So glad I found these plans! I couldn't bring myself to spend $200 on the commercial ones. I built this for my 17-month old daughter since she always wants to be in the kitchen with me but always ends up under-foot. This gives her a safe place to be contained and up high so she can see what I'm doing. I don't have a jigsaw so no curved top or anti-tip feet for us but I wanted it straight anyway so that it would slide neatly under the counter over-hang. I did round off the ends of the anti-tip with the sander. I also shortened the height to 34 inches; all other measurements are as instructed.
I had to do my cutting in the garage during naptime since she always has to be where I am. Same with the drilling. So this project spanned several days but altogether did not take too long at all. I used 2-1/2'' screws instead of attempting pocket screws - I have a mini Kreg jig but after reading the comments and other people's pictures, I decided I didn't want to risk splitting the wood and having to make another trip to Lowe's with the toddler.
I assembled the ladder-rung sides & platform pieces then gave everything a once-over with my orbital sander before handing it over to my husband for staining (he enjoys it - it gives me a headache). After 3 coats, he did a final "sand" with fine steel wool which left a super smooth surface. I finished the assembly with the 1-1/2 narrow hinges - USE CLAMPS!
