DIY children's bed diagram. Beautiful do-it-yourself children's bed. Materials and tools you will need to create a bed

22.07.2019

Despite the fact that today it is not a problem to find a crib for a child to suit every taste and budget, some people prefer to create this piece of furniture themselves.

The advantages of this solution are that the preferences of the parents, the size and design of the nursery, the comfort of the baby are taken into account, as well as the possibility of realizing the most original fantasies and design ideas.

Master class No. 1. Newborn crib

There is also an economic advantage in creating a baby crib with your own hands, because this piece of furniture is only needed in the first few years after the birth of the child, and then you will have to buy another crib.

In this case, you can save significantly on the finished bed and spend only on materials and decor.

You can make a crib for a newborn according to instructions from user clandz666 from the website yaplakal.com.

Preparations for work consist of developing drawings and purchasing natural, environmentally friendly materials.

When working with drawings, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the child’s age. In a cradle for a newborn, it is important to avoid right angles, large gaps between the rods, low sides and improperly processed wood. All these factors affect the baby's safety.

You can also make not a simple crib, but a rocking chair, in which case the child can be rocked to sleep, which is more convenient option for parents. But this design is not suitable for a child over two years old.

Materials that are suitable for making a newborn’s cradle must be completely safe for health. The easiest way to work is with chipboard and fiberboard. Tree - the best option for a child, but more expensive.

In addition, making a baby crib from wood is not practical from an economic point of view, also because the child will grow up quickly, and therefore it is not necessary to strive for special durability. In turn, it is best to make a bed for a schoolchild from wood in order to be sure of the reliability, strength and durability of the structure.

Before starting work, it is necessary to ensure the right conditions. They concern the premises, because sawdust and other waste material should not disturb the other residents of the apartment or house. Therefore, it is better to tinker in a garage or any utility room.

self-tapping screws different diameters for assembly;
blanks made of chipboard, fiberboard and wood of suitable size;
curved blanks for rocking chairs;
wheels for a mobile crib;
a large sheet of plywood or a metal grid for the base;
sandpaper;
safe varnish;
jigsaw, grinder and drill for main work.

pay attention to important point: when drawing, use the actual size of the crib mattress, otherwise later it will be difficult to choose the right one from the options offered in stores.

1. On a piece of plywood, mark the base for the structure with a pencil.

2. For a model with drawers, the necessary parts are cut out according to the drawing and attached to the base with self-tapping screws.

It is necessary to make a pendulum mechanism:

3. The main parts of the sides, legs and rods of the crib are cut out, as well as the slats into which the lattice rods will be inserted.

4. A base is created to which the rods will be attached. For the rods, you need to make special grooves in the base, which are filled with glue, and the grid is inserted into them. If you plan to make a removable grille, then the bottom bar should be easy to remove from the base.

5. All parts of the assembly must be varnished water based.

6. Final assembly cribs

7. The result is the following design.

The back can be made of any shape - for example, curly with various decor. It is done step by step like this:

1. First, the desired shape of the back is cut out:

2. Making a stencil for decoration:

3. The desired pattern is cut out using the stencil:

4. Additional decorations are cut out of plywood:

5. Painted with acrylic:

6. Glued to the back:

You can install:

In order to get a rocking bed, instead of wide sides, you can make four legs, and attach a swinging base to them. In this case, you will have to abandon storage boxes.

To make an additional crib, you need to use special fasteners for one lattice, which will allow it to be easily removed in order to move it to the parent’s bed or to the sofa. In this case, the height of the crib should correspond to the parent's.

Now you can throw any light fabric over it, creating an impromptu canopy that will protect the child from the sun's rays. You can also hang hanging toys on this rod.

Master class No. 2. Cot for a child over 3 years old

A child over 3 years old needs his own sleeping place, in which he will sleep at least until school age. If you are going to make a crib for a child who is already in preschool age, then the bed will serve him for several years - until the beginning of adolescence.

