This project took an existing piece, a small crib that couldn’t be used in its existing because of safety reasons, and transformed it into a practical, functional and surprisingly unique piece of furniture. Obsolete baby furniture is turning up all over the place, and with a little vision these pieces can be upcycled and repurposed into interesting commodity furniture such as a storage shelf unit.
A Small Crib Gets Upcycled into a Stylish, Highly Functional New Piece of Furniture
| Difficulty | Cost | Time | Age | Person | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Easy
|
$0 or Free
|
30 Minutes
|
-- | -- | -- |
Inspired From:
You Will Need...
- Crib, scrap wood for shelves, Jigsaw, drill, screwdriver, 4 L-brackets, spray paint
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Like most of my projects, this one started with reclaimed wood. I found this old crib, obsolete for safety reasons, at a garage sale for $10. The delicate spindles were too beautiful and simple to pass up.
Step 2
Within two days of the crib pick, I happened upon red cabinet doors in a garbage pile. The hardware was date stamped 1967. The width of the doors matched the depth of the crib, therefore completing my project resource list.
Step 3
My first move was to detach the side of the crib that slid down, and saw off the legs. I wanted to stand the crib up vertically and reattach the legs to what was the end side of the crib. With one long side removed, it was easier to get at the bottom to reattach the legs with 2 1/2″ screws. For stability I made the legs considerably shorter.
In breaking down the crib, I removed hardware – two L-brackets and two flat braces – that I later repurposed to reinforce the legs.
Step 4
I trimmed the cabinet doors to repurpose them as the shelves. I was able to screw them into the back of the unit and front side bars (what would have been the top edge of the crib).
Step 5
When it was fully assembled, I could not escape the fact that this Frankenstein unit looked like a chicken coop. Haunted by the chicken coop semblance, I wanted to choose a paint color that walked away from a barn look, but embraced the rustic feel of the piece. So I chose a neutral, accented by an earthy green. This was where a couple cans of spray paint brought it all together, aesthetically.
Gallery
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