This illustration shows the purpose of the pieces and the locations of the materials that make the one of movable pieces of the convertible furniture allowing it to become a desk/chest/bench.
This illustration shows the purpose of the pieces and the locations of the materials that make the one of movable pieces of the convertible furniture allowing it to become a desk/chest/bench.
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In this photo we can see the tyke using the chest portion the the convertible furniture to take toys out to play with making it a great place for storage when little ones put their toys away.
In this photo we can see the tyke using the chest portion the the convertible furniture to take toys out to play with making it a great place for storage when little ones put their toys away.
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Here we can see the tyke enjoying the bench postion of the convertible furniture as she plays with her dolls.
Here we can see the tyke enjoying the bench postion of the convertible furniture as she plays with her dolls.
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This illustration shows the appropriate purpose of the pieces and the locations of the matrials that are on the bench of the convertible furniture.
This illustration shows the appropriate purpose of the pieces and the locations of the matrials that are on the bench of the convertible furniture.
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Here we see the tyke enjoying the convertible furniture in the desk position making it a great station for coloring.
Here we see the tyke enjoying the convertible furniture in the desk position making it a great station for coloring.
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This illustration shows the measurements of the arms for the convertible furniture.
This illustration shows the measurements of the arms for the convertible furniture.
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This illustration shows the side view of the bench and gives the measurements of the sides and lid of the bench/chest for the covertible furniture.
This illustration shows the side view of the bench and gives the measurements of the sides and lid of the bench/chest for the covertible furniture.
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Here is the list of materials, sizes, and purposes (locations) that are need in order to put the covertible furniture together.
Here is the list of materials, sizes, and purposes (locations) that are need in order to put the covertible furniture together.

Everyone-young or old-needs a place to call his or her own . . . and for the tyke of the house, what could be better than a toy chest that also serves as a desk or bench? This convertible furniture will offer a cavernous storage space for treasures, a bench (complete with arms and back) for contemplation . . . and-if the young owner simply folds the back down-a broad desk for developing those free-form works of art. (Who knows, with supplies so close to where they’ll be used, maybe the crayons will even be put away!)

All of the major wooden parts for the convertible furniture can be trimmed from one 4′ X 8′ sheet of 3/4″ plywood, and-if you can come up with a few scraps of one-by lumber and a selection of hardware-you can build it in about a day for less than $75. In addition, if the child you imagine enjoying this work-and-play station happens to live some distance away, you’ll be pleased to know that the whole thing can be broken down into an 8″ X 18″ X 36″ package for shipping. Then, once the carton arrives at its destination, the installation of 26 flat head machine screws turns the parts back into a youngster’s delight on Christmas morning.

Come Play With Us

The entire unit could be built with hand tools, but if you have access to a band saw and/or a drum sander, your work will go much more quickly. All of the panels that make up the chest should first be cut to the sizes indicated in the List of Materials (see Image Gallery). Then the details-such as the relieved areas on the bottoms of the box ends and the profiling along the tops of these ends-can be added to the more easily managed small parts. Feel free to deviate from the dimensions we’ve listed if you can visualize a more attractive profile, but do maintain a 3 3/4″ inch distance between the top of the end pieces and the ledge that supports the bench back when it’s in the “up” position.

Pieces of one-by lumber are glued and tacked to the underside of the chest bottom (front and back) and to the insides of the ends. These strips are drilled for the 1/4″ screws and have T-nuts embedded in them. T-nuts are also used to attach the ends to the front and back, but-in these cases -they’re set in reliefs that have been chiseled into the boards, as shown in the drawings. When you form the slots, chisel through to-but not into the last ply of the 3/4″ birch material. (Our wood had seven plies.)

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