Making a baby bed from 3 years old with your own hands

A do-it-yourself children's bed made of wood is quite real if you put in effort and a little skills. In order to make such a product out of wood, it is necessary to acquire instructions for implementation, drawings, correctly calculate the dimensions so that the product will further fit into the interior of the room.

Necessary materials for work

At the first stage, it is necessary to select the materials from which the baby bed will be independently realized. Environmental friendliness and naturalness are important here, so you should consider high-quality sawn timber. In this case, you need to know the basic rules by which they are chosen:

1. The quality of wood is determined by dryness, since a wet board will subsequently be subject to warping and the product may change its size and shape.
2. There should be no pronounced knots on the wood, as they can crumble during production. Therefore, you will have to pick up a putty for wood, which will cover the holes.
3. If it is not possible to make a completely children's product from wood, you can make some elements from plywood.

Before starting work and creating a crib for a newborn baby, you will need to trim the boards with high quality. They must acquire maximum smoothness in order to further achieve an attractive appearance in the product.

Preparation of all instruments

In addition to lumber, you will need tools for manufacturing:

• Saw or hacksaw.
• Self-tapping screws, screws, possibly nails.
• Wood glue.
• Metal corners.
• Necessarily a tape measure, rulers of different lengths and squares for marking right angles.

In addition, to create a quality product, you need to purchase a varnish for wooden surfaces. But, keep in mind that for furniture for a baby, water-based mixtures that are environmentally friendly should be preferred. This is a prerequisite to keep your baby healthy.

Baby bed drawings

In order for a do-it-yourself children's bed made of wood to be made constructively correctly, a prerequisite is the selection of the correct drawings. Moreover, take into account that they should be as detailed as possible. They must:

1. Have at least 2 projections - front and top or front and side.
2. A diagram that contains only the overall dimensions of length, height and width will not work.
3. You need to pick up such drawings that contain all the necessary dimensions, including the dimensions of the bed, the dimensions of the remaining elements, including legs, grooves, and so on.

Only with maximum detail can you make a bed yourself without having any experience in carpentry work.

Sizing calculation

If you could not find the required dimensions, you can complete the drawing yourself. In this case, it is necessary to correctly select the size of the baby bed. This is done taking into account the anthropometric parameters of a certain age of the child. So, they are guided by the following numbers:

• For newborns, the overall dimensions should fit into the following parameters - length 120 cm, width 65.5 cm, height 104 cm. These are the minimum dimensions that can be increased if desired. In this case, the child can sleep here much longer, and not only up to a year or two or three.
• For safety, the height of the sides must start from 60 cm.
• Another point that must be taken into account is the height of the bed itself above the floor level. It is necessary that it be in the range from 30 to 40 cm. This is enough to exclude drafts, which most often go along the floor of the apartment.
• If you plan to make a crib for a different age of the child, then the length and width must be guided by the dimensions of the mattresses. Moreover, it is not clear to follow them, but to give free allowances from 4 to 7 cm in width and length.

In addition, when sizing, they take into account the ability to install additional boxes. They allow you to comfortably use the structure and place everything you need in it, for example, diapers, baby clothes, toys or anything else you want. The boxes can be located not only at the bottom, under the bottom of the bed. But it also represents a separate chest of drawers, rigidly attached to one of the ends of the structure.

Manufacturing process

After a certain design of the bed has been selected, it is decided what overall dimensions it will be and all the lumber is prepared, it is necessary to follow the procedure for manufacturing the product.

It must be as follows:

1. First, individual elements are milled in accordance with the drawings and dimensions on them. With the help of folds (pins), the individual elements of this part are assembled.
2. Then the headboard and foot of the bed are assembled separately.
3. After that, the side wall of the bed is assembled.
4. At the final stage, the side parts are attached to the headboard and footboard.
5. Slats are installed, the so-called planks of boards, which will support the mattress.
6. For baby cots, add bumpers for safety without fail.

Naturally, this assembly sequence starts from the moment all the individual elements are manufactured.

Making bed legs

The design of the bed should include strong and reliable legs. They, depending on the shape and type of the product, can be:

• Free-standing bars in the amount of 4 pieces.
• The planes of the headboard and footboard.

Which choice to prefer depends on the type of construction and on individual preferences.

It is only important that they are tough and reliable enough to ensure the safety of a toddler or a child of another age. To do this, you must take into account the following rules:

1. If the legs are in the form of a bar, then their section should fit into the dimensions of 40x40 mm. This will be enough for a single bunk bed.
2. If it is planned to manufacture a two-tier structure, then the cross-sectional dimension should be increased to 50x50 mm.
3. If this is a side flat stand, then its length corresponds to the width of the bed, and the thickness should fluctuate about 1.5-2 cm.

Dowel holes

The holes for the pins or the so-called dowels are used to secure the elements together. They need to be done as follows:

1. First, prepare the pins.
2. Carefully measure their length and diameter.
3. Then divide the length into two parts and drill exactly the same holes in diameter in 2 parts to be connected, but in length they should correspond to half the length of the pin with a small tolerance in a larger direction.

When connected to dowels, they must be coated with glue on wood, both the pins themselves and the holes.

Headboard and footboard of the crib

The headboard and foot of the crib can be:

• A solid plane made of glued wood, assembled beams or plywood for subsequent finishing.
• Lattice structure with two horizontal guides at the top and bottom. Vertical elements are attached between them that protect the child.

Creation of the base for the mattress

In order to hold the mattress, wooden slats are used. This option is the most successful, as it allows you to somewhat damp the load of the mattress and create a comfortable sleeping place with a high level of comfort.

If it is not possible to purchase lamellas - these are flat wide wooden elements, slightly curved during the manufacturing process, then you can simply limit yourself to wooden planks.

They are located parallel to each other, headboard and footboard. There should be a distance between them not less than the width of the lamella itself.

The design of the base does not depend on whether a single or bunk bed will be made for a child.

Using these tips on how to make a do-it-yourself crib for newborns or older children, you can really create a design that is quite attractive and correct from the point of view of operation. At the same time, with little effort and some imagination, you can make products for a girl or boy in the shape of a house, a car or some other image.

Also, if it is necessary to create the most functional space, you can make a crib together with lockers or a writing desk, as a single structure. This will save space in the room, or at least use it as ergonomically and correctly as possible.

Remember that in order to get a comfortable sleeping place, it is important to observe anthropometric dimensions and use exclusively environmentally friendly raw materials and finishing materials.

Video: making a children's wooden bed with your own hands

Design ideas for baby cots made of wood in the photo