Everyone has hobbies, right? Some women like to shop, my hubby likes to hunt, etc. etc. I guess I’ve finally realized what my hobby is; recreating old pieces! So when I stumbled upon a post from Pinterest about converting a JENNY LIND CRIB TO A BENCH or DAYBED, I knew my next project.
I had an old Jenny Lind crib that has been sitting in my moms attic for the past 5 years.
It was time to repurpose this antique piece and convert this Jenny Lind crib to a bench or a daybed.
In the next few days I’ve brainstormed how I would cut down, fasten, saw, refinish and recreate my old crib.
After about a month of trying to wrap my mind around a real simple way to do this, I started getting discouraged because this project looked like it would be a little more labor intensive than I realized.
With two active toddlers, my time is VERY valuable, and there isn’t much of it, so I decided that this project might have to move to the back burner.
And then a light when off in my head (yes, sometimes this happens)- I had an idea; I had two sets of oversized outdoor cushions that I really wanted to get rid of, but I thought they might just be the perfect size for my crib. YEP!!!!!!
This was perfect because now I didn’t have to cut the crib down.
My vintage Jenny Lind Crib would serve as an oversized OUTDOOR BENCH.
I was so thrilled, not only was there not much labor for this project, but I had two great cushions to use. Since the cushions were not my style, I decided to paint them, and you can see that post on painting outdoor cushions HERE.
After much thought and deliberation, I decided NOT to make the sides of this bench lower than the back. I might change my mind soon, but for now I decided to leave the sides alone. So if your wondering if I really had to do anything to create this bench other than remove the front piece, well the answer is no.
The one thing I did do to create this BENCH FROM A CRIB is to reinforce it.
After all, I don’t know that a crib was made for a 300 LB man to sit on.
Here are a few quick things I did to reinforce it:
In the picture above you can see where I screwed 3 pieces of wood (scrap wood I had in my garage) to the crib. Refer to the picture below to see the placement of the screws.
You can see where I used two screws per piece of wood and screwed them into the “bed” of the crib.
I screwed another piece of scrap wood to the bottom of the front of the crib to stabilize the sides of this “crib turned bench.”
Now that it was safe for a large human to sit on, I was ready to convert my new bench from a crib!
Because I have a furniture rearranging problem (at least I can admit it), my CRIB TURNED BENCH did not sit outside for long. I decided to keep it one of our side rooms for extra seating. Here are a few pics of my new “seating arrangement.”
Here is my vintage CRIB TURNED BENCH or DAYBED!
What do y’all think? Daybed or outdoor bench?
Isn’t it funny how we can recreate and repurpose something like a Jenny Lind Crib into adult seating. Now if I can just figure out what type of seating…:)
Lindsey**
This is amazing Lindsey! Great project! Thanks for co-hosting #homemattersparty
I think you’ve made it quite beautiful. I think it may be better suited for outdoor seating, but it works as a daybed too.
Thanks Crystal, and yes I think I will eventually use it for outdoor seating.
This awesome!! Exactly the tutorial I was looking for! The only problem is some of the pictures are missing, like they didn’t upload or something? Are you able to email them to me? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! I’m glad you find this tutorial helpful, now explain to me what you mean. Are the picture from the site not showing up on your computer or mobile device?
What a clever idea. You did a fantastic job! #HomeMattersParty
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
That’s lovely! I would love to be able to do make something like this or do any kind of upcycling really, I’m just no good at it haha #ThatFridayLinky
Super cute and inviting! I grew up with Jenny Lind beds, which my mom still has stored in her garage, so someday maybe I can do the same. Once she gives me permission to paint the wood, lol! Visiting from Nifty Thrifty Sunday.
What a great idea!!
Loving this idea. Thanks for sharing!
Oh I love this!!! I think it will look gorgeous no matter where it ends up!
I’d not actually heard of Jenny Lind, so I have no idea if her cribs are something especially different or fancy (I’m in the UK, maybe we don’t have them here or maybe the whole thing has just passed me by) I do think this is a great idea though. So often an old crib just sits in a garage doing nothing, much better to make something attractive and useable from it. This looks great and the reinforcing the base tip is brilliant, I may have not thought of that with disastrous consequences!
Love the look – great job! #MMBC
I vote inside daybed bench 😀 It looks beautiful. I love the way you’ve styled it Lindsey and re-inforcing the bottom is probably a really good idea.