When creating a bed for a preschooler, the requirements for materials remain the same as for newborns, but the shape of the bed can differ significantly.

Any bed consists of basic elements: frame, slats or slats, backrest, legs and side rails. The parts are attached to each other using self-tapping screws.

When developing a drawing for a crib in which an older child will sleep, you don’t have to worry about him falling out of it, because the sides can be quite low. You can completely eliminate the sides in the design of a low bed for a schoolchild.

You can also take the child’s desire as a basis, let him tell you what kind of bed he wants.

1. First of all, a drawing is developed. Pay attention to the size of the base: it must be “grown” in order to serve the child for at least 5 years.

2. You need to start work from the basics. For the bottom of the bed, plywood is taken, to which slats and metal corners are attached.

5. The result is an almost finished, but still crude design.

6. The frame is coated with acrylic varnish.

8. After assembly, the steps will look like this:

9. The steps also need to be varnished. They can also be upholstered with carpet, but this is optional.

The stencil is applied:

10. The result is the following product:

One of the advantages makeshift bed is that you can make crafts together with your child. If the son or daughter is quite old, then they will like to participate in work with dad or mom.

Pros of a homemade bed:

You independently develop the design of this piece of furniture, so you can add additional details to your taste: for example, drawers, shelves, ladders, etc.
You can be sure that the bed will be durable and reliable, made from high-quality and proven materials that are safe for health.
Saving.
Exclusivity.

In addition, you can think about a bed model that will fit perfectly into your child's room. If there are two children, then you can build a bunk bed.

And if you change your mind, here is ours

Read with this article:

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Is there not enough space in the children's room for separate cots? Assemble a children's wooden bunk bed with your own hands. We have prepared design options for you, accompanied them with diagrams and drawings, and will show you the algorithm for making such a bed with your own hands, illustrating with photo and video materials.

A bunk bed for children or teenagers can also be made from metal, but not everyone will have a neat welded structure, and appearance Such sleeping places are not too childish. Therefore, we will consider making beds from wood and lumber, since these are inexpensive and easy-to-work materials, warm, beautiful and homely.

Bed frame materials

Scroll wood materials, from which you can make a bed, is quite long. Let's highlight the most common ones.

1. Array. Expensive material and quite difficult to prepare and manufacture if you do not have experience working with it. Experience is important here. Although products made from solid wood are the most beautiful and durable, they still don’t use a children’s bed for very long - children grow up and begin to need other sleeping places.

2. Lumber - edged or planed boards, timber - the most common and easy-to-work materials, provided that you are confident in proper drying, otherwise load-bearing structure can "lead".

3. MDF - fibreboard. The formaldehyde emission of the material is at the same level as that of ordinary wood. When drilling, it generates dust without forming chips. Laminated MDF looks very attractive. An uncoated slab requires additional finishing, such as varnishing. Can be ordered individual elements bed in furniture workshop or a sawing shop: they will carefully cut everything out and glue the edges.

4. Chipboard - particle board. Formaldehyde emissions are increased without a sealed coating, excluding class E1 slabs. Easy to saw, but does not hold screws well. Suitable for unloaded parts, such as drawers mounted under the bottom of the bed. Backrests can be made from laminated chipboard (laminated chipboard), decorative panels— the film coating prevents formaldehyde from evaporating, but it is important that the ends of the slabs are covered with film.

5. Furniture board - a board glued together from individual blocks of natural wood. Beautiful, durable, even allows you to carve, but requires skill in operation, as it has internal stresses that must be taken into account.

When purchasing fittings, you should give preference to steel hardware. Aluminum ones are much less durable and rigid.

Methods for connecting wooden knots

When making a bed you may need various connections horizontally, vertically, forming corners. This can be done in various ways. We present some of them for your reference.

