IKEA Crib Hack

   We managed to contain our toddler for a little over two years before it became abundantly clear that we needed to accept the fact that he deserved a bed, and the inherent freedoms. Part of our reservations were actually keeping him in bed, and the other part was the tacky, mass-produced beds that were available.
©2013 Zoll - IKEA Crib Hack - SBS
Sniglar Bed & Sniglar Crib
   We absolutely love our pair of IKEA cribs. From a design standpoint, they are simple, unfinished beech with clean modern lines. The Sniglar model is awesome and ridiculously affordable. They have also gone so far as to include the ability to remove a side and convert the crib into a daybed. Sold!
   So when the time came, I simply swapped out the parts and we had a happy kiddo. The daybed was nice, but it felt too much like a crib, especially next to his younger brother's crib.
   I wanted to do something special to acknowledge the milestone of my son's first "big boy bed." I researched images and came across  IKEA's Gulliver bed. It was no leap to see the possibility of modifying the bed safely while saving some coin.
   The meat and potatoes of this hack was simple cutting the dowels and resetting them into the rails. I admit that it was a little risky for the sheer fact that I had no alternative bed ready, if something went awry. I started by experimenting on the side that was removed during the daybed conversion. It went easier than expected and my wife encouraged me to go for it. I transferred the necessary measurements and a couple hours later, I had a little elfin toddler bed.
   This project has sentimental weight to it, but it is also incredibly pragmatic. We did not need to buy an intermediate bedroom suite, when our ultimate goal is a bunk bed for the boys. This mod has allowed us to keep our quality mattresses during the interim period, as well as the small footprint of the cribs.

15 comments:

Crystal said...

Yay he's back!

Anonymous said...

My husband and I love this and want to do this for our son. How were you able to remove the vertical dowels? Did you just cut across the side and then drill whole in the top (or bottom) bar to reset?

Manic Maker said...

This one is a little tricky, but I did replicate the process for the second crib in the photo. First I decided how tall I wanted the top bed rail to be, then I cut the legs to the shorter height. This leaves you with only the bottom rail attached to the dowels. It is important to brace or clamp the dowels before cutting to minimized chipping.

Once all the dowels are cut, I took the bottom rail with the remaining stubs and carefully worked each piece free. There is suprisingly little glue and staples holding the assembly together. I cleaned out the holes and tapered the cut ends of dowels. I was able to reassemble the rails with a tight friction fit using a rubber mallet and no adhesive. I reattached the bottom rail to the leg with a countersunk screw. Not that difficult, just give yourself plenty of time to achieve a clean result.

Anonymous said...

Did you do this with the Gulliver crib or the Sniglar?

Manic Maker said...

Thanks Anon, for clarification both of the beds were made from Sniglar cribs.

Anonymous said...

Where did the long piece of wood come from that runs along with the mattress? Doesnt look like it comes with the cot, really eager to get hubby to do this but i need to reassure him it will work. Thanks

Manic Maker said...

Hi Anon,
The piece of wood you are referring to came with early versions of the Sniglar crib. IKEA included all the hardware to convert the crib into a daybed, and the side rail could be used in place of one of the crib sides.
Now, if for some reason you do not have this piece, I would suggest a 1"x4" Oak board from your local home improvement warehouse. They are not likely to have Beech stock, so Oak would be your next best choice for color and strength.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for replying we are attempting it today. Will let you know how we get on.

Anonymous said...

We did it!!! A lot of debates went on but managed it! Thanka

Manic Maker said...

That is awesome! Great job guys, we were able to get several more years of use out of our daybeds. I am glad that this hack has inspired others to try it as well. Keep up the good work

Eva said...

Any chance you can actually post instructions? I don’t get where you made the cuts and how you fit it back together...

Eva said...

...particularly the sort sides... because that’s where the legs are and where the slats and mattress sit on

Manic Maker said...

Hi Eva, thank you for your interest in this project. I will do my best to answer your questions.

I purposely give general outlines for IKEA hacks, because the company is known to revise their furniture over time. Product specific instructions might lead a reader into accidentally ruining a piece. I always advise safety, caution and measure twice. As a side note, I recently had to modify my son's new dresser because it was two inches wider in depth than the identical model I purchased two years earlier.

Manic Maker said...

Eva, I did go into greater detail in a comment to above to Anon. To answer your specific question, when you cut the bottom of the legs shorter, this step will free the crossbar from the legs, but it will still be attached to the long dowels.

In the next step the dowels are cut shorter, and the crossbar is freed with only the cut ends of the dowels remaining. You should be able to work those short ends loose from the bottom crossbar, and then you will have the bottom rail ready to be screwed into its new location.

Remember, during the crib-to-daybed conversion, you should have an extra "long side" that you can practice on before trying this on the daybed. Best of luck, and I hope this helps.

Eva said...

Thank you! That helped a lot! And yes, I do of course have the extra bit to practice on. But I was curious about the two shorter pieces as they are the crucial ones for the whole bed structure. Totally understand why you don’t want to give detailed instructions. You are so right about that. But I do think that if you decide to modify any piece of furniture you enter the risk of things going wrong. Cheers for that. And greetings from Sydney/Australia!

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