Transforming a plain toddler bed into a custom bed

I have been helping my niece Lindsay with her toddler son Max’s room.  She is expecting another baby in a couple of months, and needs to transfer the nursery items to the new baby’s room, which means Max needed a new bed.  We were looking on Craig’s list for a toddler bed that I could fix up for her, but either they were already sold or they didn’t respond {so typical of Craig’s list}.  As luck would have it, I happened to be at a friends house a couple of weeks ago who happened to have “stuff” in his garage that was going to the thrift shop.  In that “stuff” I spotted a toddler bed. And that toddler bed went home with me, for free.  Can’t beat that price right?

It was a cherry finish just like this one, in good shape, but I wanted to give it a clean startso I spruced it up with some sanding, paint and a stencil

I sanded the rails and the headboard plank to the natural wood to tie the bed in with the wood dresser she is using in the room

I used Krylon Oxford Blue.  It is a grey blue, even though it looks more navy in these pictures

It is sitting in my studio right now ready to be delivered to my niece. But I love how it turned out!  It reminds me of something you would see in Pottery Barn, but for an 1/8 of the price

This is the toddler bedding she is going to use.  I found it for her on Restoration Hardware Baby & Child and it was on sale! {it looks like they only have the twin size available now}

I put together a short tutorial on how I transformed the bed.

• Sand the areas where you want to expose the natural wood.  I did the rolled arms, the side rails and the front of the headboard plank {for the name}
• Adhere your stencil for the name to the exposed wood on the front of the headboard slat {I used my silhouette machine to cut out the “Max” letters on contact paper.  If you don’t have a silhouette machine, you can trace the letters onto contact paper}
• Tape off exposed wood areas with blue tape
• Spray with color.  I do a couple of light coats at first since I don’t use a primer, waiting at least 30 minutes in between coats.  Then I go back and do a heavier spray to get the uniform color.
• Remove blue tape from the bed and  finish the wood with your choice of stain or a clear sealer on the wood.  I used Howards Restore a Finish in Walnut.  I puta clear satin polyurethane on the bed for added durability that is totally optional, not necessary.

If you have any questions about doing this yourself, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to answer any questions I can.

I have some other projects I am doing for Max, and the new baby for his nursery.  It is fun to design for my niece, last time I did something like this for her was when she was a teenager and we did her bedroom in her favorite color, purple.  Now she is a stay at home mom, has a wonderful blog, Delighted Momma, with healthy recipes and great skin care tips, makes me one proud Auntie.

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