1 - half-tree connection; 2 - “claw” connection

1 - complete cutting; 2—cutting is not complete; 3 - steel corner

1 - connection with rectangular keys; 2 - connection with keys " dovetail"; 3 - connection to the main tenon

Design options (drawings and decor)

Bunk beds can have different designs and be decorated in a variety of ways. So, upper tier can be located exactly above the bottom one, offset, leaving space for a cabinet, or perpendicular to it. The staircase may consist of drawers. Another option is steps, which are hinged lids on drawers. The bed frame can also be supplemented with drawers located under the lower mattress. To do this you will need guides - runners. Sometimes something else is added to the bed: a table, shelves, a pencil case or sports equipment.

Below are drawings of some beds with basic dimensions.

And now a few design ideas that can inspire you to create an original one. bunk bed. Please note how some models use absolutely “waste” materials - slabs, branches, trunks, driftwood.

Bed for real Mowgli and Robinson Crusoe

Man-made fairy tale

Bed - sports corner

Bed - playground

Bed - house

Coupe bed

Bed for teenagers. Material: laminated MDF

Method for making a bunk bed

Some of the most inexpensive materials are pine boards and timber. It is from these that we will make a two-story bed.

Material calculation

When making a bed, you need to keep in mind that not only a child can sit on the lower bed, so the distance to the bottom of the upper bed should not be less than 85 cm. The size of sleeping places in the case of purchased mattresses is determined by their width and length. If you make your own mattresses from two layers of foam rubber in a thick fabric cover, then the dimensions are taken based on personal preferences.

The figure below shows the individual elements of the bed, and the table shows the purpose, dimensions and number of pieces.

1 — vertical racks(legs); 2 — external linings for the racks; 3 - boards of the supporting frame; 4 - upper and lower headboard strips; 5 — central headboard bar; 6 — side guards; 7 — staircase railing; 8 - steps of the stairs

Qty	Size, mm	Name
4	38x76x1730	Vertical racks
4	38x76x1730	Blanks for external linings for vertical posts
4	38x140x2030	Bed support frame boards
4	32x44x1850	Longitudinal mattress support bars (not shown in the picture)
24	20x76x1000	Transverse mattress support slats (not shown in the picture), cut in place
8	20x140x914	Upper and lower headboard/footboard slats
4	20x90x914	Headboard/footboard center slats
1	20x90x1510	Stair railing
3	20x64x482	Stair steps
2	20x90x1800	Fence railings, cut to the right size during installation

Assembly units

A bed is furniture consisting of several assembly units, which are then assembled into a single whole. Identical parts can be cut by holding them together with a vice or clamp, so they will turn out absolutely identical. Before assembly, you need to make sure that everything wooden parts cleaned, smooth and free of burrs. It is better to work with a special wood sander or grinder.

1. Headboard and footboard

These are two almost mirror-like elements. The difference is that the fence rails are built into the footboard as shown in the pictures below.

Headboard and footboard

Detailed layout with dimensions of headboard and footboard

Installation order: 1 - dowel 8 mm; 2 - the stand and backrest slats are drilled simultaneously; 3 - this part is attached after assembling all other parts of the headboard

2. Elements of the supporting frame

To assemble two supporting frames, you will need four prepared boards - the longitudinal components of the frame. To ensure the reliability of the structure, the longitudinal strip must be glued to the board and additionally screwed with screws to the middle of the thickness of the board. Between the bars glued to the longitudinal support strip of the mattress, transverse slats will be laid - the base for the mattress.

Design and dimensions of the supporting frame board

3. Details of stairs and railings

The railing of the fence is simply a processed board, the railing of the stairs is a board with a cut for mounting on the frame. Places for fastening the steps must be marked in advance, and make sure that the screws for fixing them do not fall on the frame screws.

1 — cutouts 38 mm; 2 — places of fastening of steps; 3 — stair steps, 3 pcs.; 4 - fence

4. Frame assembly

The footboard and headboard are connected at the bottom to the boards of the supporting frame using screws. After this, the transverse slats and mattress holders are laid, and the outermost ones are filed in the corners for tight installation. There is no need to secure them. The second tier is assembled in the same way.

