DIY: Toddler's Study Room
I’ve been gushing over DIY home ideas in Pinterest but never had the guts to do them since we’re just renting out our home. Sayang naman.
But having an active toddler and a newborn on the way, the house is starting to feel smaller and I needed to organize each person’s belongings.
So the idea of fixing our spare “bodega” room came into mind.
I gave myself a P5,000 budget to come up with a bookshelf, Window curtains, day bed, study table, matting and toy bins.
Painting, wall paper and other pinterest-able furnitures was out of the picture. I need to work around a plain white wall and make do with whatever we have around the house. (I think most filipinos have this kind of room.)
After going around the metro (mothercare, toys r us, toy kingdom, department stores, elc, hobbes and landes, mobler, ikea and other furniture stores), fitting all my requirements didnt sound feasible. Plus the fixtures I saw were too fancy. I needed something functional.
After watching Xmen with Jayjay, I asked his opinion and ideas. Then we decided to just do it ourselves (well not technically).
We called our in house Carpenter, Mel last Monday. He measured the area and we drove to the nearest hardware (source below)

PROJECT 1: CURTAINS


Instead of buying a “rod” in the department store, I opted for a simple 1 x 1 x 1 wood since I intend to insert the curtain to cover and just use plain C-hooks. Didnt want to splurge too much on the bar handles since its a rented home.
I simply rolled up the fabric and used ribbons to hold them. pretty easy trick!
COST Breakdown
Fabric P150 for 2 1/2 yards : P 375
Labor = P60 per panel X 3 pcs : P 180
Wood 1 x 1 x 8 : P 64
1/2 Hook = P 6 / pc x 3 pcs : P 18
Ribbon : Existing
TOTAL for Curtains: P 637
PROJECT 2: ANIMAL ZOO CAGE FOR STUFFED TOYS

COST & MATERIALS
Wood Tabla 1 x 4 x 8 = 213.50 / pc x 4 = P 854
Wood 1 x 1 x 1 = p 64 / pcs x 5 = P 320
TOTAL for Animal Zoo Cage for Stuffed Toys: P 1,174
PROJECT 3: WALL MOUNTED BOOKSHELF

Wall mounting it was a great idea especially for corner walls since this area is usually a dead spot in rooms. After stacking all of Caitie’s books I realized that the shelf wasnt enough considering that Caitie is only about to turn 2 years old! For those who may want to copy this, I suggest that you maximize ALL dead spots.
COST & MATERIALS
Wood Tabla 1 x 4 x 8 = 213.50 / pc x 6 = P 1,280
Wood 1 x 1 x 1 = p 48 / pcs x 3 = P 144
TOTAL for Wall mounted bookshelf: P 1,424
PROJECT 4: CURTAIN FOR TOYS STORAGE

The house we’re renting was pretty old in style. Nobody lived in it for 10 years. The fixtures were old school and weak. It was difficult to use the drawers since they wont always break down. I dediced to remove the broken drawers and cabinet doors and replace it with a cute shower curtain.
Covered an old existing grandma chair with a jungle blanket (gift)
COST & MATERIALS
Stickwell to polish the sides = P 60
1 x 1 x 8 = P64
Shower Curtain = Existing (bought from Quirks Store)
TOTAL for Wall mounted bookshelf: P 124
Since I have a few peso to spare, We decided to buy a white board + cork board and mount it on the wall on top Caitie’s table.
And use buckets to store her crayons.


Dismantling the Cuddle bug crib was a struggle! And we still havent figured out how to make it into a toddler bed.
But so far, Caitie loves staying here to read.
Miscellaneous Materials & expense used for other room purpose : Stick well, hooks, nails, other room’s curtain rods, hooks etc.
Total cost for our Toddler’s Study room project is P 3,253 + labor

SOURCE
Hardware: PENTAGON, Kamuning
Fabric: R & E TEXTILE, Stall No. 150 R Textile Section Kamuning Public Market, QC
Sewing Labor: ALING NENA, Kamuning Public Market, QC
Carpentry Labor: Mel, 0935 604 3592
Hope this inspires you to make your toddler room more functional and pretty without burning your wallet 🙂