ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Make a Storage Chest or Toy Box

Updated on November 11, 2012

Need Some More Storage?

What mother is not looking for more places to hide the endless mountain of toys slowly inhabiting her entire home? I can't name any. A toy box would be the perfect solution. However, you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a wooden chest, and you would like it to match the décor in your home. Why not try making one yourself? I did, and by no means do I have any real carpentry experience, and I am happy with the results. I needed to make some extra storage for toys, because I am turning our playroom into an office. I looked at already made storage chests, and they were too expensive. I also looked at toy boxes, and they would look nice in my child's bedroom, but they would probably look tacky in my living room. So I decided I was going to try to make my own and have it match the décor in my home, which is great, but I also wanted it to serve as a bench for extra seating as well. I will guide you through the process, and trust me, anyone can do it.


My Finished Chest

Materials Needed

Go to the hardware store and pick up the following.

-One ½ inch thick, 4' x 8' sheet of wood, I picked a douglas fir.

- Two ½ inch thick, 8' lengths of decorative trim, anything you like.

- Wood glue, 1 inch finishing nails, and 2 hinges with ½" screws.

*NOTE* If you are building a toy box, you may want to get the special hinges that keep little fingers from getting slammed when the lid drops down.

I had my sheet cut at the hardware store so I didn't have to to that work at home, here are the dimensions I used, feel free to build whatever size chest you like.

Have two 18" x 48" panels cut, these will be the front and back of the chest. Have a 19" x 48" piece cut, this will be the bottom, and have a 20" x 48" piece for the lid, the extra inch serves as a little lip at the front to lift the lid. Also you need two 18" x 18" panels cut for each side of the chest.



Tools Needed, and How to Assemble

You will need a hammer and a saw to assemble your chest.

Start by taking one of the 18" x 18" panels, and either the front or back of the box (18" x 48" panel). Apply wood glue to one edge of the 18" x 18" panel, and using about 8-10 finishing nails, hammer the front or back panel to the glued edge of the 18" x 18" panel. Repeat on the opposite side, then do the same to the other end of the chest using the second 18" x 18" panel.

Next, add wood glue along the entire bottom edge of the chest, then hammer the bottom panel (19" x 48") to it using as many finishing nails as you think necessary, I spaced mine about 2" apart.

Finally, you get to attach the lid. Attach the hinges to the back of the chest approximately 7" in from either end, then screw the hinges to the lid panel (20" x 48").

Now for the decorative trim, you will need to saw (2) 20" lengths, (2) 19" lengths, and (2) 48" lengths. Where the trim meets at the corners, you will need to cut at a 45° angle. See the images above for a little guidance. Apply trim to edges of chest with finishing nails and glue. I chose to use some crack filler on the corners of the trim, and then sanded them down because I didn't want sharp corners, but this is an option.

Now the fun part! You can paint and decorate your chest however you like. I used a can of spray paint, and a little white paint to decorate mine. I also know how to sew, so I made a seat pillow for the top. I hope this hub is a good guideline for making your own storage chest, and have fun with it.

The Handy Goddess - Video 1 on building a chest

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)