5. Assembling stairs and railings

The stairs and railing are simply fixed to the frame with screws. If desired, the fence can be made on the side of the wall - for the lower and upper beds. Then you will need four more planks.

Now the wood can be painted and varnished, mattresses can be laid - and the bed is ready!

In conclusion, we suggest watching a video about making a bunk crib for real princesses.

Video. Part one

Video. Part two

It is important for parents that their children grow up in comfortable atmosphere, and their sleep was not in danger. If a person has a minimum set of tools and basic knowledge, then DIY children's bed it won't be difficult to do, provided you have it on hand photo, product sketch, blueprints. The arrangement of such furniture is simple.

Layout and dimensions of a crib for a newborn

Parents know that a crib for a baby, especially between the ages of one and four years, is especially important, because the child sleeps a lot. The right furniture is the key to a comfortable sleep. For apartments small size Such a crib in a nursery can also replace a playpen.
It is easy to make in two to three days and provides all the subtleties and nuances for the child’s comfort.

The right furniture is the key to a comfortable sleep

The first step is to figure out what elements this structure will consist of.

Mattress. It is selected based on the weight and age of the baby, so it is better not to make it yourself, but simply purchase it in a store. The purchased mattress was developed jointly with orthopedists and takes into account all the body’s needs for comfortable sleep and the correct formation of the child’s spine. Mattresses are divided into two main types: spring block and without springs. The version with springs can be on an independent spring block (each spring is placed in a separate bag made of non-woven material and the load on such a mattress is distributed pointwise) and on a dependent spring block (the springs are united by a metal frame, and the weight of the sleeper is distributed evenly over the entire area of the product).
Comfortable hanging baby cot

These mattresses are best purchased for children over 5 years old. And for children with low weight, products on a springless block are recommended, where the frame itself, as a rule, consists of polyurethane foam or foam rubber and, depending on the degree of rigidity, can be supplemented with coconut coir or other materials.
Frame. This element is made based on the size assumed by the mattress of the sleeping place. The material for it is most often planed board.
Lamels. These parts of the product are designed to support the mattress from below and are strips inserted into the furniture frame. They form a lattice with a distance between each other of about 5 cm (for ventilation of the mattress).
Making a baby crib with your own hands, master class with drawings and photos
Sidewalls. They provide a barrier to prevent the child from falling out of the crib. Depending on the wishes of the parent, they can be high or low, solid or carved. Byltsa (back of the product). At the headboard their height will be higher than at the feet.
Drawings and photos of a crib for a master class
Legs. This element can be made with your own hands or purchased at a specialty store. furniture fittings. They can be initially planed on the sides of the crib, or they can be screwed to it.

Crib drawing

Deciding on the model

In a children's room, several types of beds are most often used:

With drawers
Loft bed
Bunk bed (if there are two kids in the room)

If the premises of the children's room do not allow placing in the room big bed, but you need a compact model that can save square meters, then it is better to choose a design with drawers. Drawers are used to store bedding, toys, children's things and anything that does not fit in a child's chest of drawers or nightstands.

Baby cot on two levels for small children

In order for the furniture to turn out to be of high quality, it is necessary to select environmentally friendly materials for its manufacture. Ideal material there will be thick plywood or wood. MDF or chipboard, which are popular in the furniture industry, should not be purchased for the manufacture of structures due to the adhesives used in the manufacture of materials. Chemical substances can negatively affect the baby’s body, causing allergies.

Original bed for stylish interior children's room

Advice: It is not recommended to make a crib smaller than 1.5 * 0.6 meters, but you should not make it larger than 1.8 * 0.7 meters. A child will quickly outgrow a small crib, and if you make it too big, the baby will not feel comfortable in it.

The base for such furniture is made solid; it can be purchased ready-made, or you can simply use a sheet of plywood instead.
Its dimensions should be based on the size of the purchased mattress. A lattice can be purchased as a base, but plywood can be used as an option, since the child’s weight is not so large.

The ideal material would be thick plywood or wood.

