AS we’re sure all parents will agree, trying to stop your little one from climbing over the stairgate is a never-ending battle.
Well in an attempt to stop his nine-month-old son Archer from having a tantrum every time he needed to pop up stairs, dad Nick Pearce came up with a genius solution.
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Instead installing your bogstandard metal stairgate (which, we’ll admit, can be a bit of an eyesore), Nick decided to make one of his own by re-purposing the wood from a shoe rack.
The devoted dad spent four hours making the stairgate and decorated it a kid-friendly white and blue using old paint he had lying around.
Nick and his wife Melanie, from Helston, Cornwall, then spent £10 on a calculator, light switch, lock, computer mouse, door stop, mobile phone and xylophone to glue onto the stairgate in the hope that it would keep their son occupied.
Sharing photos of the impressive stairgate on the Facebook group DIY on a Budget Official, Melanie wrote: “My husband built this busy board for our son which we turned into a stairgate for the lounge (hopefully stop him from standing at the gate crying when I leave the room).
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“I think it’s fab. It only cost around £10 to make as we already had the wood and paint.”
Explaining how Nick put it all together, Melanie said: “He took apart the shoe rack and utilised the wood from that. Then he put hinges on it and a bolt lock to use it as a gate.”
And the best part is, Archer is loving his new toy.
Melanie continued: “It’s made a huge difference. We’ve only had it up since Tuesday though, but the last couple of days if we leave the room he will follow and lean against the gate and play.
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“His favourite is the door stops (they make a funny noise) and the push light
Unsurprisingly, other members of the group were similarly impressed with Nick’s efforts and the post has racked up over 1,800 “likes”.
One replied: “I’ve to do this, looks amazing – well done!”
Another gushed: “Can he make one for me? It’s lovely.”
For more budget home renovations, this mum made an incredible Lion King-themed bedroom for her son using eBay and Asda bargains.
And this thrifty mum transformed her drab kitchen using £8 bargains and £2 buys from The Range.
Plus this mum created an incredible Lego-themed feature wall for her son – and all she used was A4 paper.
