Learning Towers are a pretty amazing thing. They, quite simply, bring children up to our level. And in doing so, they give them independence and access. My two year old absolutely loves to help out in the kitchen. We cook together nearly every day and he is by my side for all of it, pouring and stirring, involved in the whole process. Sometimes he’ll have a meal standing in it. Sometimes he plays with other things on the counter top like his lentil tray. {More on that activity in another post.} Needless to say, he uses it multiple times a day.

But, when I first looked into buying one, I was shocked by the sticker price. I could not believe how much a simple gated stool would cost. So, I took to facebook marketplace and craigslist and I did see them from time to time but the resale value was still high for me and anything reasonable was gone in a flash. So, I thought I’d look into making one myself. I am fairly handy, but not an expert by any means so I always read about and gauge the challenge level before starting a DIY project. {Okay, that might not always be true. I might sometimes abandon ship or phone a friend. But, mostly, I am prepared.}

So when I found this tutorial from Happy Grey Lucky, I was absolutely thrilled. It’s not just a DIY, it’s an Ikea hack, meaning part of the piece is already there for you and you’re just adding onto it. Using the Ikea BEKVÄM stool, it was really simple to make. My only caveat is that the platform for this one is significantly less wide than most that I’ve seen so it may not last as long if you have a bigger toddler. Mateo is huge for his age at 35 lbs and 3 feet, and he’s still able to use it nicely, although getting up and down has become a bit tight. I may take off the back dowel at some point. And, I’d recommend to get the plain wood stool instead of the white stool. Ikea didn’t have that option when I got mine but I have seen it since. The white looks nice but the paint chips and I had to spray a coat of paint on top of it recently to stop the little bits of paint from flaking everywhere. So, skip that and just get the raw wood because it looks just as nice, or maybe nicer. And, then you don’t have to paint the DIY part because it will already match. Annnnd, go! You got this!

Update: I recently saw Ana White made this larger sized kids’ tower. Check out her The Littlest Helper DIY blog post. She’s wonderful.