Wooden shield. It is better to use wood with a low resin content, for example, birch, linden. The size of the shield is recommended to be two meters long, 60 centimeters wide and about 3 centimeters thick.

On the furniture board, the future outline of the workpiece is drawn with chalk according to the dimensions of the sketch. If it is necessary to make holes on the sides of the structure, then they are drawn using a champagne glass or using a regular glass.

Furniture board and plywood can be cut by purchasing them in a store. As a rule, most stores have such services, but it is necessary to provide dimensions in millimeters and patterns. It is recommended to make the cut yourself using a jigsaw, but if you don’t have a jigsaw at hand, you can cut the materials with a regular saw.

Furniture board and plywood can be cut by purchasing them in a store.

After cutting, all wooden elements are sanded using sandpaper so that the materials from which the crib is made do not scratch the baby’s delicate skin.

If it was not possible to find aluminum corners, then they are cut from an aluminum profile. The details of the bed must correspond to the sketch drawings. And the length of the corner from the profile should match the length of the side back of the furniture. These fasteners have holes for inserting self-tapping screws. The sides are attached with corners to the bed frame or plywood base, and this structure is tightened with eight self-tapping screws.

Original children's bed in the shape of a car for a boy

Initially, the parts are attached on one side, then the future workpiece is turned over to the side. According to the diagram, you should periodically check the order of fastening of the elements and the location of the parts. To ensure that the product is stable and strong, watch out for distortions and displacements of parts relative to each other. The bed walls are attached to each other and pulled together; if there are no holes in the walls, then they are made using a drill.

The frame part of the product is ready, it’s time to assemble the back, which will be located above the child’s head. If desired, it can be made in any shape, the main thing is that this piece of furniture fully fulfills its function, that is, protects the baby from injury.

Carved wooden crib for a newborn baby

Very often, small children raise their heads up in their sleep, so the sides here should be at least 10 centimeters in height. Another benefit of high sides and headboards is that they prevent toys and bedding from being thrown out of the bed.

Original baby crib for a boy

We make a headboard: we take a furniture board, from it, if desired, you can make a carved back that looks beautiful and noble or decorate it. The design of the headboard and backrest at the feet should match so that the design looks organic.

We make a headboard: we take a furniture board, from it, if desired, you can make a carved back that looks beautiful and noble or decorate it.

We screw the legs to the bed body itself, which we purchase at a furniture fittings store. We do this using long-length self-tapping screws.

All elements of the bed frame are additionally carefully polished, right down to the slots and cutouts, so that the child does not get hurt by putting his fingers in the slot.

Tip: A smooth sanded surface can be achieved using a drill with an attachment or a grinding machine.

Decorated, polished backrests are attached to a frame frame. So that the fasteners are not visible, they are drilled from below, pointing the drill upward. Cutting holes should be as careful as possible, because this part is easy to damage. We make the hole for the tie ourselves; it will be difficult to make it in this place with a drill. If the wood used to make the crib is soft, the hole will easily break through.

So that the fasteners are not visible, they are drilled from below, pointing the drill upward

The configuration of the crib suggests that the storage boxes are not attached to the bed frame, but have the form of roll-out cabinets. Drawers should be equipped with wheels so that the storage container can be rolled out.

Stylish wooden crib for a baby

If the apartment owner decides to change the configuration of the crib so that the drawers can be pulled out, then a transverse rail is attached to the bottom of the workpiece, and the product itself will stand on the side slats. In this case, the sidewalls are made higher than previously planned by several centimeters, equal to the height of the drawers. The drawer itself is placed on guides.

Wooden crib for a bright and airy room

For the boxes, we take plywood with a thickness of 1.2 cm, cut out the bottom and walls of the box, and tighten it together with self-tapping screws. Additionally, the box is glued, because the things in the box carry a load on the structure. We attach the wheels to the bottom of the assembled box.

Bright spacious room with a cot

The legs on the bed, if you decide to make them yourself, are made from leftovers furniture board or from scraps of square-shaped timber. Attach the legs to the furniture frame with self-tapping screws.

