DIY Doors on Coffee-Table TV Stand

 The completed project!  Opens and closes like a charm!!

Keep your electronics safe from infant hands, and give them one less shelf to bonk their head on!

Why?

This project had a simple motive: I had been using an Ikea coffee table with a few side tables as a DIY TVstand (see previous post).  This was going great until my 7-month-old son finally figured out how to pull himself up high enough to reach the electronics underneath.  Long story short, I needed a TV stand with some kind of doors in front. 

Solution 1: Buy a new TV stand with doors in front.

Boring, surprisingly expensive, and my furniture-buying budget is approximately nothing, so on to…

Solution 2: Install my own door!

Parts

3 – 3” Utility/DoorHinges (about $1.50 each, comes with screws but they were a bit long and would have stuck out the back.  You would be fine using just 2 hinges)

6 – Shorter screws.  I don't remember the diameter, but they need to fit the hinge holes and not be longer than about 3/4" or they'll stick out the back of the shelf.

1 – 10” x 36” BlackShelf ($7) for the door.

1 – Babyproofing Drawer Latch ($1, this style)

Total: $12

Instructions

More pictures are included below for clarification.

1) Cut the shelf down to 10” by 31-1/8”

2) Attach the hinges to the door.  Be very careful that they are on straight and that you’re on the correct side of the hinge.  For the hinge to open out, the shelf needs to be attached on the inside of the hinge so it can be flush with the front of the coffee table but not hit the top when it swings out.  Before you screw anything in, hold up the shelf and hinges and move it through the full range of motion to make sure you’re right!  Also, being so close to the edge of the shelf you should really drill pilot holes before you put in the screws.

3) Screw the hinges to the underside of the topmost piece of wood of the coffee table.  Make sure the hinge is recessed in a bit.  The front surface needs to be flush with no hinge edges, shelf corners, or anything else a falling toddler would hit their head on.  Your kids should at least stay as safe as your PS3.

4) Attach the base of the latch (not the hook part) to the underside of the bottom piece of wood in the TV stand.

5) Attach the hook part of the latch to the shelf/door.  It should be lined up so it closes easily but won’t slip open on its own.  I had to attach a thin piece of plywood between the shelf and the latch to make the latch reach the base.

6) If you want, tape off the wood and spray paint the front of the hinges.  My wife liked the metal look.

Note: One seeming problem here is that the sides of the coffee table are still open for little fingers to enter.  In our case, both sides face side tables with blankets under them, so it hasn't been a problem.  You could use mesh, more wood, etc. to permanently wall off the sides if you need to, as you shouldn't need to open and close them.  

Steps 2–3: Attach the hinges and door

Step 4: Attach the latch

So much space for things!