Make Your Own Ironing Board

This is truly one of the best DIY projects I have ever done. When I was thinking about putting an ironing board on top of wire shelves, I had no idea beyond the storage of how much more useful it would be.

Let me start at the beginning. My husband and I moved into a condo two years ago. It was a two bedroom plus den but we quickly renovated it to be a two bedroom plus sewing-room.

In my sewing room I built one side with a Murphy bed so that my #3 child had a place to stay when he came home from university. He surprised us by moving back in after he graduated.

So all my sewing stuff has been shoved into my bed room. It isn't pretty. And one thing that has been driving me mad is my ironing board. It's single use and bulky. It always seems in the way. And quite frankly, very ugly.

So I had this idea to place a board over storage. And I wanted it on wheels so I could move it out of the way if necessary. Wire racking seem to be the solutions. When I started looking there appeared to be a bazillion choices. Surely there was one in the size I needed.

I was quite particular about the size. I didn't want it to be an obstruction in the room so not too deep or wide. But then it had to be as wide and deep as possible to actually be useful as an ironing board. It also needed to be the right height. I'm 5'8" and I always have my board set at the highest position. And lastly, the shiny chrome bars felt too industrial for our new master bedroom of teak and burnt orange.

Amazingly, I found exactly what I needed on Amazon from the brand Trinity...well almost. I would have to cut the vertical bars down to the height I wanted. But luckily there is a tool for that.

Here is a list of the extra tools I needed to make this project.

- pipe and tube cutter

- drill

- 1 ½" hole saw bit for the drill

- pneumatic stapler...but you could use stapler gun or hammer stapler.

If you get the board cut to the exact size you don't need a saw. But I did and I used a cordless compact circular saw.

How much did it cost?

I purchased a sheet of aspen plywood that we primary used to make shelves for our downstairs closet. So this was technically an off-cut and free. The whole board cost $53.00...so perhaps $5 was the cost. The size I cut was 37" x 15", a bit larger than the top rack to have a bit of an overhang.

If I had wanted the regular chrome shelves, I would have only paid $67.31 plus tax delivered. But I wanted the bronze shelving...and the casters were extra. So for this combination I paid $135.36 plus tax. Yikes...but it looks great in my bedroom.

The plain chrome racking shown in the video can be found at https://amzn.to/2SPxQYR

Bronze Trinity Unit https://amzn.to/2CrvLvl

Matching casters. https://amzn.to/2HakV2d

For the aluminized cotton I purchased it on sale from Fabricland for $14. Honestly, I'm sure I could have paid less if I looked around more or waited for a better sale. But it was a heavy duty fabric, better than what I see on most ironing boards..

The fabric I used for the top was a left-over piece of Blue Correspondence by Tim Holtz. I had used this fabric to back my Long Time Gone Quilt and I am happy to use it again.

The velcro that I attached to the sides was $1.00. I love the pincushion and the other widgets attached to the side. My sew stick was constantly underfoot and I'm thankful that it has now has a home.

What I didn't know in it's design but I realize now, is how handy the wheels are. I am able to move the board into the light...lighting is terrible in my condo since there is no ceiling lights...or closer to my sewing/cutting table. Not only am I easily able to move it away into my closet but out into the hall into other rooms. And since I didn't fix the top, it's portable and I can take the top on retreats or simple downstairs to my kitchen table.

I think everyone should have one.