Fire Truck Toddler Bed

The little dude outgrew his mini crib even though I took one side off to make it more of a toddler bed. I realized this problem when he was already sleeping with his toes through the slats and one arm hanging off the side of the bed. I jumped into action and being me, I couldn't just build him a normal bed, it had to be COOL!

Thanks to my many garden projects revolving around old cribs, I had a spare regular sized crib springs on hand. I also found a free crib mattress listed on my community Buy Nothing site. The next step was to dig into my wood shed and start pulling stuff out. Here's where the pile started but I'll admit that I pulled out lots more scraps of plywood and MDF before the project was over.

I started by building a base using pieces of door jamb that came with the pantry doors.

I also spray painted it with chrome spray paint.

Then I got to building the top part of it. Each piece size and shape depended quite a bit on the wood I had. I just stared at the pile, figured out what would work and jumped in with both feet.

This:

became this:

Then I started adding details and painting.

And I added hinges to the front so we could open it up for easier sheet changes.

Then the details got really really intricate.

And finally, I moved it into his room and he was totally thrilled!!

I also rearranged his room to better suit his new big-boy motif. I moved furniture, cleaned out toys and even sold off the biggest piece of furniture that was in his room. Here is the final look:

For this project, I purchased 2 tap lights, 1 light for the top, and some paint. I accomplished my goal of not buying any wood.

I love looking in his bright and playful room. I'm also thrilled that the colors I picked for his nursery have worked so well as he has grown up a bit. He loves his room too. Every night he tells me he wants to go to sleep in his fire truck bed.

Thank you for reading,
Julie