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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Create Your Decor » Turn a Crib Rail into a Bookshelf in 10 Seconds

Turn a Crib Rail into a Bookshelf in 10 Seconds

by Lindsay Ballard on August 7, 2012 55 Comments

The kids’ book situation in my house has reached critical mass.  Zack’s bookshelf is overflowing.  Emma’s basket of books is piled as high as Mount Everest.  Every day after nap time/quiet time, we have to pick up countless books that they’ve read and tossed on the floor while they were resting.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining at all!  We developed their love of reading early on.  Zack is reading about 3+ grade levels ahead, and Emma is already identifying numbers and letters.  We’re proud nerds.

But, as far as organization was going, I needed something more than just a basket in Emma’s room.  I was cleaning up her room last week and decided that I should finally put away the crib rail that we took off the front of her crib (she’s the next Gabby Douglas, y’all).  I propped it up against the wall to get it out of my way, and then inspiration struck.

I just leaned that bad boy up by the rocking chair and tented books over the slats.  It’s very light weight, so I didn’t even bother to secure it to the wall.  I’ll be upgrading her to a “big girl” room shortly, so there was no need to make more holes in the wall if I didn’t need to.  She hasn’t even attempted to try to turn it over.

About 30 books fit on the crib rail bookshelf.  Emma can easily remove them, but she’s didn’t immediately know how to replace them.  We’re working on learning that now.

I’m just so pleased with myself and my little idea.  It’s so nice to have a project that you can pull off in 10 seconds.  Believe me when I tell you that doesn’t happen much around here.

I think Emma is pleased with it, too!

Do you have an extra crib rail lying around?  Try making an easy bookshelf!

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. Colleen says

    August 7, 2012 at 7:29 am

    Ca-uuute! Would it be mean to kick my babe out of her crib so we can do this now? Yes? Okay. I’ll Pin it for later. Great idea!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:19 pm

      Ha! Thanks, Colleen. Take it from me…you don’t want her out before it’s time. But, now you know what to do when she starts climbing out. LOL

      Reply
  2. Lorie says

    August 7, 2012 at 9:08 am

    Lindsay, I LOVE this!!! Such a clever idea! I will have to see if I can find an old crib at a thrift store since we will be using our regular crib one last time!

    I am going to feature this on my site later today!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:22 pm

      Thanks for the feature, Lorie!

      And how did I miss that you were expecting another little sweetie? Oh my goodness- Congrats!! I’m so happy for you!

      Reply
  3. Organized Living Essentials says

    August 7, 2012 at 10:12 am

    This is a brilliant idea! So easy and what a great way to repurpose an old crib. I am a teacher and could see this storage idea being used in the classroom.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:23 pm

      That’s a great idea! Being used in a classroom would be great. It doesn’t take up valuable floorspace, but could hold a lot of little workbooks or magazines.

      Reply
  4. Kate @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating says

    August 7, 2012 at 10:16 am

    This is such a great idea! We are getting ready to move to a big boy bed and I was feeling bad because we can’t sell our crib because it has a drop side (against the law to sell drop sided cribs these days at least in my state). Anyway, what a great way to reuse it, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:24 pm

      You are so welcome! Congrats on the soon-to-be move to the big boy bed, too. That’s a big day for a little boy. He’s going to be so proud of himself. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Nancy @ dream it...build it...style it! says

    August 7, 2012 at 11:28 am

    Great idea! Love it.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:25 pm

      Thank you, Nancy!

      Reply
  6. Jesseca says

    August 7, 2012 at 12:14 pm

    I think you were reading my thoughts! I was just trying to decide if we should buy a small book shelf for my little guys room, but this will be PERFECT! And on the plus side, I won’t have to spend any money, and I’ll have it together in the next ten minutes!

    Thanks for sharing such a great idea!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:25 pm

      Wonderful! I’m so glad that this solution might work for you!

      Reply
  7. Jessie says

    August 7, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Love it! On a side note, where did you get the slipcover for the rocker? Our girl’s digestive pyrotechnics have made the microfiber on ours less than stellar.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:28 pm

      Hi Jessie! LOL Oh, you poor mommy!

      I actually made my slipcover – here’s the tutorial: http://livingwithlindsay.com/2010/04/adding-comfort-to-a-wooden-rocking-chair-%E2%80%93-part-two.html

      Reply
  8. Sylvia says

    August 7, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    Great idea. I think this should make the cut into the big girl room. You could use velcro to attach it at the top and there would be no holes. Probably not necessary, just a thought.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:29 pm

      Velcro is a great idea, Sylvia!

      Reply
  9. Starla says

    August 7, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Genius 🙂

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      HA! Thanks, Starla!

      Reply
  10. Anna in AZ says

    August 7, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    What a fabulous idea!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      Thank you, Anna!

      Reply
  11. Alex Wiliams says

    August 7, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    I love this! What a well timed post – I have been thinking of ideas to store the kids books on the wall – simple and easy – I might just give it a go!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:31 pm

      Great, Alex! I’m so glad you found something that might be able to help you out!

