What Can You Make from an IKEA Stool and a Piece of Plywood?

Parents often allow children to help in the kitchen. But for this, toddlers have to climb onto a stool or stool, which is not safe. However, it seems we found the perfect solution.

We got this lifehack idea from the Hunker website: a regular IKEA stool turned into a safe mini-ladder with railings and side walls. We explain how to make the same one.

What you'll need:

• IKEA BEKVAM stool;
• plywood 2.5–5 cm thick;
• wooden board of the same thickness;
• wooden dowel 7.6–10 cm thick;
• thin wooden strip;
• disk saw;
• medium-grit sandpaper;

• paint, primer and brush;
• rattan tape;
• scissors;
• clear glue;
• electric drill;
• screws (12 pcs.);
• painter's tape.

Preparing the materials

You can cut the boards yourself or ask a hardware store to do it for you when purchasing. Here's what you should end up with:

• a piece of plywood measuring 41×24 cm (2 pcs.);
• wooden boards 34 cm long (2 pcs.);
• a wooden dowel 34 cm long;
• strips about 2 cm thick and 41 cm long (4 pcs.);
• strips about 2 cm thick and 20 cm long (4 pcs.).

Sanding the surface

Take sandpaper and sand the wood surface well so that the child can touch it without fear of getting splinters.

Applying paint

Prime the wooden boards on both sides and apply two coats of white chalk paint. Each coat must dry thoroughly.

Gluing rattan tape

Cut two pieces from the tape—slightly larger than the boards themselves. Glue them onto the wooden surface (don't worry about using too much glue).

Place something heavy on top—such as books. Once the glue dries, trim the excess.

Starting work with the stool

Remove the top step of the stool and attach wooden boards with strips using screws, as shown in the photo.

Adding strips and dowel

Secure the strips between two wooden plates using glue and painter's tape. After the glue dries, remove the tape and fasten the strips with screws. On the other side, secure the wooden dowel.

Gluing the strips

They should be secured all around the perimeter of the rattan tape to form a neat frame. You can also glue them and fix with painter's tape. Let them dry for 40 minutes.

Assembling the stool

More precisely, its lower part. Paint the stool white. The bottom step can be sealed and left untouched. Then let the stool dry.

Securing the top step

This can be done using standard IKEA attachments—these come with the stool. The boards for handrails can also be painted white. Done!

Photo: Trisha Sprouse