Diy Sand and Water Table

Last week we were celebrating the first day of Spring, and I am loving it! The boys are outside ALL the time, which is amazing, but now after a couple weeks of digging in the dirt they are getting bored. Yikes! My hubby and I both agreed they needed more to do on the patio to keep their busy bodies moving! So I started looking on Pinterest, of course, to find some super fun boy activities! I found an awesome DIY sand and water table that would be perfect on our patio. Bonus, ALL boys love sand and water so it was a definite YES to make it, and soon. So, I went to work last week constructing this table and it was soooo easy to make, not pricy either…my type of project! I found the original plans HERE, the official name of this amazing table is the 'Farmhouse Sand and Water Table'. It is a mix between Ana White’s Mom’s Train Table and Farmhouse Table Plans. I l-o-v-e Ana White’s website (you will soon learn this about me). The hubs and I have made many many things from her extensive catalogue of woodworking plans. And every single thing we have made, we love!

What is SO great about this table?

1.     It has shallow bins that slide rite into the frame. Awesome! You can replace the water easily (which I do often).

2.     The bins have lids so you can cover the table when it’s not in use! Perfect for keeping sand clean. Or using one side at a time, if you don’t want to mix sand and water. (This is a wasted effort for us, sand and water + two boys = big sand and water creations)

3.     Since I made it myself, I could customize the height I wanted the table to be. Since the boys are 4 and 5, I needed a slightly taller table than the one in the original plans.

          I made a few adjustments to the original plans, I made the height 23.75” tall instead of 18.75” tall.  Also, VERY important: MEASURE the sizes of the bins you purchase to make sure they will fit into the frame. I had to make my frame slightly bigger than the plans due to different sizes of plastic bins. This will save you lots of trouble when making this project!

I finished the wood with spray paint, SO much easier than trying to paint with a brush in all the little places. I sprayed a coat of primer on first to seal the wood, and then did two coats of Valspar spray paint in high gloss white. I wanted the extra gloss so the water and sand would slide right off the wood, making it last longer for the kiddos.

  And the finished product...

I hope you try this easy and fun project for your house. The kids will     l-o-v-e playing with it all summer long! Fantastic outdoor entertainment for the “littles” in our lives! Have a warm and happy week!

            Xoxo,

                   Katie