      Reply
  12. Ann says

    August 7, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    Great idea! I am using our old rail that looks just like that as a bike rack in our workshop. I did kinda the same thing – standing in the mess of little bikes and scooters, wondering how hard it would be to make a rack, then I glanced at the old dismantled crib leaned up against the wall, and bam! Bike rack in 2 mins. Awesome.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:31 pm

      Oh my gosh – that is brilliant, Ann! I LOVE the bike rack idea!!

      Reply
  13. Ang says

    August 7, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    Oh my goodness what a great idea. I have been searching Pinterest and a multitude of websites looking for a suitable bookshelf/ book storage idea for my twins room and this is such a great one. I am stealing it for sure. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:32 pm

      Of course, Ang! I hope this works out for you, too!

      Reply
  14. Jeannie-JB says

    August 8, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    Really Great idea! Passing this on to my daughter now so that she can remember this idea {even though my granddaughter is still in a bassinet and is not yet ready for a crib – ha ha}!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:35 pm

      LOL! It sadly happens so fast! You’ll blink your eye and that little girl will be climbing out of her crib like mine. Enjoy your time with that sweet baby!

      Reply
  15. Rondell says

    August 8, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    I found your blog via Google, I was trying to find out how to paint lanamite and yours was the first! Just got done sanding my desk that I found out of a dumpster, it’s wood in certain place but lanamite on the top and sides, I’ll follow your directions and let you know how it turns out okay?
    The crib/ book is a really neat idea, followed you on FB!

    Thanks for the tutorial!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 8, 2012 at 10:18 pm

      You are so welcome! I’d love to see your handiwork when you finish the desk. Great job with the dumpster diving!

      Reply
  16. Rene@BargainHoot says

    August 8, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    Fabulous idea, Lindsey!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 9, 2012 at 8:31 am

      Thanks, Rene! I hope you are doing well!

      Reply
  17. Bernadette @ B3HD says

    August 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Is it bad that I’ve loved and done this…and I don’t have any kids (but DO have lots of vintage kiddie books)? Super easy, super cute and I love that your kids have a love of reading. It is truly the best gift a parent can give a child.

    Oh and yes…you ARE a big deal (smile). I picked up the color issue of House Beautiful and happened to flip to the page, saw your face and was all “I know her”. Well, not really, but I know of her. You’ve got that effect (smile).

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      August 9, 2012 at 2:44 pm

      Oh, thanks Bernadette! You are too sweet. The funny thing is that I feel like I know you, too!

      Love that you did the crib rail thing. It’s just way too easy, huh?

      Hope you are having a great week!

      Reply
  18. michelle@somedaycrafts says

    September 6, 2012 at 6:15 pm

    Great idea! I love the kids can see the covers of the books. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 11, 2012 at 2:09 pm

      Thank you, Michelle!

      Reply
  19. Tracy S says

    September 6, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    What a great idea!!! Don’t you just love it when those good ideas hit ya? I’m working on editing photos now of a crib project that I just did for my 10 yr old daughter-I should get that blog post up early next week. I hope you come check it out-it might be a good idea for your Emma when she’s older.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 11, 2012 at 2:10 pm

      That’s so fun, Tracy! I love all of the swimming ribbons on the rail.

      Reply
  20. Amanda @ The Little Giggler says

    September 7, 2012 at 11:58 am

    What an awesome idea!! Love it!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 11, 2012 at 2:10 pm

      Thank you, Amanda!

      Reply
  21. Rachel Sue says

    September 9, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    This is such a fun idea! I would love to feature this on Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 11, 2012 at 2:11 pm

      Thank you, Rachel Sue!

      Reply
  22. SMcQueen says

    January 25, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Thank you for this great idea! Found it on Pinterest, and DOING.THIS.NOW!! Was about to purchase bookcase from Walmart, but when I saw this, I heard angels singing 🙂

    Thanks again for sharing!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      January 27, 2013 at 10:31 am

      Yay! I still love it so much and it works wonderfully. Glad I could save you the money!

      Reply
  23. Carrie says

    April 12, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    My kids would have pulled that thing down and be surfing down the stairs on it or some other crazy thing in about 5 minutes. Wish they were a bit more restrained so we could pull something like that off!

    Reply
  24. onehundredroads says

    February 4, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    Sheer genius!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Sally's Pins | Sally Spins says:
    September 17, 2012 at 7:14 am

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  2. How to Arrange Furniture to Create a New Space says:
    May 15, 2013 at 6:00 am

    […] started climbing out of her crib several months ago, so we took off one side of the crib and made it into a bookshelf.  But, Emma was scared to sleep in her bed without a rail.  So, after two restless nights, Tom […]

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  6. Crib Upcycle Ideas – Modern Housewives says:
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  9. Things to do with an old crib says:
    July 13, 2020 at 10:09 pm

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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