Ideas To Repurpose & Upcycle Used Baby Cribs

When your youngest child outgrows their baby stuff you're left with a mountain of things to get out of your house, including your used baby cribs.


While many pieces of furniture can be donated or sold, unfortunately many of these older cribs are not one of them.

The reason is that safety guidelines have changed, and gently used baby stores, consignment shops and re-sale shops are not allowed to sell or accept donations of cribs that have been recalled or don't meet current safety guidelines.

So what's a person to do who wants to get this huge piece of furniture out of their house when no more babies will be sleeping in it?

You could just take these used cribs to the dump, but that sure seems a shame to take up room in the landfill.

So many people have gotten creative, and figured out ways to repurpose or upcycle this furniture to remake it into something completely different, something that is no longer just for babies but something they or someone else in their home can happily use.

Some of these repurposed furniture ideas use the railing of the crib, and some use the main body of the crib, with the railing removed.

Ideally you can take some of these ideas for both parts of these used cribs and come up with some great ways to use both sections in your own homes.

All of these ideas were submitted by readers of this site, and I just have to say that I am in awe of each of you talented and creative people. If you have your own repurposed crib photos, of your own projects, that you'd like to show off I'd love to see them. You can submit your own photos here and I'll add the best ones to the page!

Repurpose Your Used Cribs Into A Reading Nook

The top photo was submitted by Kate. She explained, "This is on our back porch. The kids curl up on it to read."

Another reader, Donna, did something quite similar. Here's what hers looked like when done:

She explained, "I turned ours into a reading nook. I got the chairs and box underneath for a couple of dollars at a second hand shop. It gets used a lot. The kids love it!"

Convert An Old Crib Into A Desk

Another idea is to convert this old baby furniture into a desk. That's what a reader, Bec, did. She showed her picture featured above.

She explained, "my daughter's cot also became her homework desk."

Another reader, Alexis, did something similar. She said, "A desk for me. Most cribs made before 2010 are illegal to sell as they have all been recalled as the industry standards have changed. This means that even perfectly usable cribs are being repurposed or thrown away which is why you are seeing so many crib projects these days."

Here's hers, and she put it in her craft room:

Upcycle Cribs Into Kids Activity Area

If you've got a used baby crib you most likely have young kids, so why not convert their old cot into a little desk or area where the kids can play?

That's what a couple of readers did.

The photos above are from a reader, Leah. She said, "I'm just sharing a couple of photos of our repurposed cot. Three sides and the base were used to turn it into a craft/Lego table (I haven't had a chance to paint the ply because it's been school holidays and they've been using it constantly!) and the side rail is now a book storage spot, with the mattress a comfy reading spot.

I attached the little plastics storage baskets with cable ties and they're nice and sturdy. We're very happy with it!

Oh and the seating at the 'table' are buckets with lids, which hold Lego."

Similarly, here's another picture from another reader, Casey, who did something similar.

Casey said, "I had a blackboard easel (felt board on other side) that was broken, and my bub has grown out of her cot (crib) so I combined the 2 and made an activity table."

DIY Bike Rack Using Old Crib Rail

One reader, Anna, used one of the crib's rails, to make a bike rack in her garage.

She explained, "I made a rack using one side of my son's cribs."

I featured this picture on the Facebook page and one person asked, ""How did Anna make the rail stand up? I like this 'parking space' idea for the extra rail."

Anna was gracious enough to explain for everyone, and said, "I screwed it into the wall and then positioned our garage cabinets on either side (they are those gray things in the background). I have seen these made with wood added on the bottom side for tilt support. We didn't find it necessary with bikes on both sides."

Use Old Crib Rail To Make Hanging Pot Rack

Another ingenious use for a crib rail is to make a hanging pot rack with it, like a reader Ginger did.

She explained, "This is what we did with ours. It's hanging above my kitchen island."

You can see even more ideas for organizing pots and pans here, but I admit it is awesome to already potentially have something free to use instead of having to be another product for your home.

Display Kids' Artwork On Rail

Here's a cute idea from Heather. She explained, "We used the rails, with over-door hooks, ribbon and binder clips as art walls for the kids."

In fact, these rails are good for displaying all kinds of things, and you'll see a couple more examples below.

Hang Or Display Items On The Wall With Used Crib Rails

Many people mount their old crib rails on the wall, and then drape or clip things on them for storage and display.

The example above was provided by a reader, Katie, who explained, "I mounted the side of our crib in the kitchen to hold heirloom linens."

I've seen similar ideas in a craft room where the slats of the rail were used to drape various fabrics.

Similarly, if you don't care much about whether your magazines have the binding bent a bit, I've seen people use old rails as a magazine rack, with the magazine opened and draped over the rail.

Here's another example from Anna, who I showed above had made the DIY bike rack. There were two rails on her crib, of course, so one she used for the bike rack and the other she used in her kitchen like this:

Anna says, "We used the other side in our small kitchen."

The Sky's The Limit When Repurposing A Used Baby Crib!

There are of course even more ideas for upcycling and repurposing an old crib. Really, the sky's the limit.

This last idea is from a reader, Joni, and it just goes to show what you can do with a bit of imagination. She explained that this is an "alfalfa hay feeder for my nigerian dwarf goats - still have a little person sleeping in the crib which was converted to a toddler bed (this was part of the drop down rail and we have enough left to make another one for the outside of their barn)."

So do you have anymore ideas you've implemented yourself? If so, and you'd like them showcased you can submit them here.

More Home Storage Solutions

I hope you enjoyed these ideas for repurposing and upcycling your old baby cribs.

There are even more ideas for storage and organizing on the site in the {A-Z} Storage Solutions & Ideas round up page. Go check it out if you'd like to see even more ideas.

In addition, if you're in the process of organizing your kids' bedrooms here's the Kids' Bedroom Organizing Challenge that gives step by step instructions for tackling this area of your home.

Finally, get more tips for getting rid of baby clutter here, from all around your home.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Join The 52 Week Organized Home Challenge

Organize Toys & Games Challenge

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