Easy Rustic Step Stool

Last week I shared an update on the mini bathroom makeover I’ve been working on in our boys room. I painted the vanity and knobs then re-hung the mirror. Today I am showing you the rustic step stool I built using scrap lumber and a jigsaw. I followed a set of plans from Ana-White, but modified them slightly based on the wood I had.

I used 1×3’s and a few other scraps from building shelves, and who knows what else. I really like the detail of the side panels. I cut them using a jig saw.

I could have pulled out my pocket hole jig- but as you can see I put this together out on my deck during my daughter’s nap time- so I was just trying to be really quick about it. It’s not a big deal to me to have the screws showing. I finished the stool with a coat of Danish Oil in Dark Walnut, as per my boys request. I planned on painting it, and filling the holes- which I still might do. However, my boys really wanted me to leave the wood grain showing (oh mini-men who love all things wood) so I did.

rustic step stool

The rule of “haste makes waste” applies here… I just wanted to hammer this out- I should have pre-drilled, but I didn’t and ended up with a little splitting. Thats life. Let’s just pretend it makes things a little more rustic…

It really is the perfect little stool height for teeth brushing and hand washing. I think I need to make another for our downstairs bathroom…

This space is coming together! I am planning shelves for above the toilet- so be sure to check back for a post about them in the future. They are definitely going to be a little industrial.

Building things isn’t as hard as you think. Way back when I had tried to buy a step stool from IKEA- which is an hour away. The day we were there it was out of stock, so my boys have been hanging off the edge of the counter for far too long. This took my a few hrs or less, it was free because I had everything on hand, and it was fun to try my hand at building something again. I used a jig saw, circular saw and drill to put this together. Pretty basic!

If you’d like to build one you can follow Ana’s plans here.

Here’s an updated list:

The Plan

• Painting the Vanity
• Changing out the Cabinet Hardware
• Building Shelves above the toilet
• Accessorizing with Art
• Rehanging the Mirror
• Adding a Step Stool
• Finishing the baseboards
• Staining the ceiling

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We have had a busy week- which meant I just didn’t have time to get my ORC post up. Truth be told, while I am making progress with the room- it’s a bit of a hodge podge up there while I work on painting. I have to brush all of the grooves in the pine, then roll over everything… even though I am a really fast painter- it still takes me a bit of time. Not to mention we just had a lot of life stuff going on this week- so I have been a bit all over the place! Hopefully I’ll have lots to share with ya’ll next week!

Happy Friday,

-Miss Ash