Turn an old crib into a baby gate and a garden trellis

Pam figured out a way to integrate a broken baby crib into her family's babyproofing plan:

We broke our daughter's first crib (tiny plastic latch and the side rail wouldn't stay up anymore, turns out the crib was discontinued and we needed to replace the whole thing). What do you do with a broken crib? Well, we cut the legs off and used some hinges to connect the sides and voila, a baby gate for an awkward area so much cheaper than the commercial versions. Now, ours isn't connected to the wall because our 18 month-old is pretty good about avoiding that area altogether, but it would be easy to make more secure if you needed to. (Not for use at the top of stairs; please use common sense and your knowledge of your own child's daredevil tendencies).

What did we do with the other side rail? It's currently outside and will be a trellis for climbing flowers this summer.

Has anyone else come up with good uses for old crib parts?

More: Best of Parent Hacks: Gardening with kids

Comments

[Reiza]

Years ago, I saw an episode of the Carol Duvall show where they turned a crib into a bench. We're planning to do that with our remaining crib (since our last two babies never slept in cribs anyway).
Here's a link to the "How to": http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_cds/article/0,2045,DIY_15079_2499200,00.html

[Alice S]

Turn the side rails on end. Lean against a wall and you have a ladder style quilt rack.

[NoonieP]

What a great idea. I might use this to "protect" the Christmas tree. :)

[Jen]

What a wonderful idea! We didn't want to spend a fortune on a baby gate around our woodburning stove, so the basement pretty much got to be off limits when the baby was awake. (The three year old doesn't come remotely close to it). With a new kid on the way, this is a great way to babyproof without breaking the bank.

(and great way to recycle!)

[Anna Alfafara]

Wow, that is a smart idea making use of the crib to cover awkward spots.

I'm sure there are a lot of other uses to which other moms and dads can figure out for themselves in their own homes. Thanks for sharing!

Anna

[Catherine]

I bet this would also be an awesome re-use for a crib that's been recalled, or is too old to be safe any more (manufactured before current safety standards).

[Gina]

Great idea - we have our $600 Ragazzi crib for sale on craigslist right now but if it doesn't sell for more than $100, I'm turning it into a trellis for sure! It's already green.

[Casey]

Here's a fun idea I found on flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/chupachups74/3467303401/

I wish I had found it before getting rid of my daughter's crib

[Kidlet]

Funny, I saw this and immediately thought, what a great idea for storing firewood!

[DDarsow]

I'm always amazed at the inventiveness of parents - sadly, we have been handed down cribs that we wound up using FOR firewood or bonfires.

Looking back over it - I love the quilt idea, as well as the original article's main idea: to use it to block off an area. This could also work for a dog kennel for a new puppy...Hmm...Ideas, ideas!

Great creativity.

[Sabine]

Great home goods ideas! I have been blogging my home design projects on http://sabineshome.com What do you suggest using for home decor?