DIY Toddler Dress-Up Station: Play Area Ideas & Storage Solutions

Our 3-year-old is really leaning into her princess and superhero era, so I recently decided to turn a corner of her bedroom into a DIY toddler dress-up station.

I had spent months slowly thrifting tutus, hats, headbands, purses, and other accessories in preparation for this project and my sister bought her this superhero cape set to round out the collection, so the only thing missing was the actual display to keep it all.

The result was a budget-friendly, beginner-level weekend project that adds a touch of childhood magic to her sweet little bedroom. It fits in perfectly with the other toddler-friendly DIYs we’ve added: her floor bed, her IKEA play kitchen, and her scalloped book shelves.

Our daughter plays at this dress up station almost every day, and with a gallery wall above it, it fills an otherwise blank wall with something pretty and functional.

Let’s dive into the how-to make this DIY toddler dress-up station.

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Tools & Materials

Molding (we used this one, which was leftover from our recent dining bench build)
Scalloped trim – my favorite part of the whole thing!
Screw-in shaker pegs
Paint (we used the color Terracotta Urn by Behr)
Nail gun
Drill
Caulk
Stain (if not painting the shaker pegs)
Saw (to cut the molding – you could use a jigsaw, miter saw, or have the hardware store cut the molding down for you)
Wood filler
Level (or laser level)

Cut the molding

This is going to sound like a silly DIY tutorial because it’s really so simple! First, cut the molding to the length you need, then figure out how many pieces of scalloped trim you need to make it the same length as the molding piece (they’re 24 inches each, so you’ll probably need a couple), and cut the last scalloped piece if needed.

Nail in place

Starting with the main molding piece, hold it up on the wall at the correct height (for our 3-year-old, the top of the molding piece is at 40 inches, but you may want it taller or shorter depending on your child’s height). Shoot a nail into place at one end, then grab the level and hold it along the top.

When it’s level, add a few more nails down the row, holding the nail gun at 45 degrees as you shoot them in. This makes a sturdier hold on the nails than shooting them in straight, and therefore less likely to be pulled out.

Next, nail the scalloped trim in place right under the bigger piece of molding.

Caulk and wood fill

For a more built-in finish, caulk along the top edge of the molding piece where it meets the wall, and the line where the molding meets the scalloped trim. You could try caulk underneath the scalloped edges, but I didn’t bother because it seemed like a pain and that I might just make a bigger mess of it.

Wood fill all your nail holes and the seams between the pieces of scalloped trim, then when the wood filler is dry, lightly sand it down flat.

Paint the whole piece

Pretty self-explanatory, but paint the whole thing whichever color you choose – this will make it all really look like one custom piece! I picked the color Terracotta Urn which I already had a sample of from years ago when I made our daughter this set of scalloped shelves.

Add the shaker pegs

Because I was going for a contrast look with the paint and the wood stain, I pre-stained the shaker pegs and added them as the last step, but if you want to paint them the same as the main dress up station, then add them in the previous step.

This is a little tricky, but the most important thing is even spacing. The spacing will likely depend on how many pegs you want and how long your piece is, but mine are spaced 10 inches apart, and centered vertically on the main piece of molding.

Use a laser level on a tripod to keep the line consistent the whole way across, and mark the drill holes with a pen. You could use a regular level for this if you don’t have a laser level, but it’s a little easier to mess up this way.

Take a drill bit a little bit smaller than the shaker peg screws and drill into the piece on the wall at all the marks. Then, just screw in the shaker pegs.

Decorate the toddler dress up station

The last step is just decorating (the most fun part, obviously!) I added a mix of hanging baskets for the smaller accessories, bigger hanging items like the superhero capes, hats, and a thrifted rattan mirror that was the perfect size for a princess super hero.

I also added a little gallery wall on the top to help fill out the top half of the blank wall and I love how it turned out. I found the gold dragonflies on clearance at Hobby Lobby on a really random trip there recently, and a lot of the other art we already had. This girl power print was one of the first things I bought for our 3-year-old’s nursery when she was born and I still love it.

Overall, this DIY toddler dress up station added such a fun element to our daughter’s room and it makes me so happy seeing her run down the hallway in her little outfits. I’m already dreaming up the next fun thing I can make her with the adorable scalloped trim, too.