Friends, I bring something to you that I hope will make your lives a little bit easier… and… prettier 🙂 We were inspired after visiting a friend’s house to make our own baby gate for the bottom of our stairs. I was tired of endlessly chasing Evie up them, or yelling at her to come down them. Plus, y’all- it’s just dangerous to leave a flight of stairs open to a toddler! In comes- the DIY baby gate. We knew we were going to have to find something to work with our stairway. One side of which is a wall, and the other a beautiful wood spindle.
We don’t like to drill holes into permanent fixtures that can’t easily be patched, so we really knew were going to have to find something  that would work for us. I’m sure some of you have stairs similar to our design and I hope this helps you in the quest for a baby gate!!

MATERIALS
(2)  1″x4’x8′ white wood
(2) 1″x3’x8′ white wood
(6) 3/4″ x 48″ dowels
(2) Hinge sets with screws
(1) Slide bolt
(2) zip ties (opt)
Brad nails
TOOLS
– Miter Saw or circular saw
– 3/4″ spade drill bit (or desired dowel size)
– Wood glue
– Chisel or like tool for fitting hinges
– Hammer/ Nailer
– 1/2″ Drill bit (or size of slide bolt)
– Clamps
-Measuring Tape
-Combination square (opt)
CUT LIST
Gate:
(2) 23″ 1×3
(2) 30″ 1×3
(2) 38″ 1×4
(2) 33″ 1×4
(6) 24″, 3/4″ dowels
Hinge Panel:
(1) 28″ 1×3
Striker Panel:
(1) 30″ 1×3
 
Instructions

Gate:
1) For the sides, place (1) 23″ 1×3 3.5″ from the top of the 30″ 1×3. Secure with glue and brad nails. Repeat these steps for the other side.
2) Assemble 33″ 1×4 2.5″ from the top of the 38″ 1×4 for top and bottom sections.
3) Combine left and right sections with the top section only.
4) Mark drill center points for the dowels on the semi-assembled frame and stand alone 38″ 1×4 section. We did every 3″ on center.
5) Once markings are completed, use spade bit to drill for dowels. Make sure to keep drill as vertical as possible when drilling.
6) Place dowels in holes of semi-assembled frame. Add wood glue for added rigidity.
7) Add bottom 1×4 to frame and secure with wood glue to complete the gate portion.
Hinge panel:
8) Mark location for hinges and use hammer/chisel to install hinges
9) Once hinges are installed on gate and panel, secure panel to wall.

 

 
Striker panel:
10) Mount striker panel (1×3) to staircase- there are various ways you could do this. We choose to use a 1×3 and zip tie it to our wooden stair case.
11) Install slide bolt onto completed gate and drill a hole in the striker panel to accept the male end of the slide bolt. We installed ours on the inside of the gate so it isn’t accessible to children.
It also works great for pets… much to their chagrin :