That looks good Lindsey, love it!
Awesome idea! I have to wait a few years before I can totally get rid of our crib. will be pinning for later. much later! #inspirememonday
What an amazing transformation!!! #bigpinklink
Such a stylish change and it looks amazing, I love the new grown up feel #TwinklyTuesday
What a cute idea!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
What a brilliant idea, Lindsey! It turnout out beautiful! I love it, my friend!
Thank you Mia!
What a great idea- totally changes everything.
I had a Jenny Lind crib for my daughter. I love the upcycle. I’ve been looking for a headboard to convert. I’m going to keep my eye out for a crib too. Thanks for the inspiration, and sharing on Sunday’s Best.
Thank you Rhonda! Have a great night.
Looks so pretty! I love the idea of up cycling the crib 🙂
Thank you Victoria!
How cute! I think it looks adorable with ways, though the daybed looks less crib-ish, if that makes any sense. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
This is super cool! I love taking old things and making them into new things! Pinned it–thanks for linking up!
WOW, This is inspiring! I wanted to do this but have no clue how to go about it. My sons’ crib still sitting unused in our store room. One day (yes one day) I will do this ! Thanks for a great post !
Cool! I have a similar crib in my mother’s house (leftover from when my daughter was a baby and spent the day there). Maybe I need to do something similar. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned!
Hey, Lindsey! Just wanted to let you know that we loved your How To Convert A Jenny Lind Crib To A Bench Or Daybed so much when you shared it at the #HomeMattersParty last week, we’ve FEATURED it THIS WEEK! Hope you can check it out when you get a sec. Happy Friday!!!
https://lifewithlorelai.com/2017/11/02/home-matters-linky-party-160/
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai / Home Matters Linky Party
Thank you Lorelai! I hope you are doing well friend.
Love this DIY. You are a women of vision! Found it on #HomeMattersParty – pinned, of course!
What a beautiful upcycle! I’ve loved the Jenny Lind cribs for a long time but sadly they’re not really around in the UK. It’s the perfect way to reuse it, they’re such a beautiful piece of furniture it deserves to have a place in your home! Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Visiting from creative circle. Love what you did to this crib. Such a great idea.
This piece turned out beautiful and I love that you shared at Dishing it and DIgging it link party. You are one of our features this week. Thank you again for sharing.
Thank you so much for the feature!
What a fabulous project and a wonderful turnout. It looks gorgeous! Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
Such a pretty idea! I’ve been wanting to do this.
What a great way to upcycle a crib! Thanks for sharing at The Blogger’s Pit Stop! Roseann from http://www.thisautoimmunelife.com
Wow! Well done you! I love doing things like this and making something old look new and useful again. Just to let you know that lots of the photos weren’t loading for me, I’m not sure why, I saw the finished product and it looks great. Thanks for linking up to the #bigpinklink this week.
Thank you! And thanks for letting me know about the photos, I’ve had someone else say the same thing. I’m going to look into that now.
What a fab idea it looks beautiful Thank you for linking to #ThatFridayLinky Please come back next week
Wow! this is very smart way to repurpose a baby crib…
Please visit: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com
Personally, I’d hate to see that land outside, even if it was in a covered area. It’s so pretty how you have it styled. I’d vote for in.
I absolutely love this fun upcycle project Lindsey! You did such an amazing job.Thank you so much for sharing with us at Dishing It & Digging It & congratulations on being featured this week!
What a wonderful way to upcycle a beautiful piece of furniture. You’ve done a great job. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
I love it! This is a great idea and so creative! I would have never thought to do this with a crib!
Great project! It is my favorite for the week for Totally Terrific Tuesday and will be featured tomorrow. Thanks for linking up with us!
Yay, thanks so much!
This is awesome and beautiful! Thanks for adding this to the To Grandma’s House We Go link party! Remember to follow all of us, and we hope to see you again this Wednesday!
What a great re-purpose and I love the new bench
I just adore how this turned out! And I have that exact same throw blanket with the hearts <3 Thanks for sharing this on The Farmhouse Friday Link Party!
This idea looks so cozy and the smaller size of the crib would be very handy to add some extra seating.
Really cute transformation! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Absolutely love this! And styled perfectly too! xx
This turned out beautifully! Thanks for sharing it with us over at the Homestead Blog Hop!