While Charlie and I are busy cuddling, snuggling and coo-ing at each other, Stephanie has taken over some of the DIY/customization posts for y’all. Take it away Steph!
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the planetarium…well honestly…mostly just the large dome room where they project the solar system onto the ceiling. I could lie on the ground staring at those lights for hours on end.
So when thinking about designing a kid’s room (perhaps baby Charlie would appreciate this too one day), I thought it would be wonderful to have a light that cast a peaceful glow on the walls and ceilings too. A very mini faux-planetarium for the mini ones in your life!
Here’s what you’ll need…
- peg board sheet (You can get varying sizes of pegboard sheets at your local hardware store, but we went with this white option)
- circular saw or hand saw
- light socket kit (you can order online or get at your local hardware story)
- light bulb
- wood block scraps (to brace the light walls)
- Gorilla glue
- spray paint
- saw
- 13/16 or larger drill bit (sized to your light socket)
- drill
Directions:
1. Conceptualize your design and cut your pegboard accordingly. (see detailed graphic below.)
*If you are following the measurements of the nightlight I made, you will cut the following pieces – 9” x 13” (back panel), 9” x 10” (front panel), 9” x 7.5” (top), 7″ x 13″ – with the top angle cutting down to 10″ (two pieces for each side panel).
2. Spray paint your pegboard in your desired color and let dry.
3. Once painted, take your back panel and drill a larger hole (sized to your light socket) in the lower-center section of the panel.
4. Next, you will start to assemble the pieces by gluing your wood block braces long the edges of your boards in order to glue into place.
*HELPFUL HINT: If you don’t have any wood scrap pieces lying around (I always seem to have a couple) you can definitely use alternative items to brace the pieces together or just buy a scrap piece of wood from your local hardware store and cut them down to size.
*HELPFUL HINT: In order for your walls to line up along the seams, you will want to leave a little bit of space between the edge of your wood block brace and the panel edge.
5. Once all of your braces are securely fastened, start to glue the boards to the blocks to secure them in place.
6. After it’s fully assembled, attach a bulb to the light socket and insert through the back panel hole you created.
7. Plug it in and let that light show commence!
Cheers,
Stephanie
Stephanie Todaro is a Midwest-bred, West coast-raised, globetrotting gal who spends her days running a creative digital agency in Los Angeles. She recently opened up a small wood shop, Maker Made, with her dad where they handcraft simple and rustic items for the home and garden. In her time off, Stephanie likes to craft, blog about her pup, Mr. Harvey, and roam the streets of LA looking for inspiration and marvelous things to photograph.
All photos by Tessa Neustadt