Come see how Carissa from Carissa Miss repurposed her old crib into this beautiful bench!
This post is definitely a long time coming. Looking at the end product, you'd never guess that it sat in my garage for a couple months until I decided what I was going to do with it. I'm probably the only one who has held onto old stuff with the hope that I'll use it again. No? Oh, well. Now you get to enjoy this awesome step-by-step just for fun.
There are numerous ways to do this, especially since every crib is different, but I'll show you the basics and then you will know roughly how to think through for your particular crib.
First off, those side pieces are going to be too long for a regular person sitting at a bench so you'll want to cut them down. I cut mine from the back so I could keep the nice curved arm. The finished length was about 19.75". To get this measurement I just pretended to sit with my arm on the top and thought about what would be comfortable. You don't want your hand hanging off, but you don't want to have to scoot all the way forward from the way back to get off.
I just used my miter saw to make the cut, but any straight cutting tool will do.
Next, I drilled a hole in the same spot where it was in the end piece that connected to the back of the crib so that I could just the existing holes.
Maybe this will make better sense? I wanted it to sit at the same height as the back.
Then came the supports. I used 2x2's and screwed it into the back of the crib using 1 1/4" wood screws. If you use your Ryobi Drill and Impact Driver Kit then it's super fast- drill your pilot hole and then screw. I was able to cut and install the supports within minutes. I just measured about how high from the ground I wanted them by doing the same "pretend to sit down" method.
Of course, make sure each support is level as you install, but also you'll want them to be at the exact same height as well.
After building out the frame, I cut 2 2x10's to 52" {which was my final length} and is probably pretty common since most cribs are built the same dimensions to fit a crib mattress.
I wanted to make sure it was extra secure so I added some metal L brackets for extra support. I don't have a picture of it, but I decided to add another support down the middle of the frame so it didn't sag at all when you sat on the bench. I trusted on my Home Right Finish Max Pro to get a smooth and even painting job with my favorite white, Country Chic Paint's Simplicity.
Since the bench will be used outside I also wanted to protect it against the elements so I used Clear Coat to seal it.
Add a couple of throw pillows, also treated for the outdoors with Thompson's Fabric Seal, and we can enjoy the pleasant summer evenings with an {almost} free bench!
Leave a comment below to tell us what you think of Carissa's crib to bench transformation!
Country Chic Paint products used for this project:
- Simplicity chalk style all-in-one paint
- Clear Coat
