This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items I love and have had a positive experience with. Thank you!
Contain the kid mess functionally and beautifully with this DIY Toy Storage Treasure Chest. Free building plans included!
*This post is sponsored by Kreg Tool. I’m grateful for our many partnership opportunities which allow me the ability to share our free building plans with you. All opinions are my own.
Our little boy came after our 3 girls. Knowing his tender personality, I am sure he patiently waited his turn.
With his arrival into our family, I’ve had to learn a lot about being a boy mom.
I’ve had to learn how special a mother/son relationship can be. I’ve had to learn that the funniest things in life involve body functions. I’ve also had to learn how to cope with collections and the most random clutter hidden in the most random places.
Is that a general boy thing, or just my boy thing?
Oh how he loves to find and collect “things” . Part of navigating the boy world has been teaching him that he cannot keep everything, and part of that involves finding a place for him to keep his most special things.
We really lacked a solution for this, until my husband decided to build him a big toy box of sorts, in the form of a treasure chest. As I’ve learned, “treasure” is a very important thing in a boys world. He is appropriately named after his two grandpa’s, who coincidentally both had property full of treasures (cough, cough, JUNK).
We don’t have a ton of space in our rental home, so my little boy had to help me go through and keep only his favorite toys and collections.
We cleaned it down to some rock collections, super hero’s, paw patrol stuffies, figurines, micro machines and other fun things he regularly plays with. Other big toy items like legos and train sets are kept downstairs in totes.
Some of his collections are really special like these eggs with toys in them, which his daddy made for him at work on their 3D printer. He gets a real kick out of them!
The top sectioned tray easily lifts out and that is where we keep his very special collection of “old trucks”. He often is my little shopper companion, and whenever we go to antique stores or vintage markets together, I have him keep his eye out for an “old toy truck” to add to his collection.
This tradition is something I treasure! I’m successfully raising another vintage lovin’ soul. 😉
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
We stained and sealed the wood in one step with my favorite white wash wax.
Then we searched online for some unique hardware and handles to add our own unique look to this treasure chest.
SHOP THIS POST
His little room in our rental is simple but sweet, with items that each have a story on their own.
A teddy that I found right after he was born. A vintage picture we both fell in love with at a thrift store. A quilt made for me by an old high school boyfriends sweet mother. His baby quilt I made for him.
And now he has a very special treasure box, made by daddy and a place to hold all his treasured collections.
Want to build a treasure chest of your own?
Head over to buildsomething.com for the free building plans made by Mr. TIDBITS himself!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and idea, and be sure to pin it for later!
Just for fun, let me hear your favorite things about being a boy mom, dad or grandparent, in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
(If you have a DIY idea but would love building plans for it, let me know! I’ll see what Mr. TIDBITS is willing to do!)
I really enjoyed this site because its worth with the useful info..Thank dear.!
gardenley.com
That was a cool DIY project. I like that trunk. But be careful about your finger When you close it.
Such a talented family!
The kid looks so cute! In fact, while I was glancing over the DIY, after looking at the pictures I paused for quite a while and almost forgot if it was a DIY. But honestly, the DIY treasure chest looks amazing. In my opinion, it’s pretty modern style and looks really comfortable, durable and kids would love such a gift too! So thanks for sharing.
I got it, You made it very well. I like to learn about development and do my coding all day… and your points are really impressive and inspiration for all new developers… and for all online businesses
A piano hinge on the inside would allow it to shut slowly and never smash fingers or head.
Fantastic!
I’m definitely a “boy mom”, haha! I have 7 boys (and 2 girls). My 4th boy has been into treasure chests for years now. He designed and built one 2 summers ago when he was 13, but it’s a little rough, and the thirst for chests has not yet been quenched, haha! This one is GORGEOUS! I’m definitely going to be urging him to build one this summer!
Oh, and boys and treasures/collections? Oh my, YES. They start with rocks and toy cars and go on from there. With our age range (22 this week – 3) we have a wide range: instruments (stringed, wind, brass, strange unidentified ones… all great thrifting deals or gifts!…), 7 Nerf gun collectors (ARG, help!!!), vintage/current computer AND game systems, fossil/rock/shell collections, old bottles/antiques, model ships, camping gear, walkie-talkies (who collects these!?… boys.), matchbox cars, old motors/parts/electronics, stuffed animals, keys, Christmas pyramids (same kid with the instruments and antiques- he needs a storage unit.), board games, books, art supplies, church bulletins (!???), and if I don’t stop there, I’m going to cry. ? Boys…!!! I sure do love ’em, even though I don’t understand them!
Now to pin that chest…
that organization trunk turned out beautifully!