build | changing table part one ~ topper and caddy

We really want to have the baby in our room for the first 6 months or so, but we were a little apprehensive about how we would fit everything  in our room. We usually have two dressers in our room but decided that, with the addition of the nursery furniture, we would only keep the shorter of the two dressers in our room and use the top as a changing table.  Our dresser top is just a couple inches too short to comfortably fit most commercial changing pads, but I figured I could make one with a little foam and some PUL fabric for a cover.  I also like the added security of a changing table topper (not that I ever plan on leaving the baby on the changing table, but it keeps the pad from sliding around).  These changing table topper/dresser combos are what I loosely based my design on:

via

via

I love the attached caddy on these toppers but our dresser is already on the short side. I decided to try attaching a caddy to the side of the dresser instead and see if that would provide us with a little more functionality.

I built two simple box frames using a 12' 1x4 -- a large box for the topper and a small one for the caddy. I predrilled and used 1 1/2" screws to put it all together, then filled in holes with wood putty. I sanded and topped it all off with two coats of leftover paint from when I originally painted the dresser.

Building the topper and caddy in my dining room workshop

I used two corner braces as the primary means of securing the caddy to the side of the dresser, but I also put a couple screws through the inside wall of the dresser into the caddy for added strength. I secured the changing table topper to the dresser with two mending plates screwed into the back side of both.

Here are the basic supplies and dimensions I used for this project:
(1) 12' 1x4 primed pine board
(2) corner braces
(2) mending plates
A thick piece of heavy duty cardboard for the bottom of the caddy
Lots of 1 1/2" screws
Wood putty
Sandpaper
Paint

If you don't have the ability to cut your board at home, Home Depot and Lowes will cut your board for free. You will need to adjust the dimensions to fit your dresser but this will hopefully give you a starting point.

Topper:
2 pieces cut at 29"
2 pieces cut at 14"

Caddy:
2 pieces cut at 12"
2 pieces cut at 8"

You can get all those cut from one 12' board with a little left over.

Interesting fact, did you know that a 1x4 board isn't actually 1" by 4"? It's actually 3/4" by 3 1/2". I always have to remember that little fact when I'm designing projects, sometimes a 1/2" makes all the difference!

Stay tuned to see the changing pad and cover...