For the boxes, we take plywood with a thickness of 1.2 cm, cut out the bottom and walls of the box, and tighten it together with self-tapping screws.

Decorating the bed

When the work is completed, it is recommended to give the product a finished look. It is recommended to cover it with upholstery fabric for furniture. First, parts 2–3 centimeters larger than the main parts are cut out of the fabric and overlocked so that they do not fray. The fabric is fastened with a furniture stapler, and its sections are hidden inside the crib so as not to spoil the aesthetic appearance of the structure. During decoration, the fabric is stretched to prevent creases, folds and bubbles from appearing.

A crib for the smallest family member and a small bedroom

Another finishing option would be to varnish the crib frame, headboard, and backrest at the feet. To do this, it is recommended to use quick-drying water-based varnishes. Treatment with stain will be more environmentally friendly for furniture in a children's room. It is recommended to first sand and polish all parts using a drill with an attachment.

Making a baby crib with your own hands has whole line benefits. This is both a lower cost compared to buying ready-made furniture, and quality (parents can be confident in the safety of the materials used). Despite the fact that working with wood is labor-intensive and time-consuming, the result will greatly please the child, who will receive a unique sleeping place made taking into account his needs and wishes.

Preparatory stage

Before starting production, you need to take into account all the nuances and prepare materials, without which the work will be impossible.

Bed design

The crib must be simultaneously:

comfortable (to give the child the opportunity to roll over in his sleep without hitting the walls, and due to the “breathable” design to ensure air flow);
safe (protect from falling, have no protruding sharp parts, have a sufficient margin of safety);
functional (the space under or above the bed should be used to store toys, clothes and bedding);
attractive (cause pleasant emotions and the desire to use it for its intended purpose, fit into general style rooms).

When choosing a design, it is important to consider your carpentry skills and technical capabilities. A novice craftsman who has access to a minimal set of tools will be able to produce only the most simple models beds consisting of sides, headboard, legs, slats and drawers.

Start creating beds in the shape of a car, plane, flower or other complex structures It is only worth it in cases where the person doing the work has considerable experience and plans to process the parts using professional equipment.

Tools

The more different tools a master has, the faster and easier it will be for him to complete the job. However, there are some that you can’t do without:

Electric jigsaw.
Knife saw.
Sanding machine (it can be replaced sandpaper, but in this case, processing the boards will take many times longer).
Screwdriver.
Drill.
Bulgarian.
Files.

Materials

Solid wood is considered the best material for making children's furniture. A bed made of pine, beech or oak will last a long time and will be relatively resistant to moisture and pest attacks. At the same time natural wood has two qualities that do not always make its use possible - the significant weight of the finished products and the high price.

Instead of an array, you can use more cheap materials(such as MDF, chipboard, OSB, plywood and others). It must be remembered that during their production substances based on formaldehyde are used, the vapors of which negatively affect even the health of adults, and they can cause irreparable harm to the fragile body of a child.

Other

You will also need consumables:

Self-tapping screws of different diameters.
Metal corner and ties.
Rails or other guides and wheels (for structures with retractable elements).
Simple or colored pencil.
Paper for notes.

Making a bed: step-by-step instructions

Making a crib can be divided into many small steps:

Marking wood. Using a regular clerical pencil, draw the location of the parts. When all work is completed, traces of stylus are erased from visible surfaces with an eraser or washed off with alcohol. To draw complex decorative elements, you can use objects that come to hand (for example, to draw a circle, just circle the bottom of a glass).
Sawing. Performed using electric jigsaw. While working, you need to ensure that the cuts are neat and even. Finished parts should be numbered if the design involves a structure consisting of many elements.
Preparation of fastenings. You need to cut out the spikes and nests for them in the parts that will be connected to each other. Also at this stage, you should cut off two pieces of metal corner for attaching the slats, from which the bottom of the bed is formed. Mark holes for screws on the cuts and drill them.
Sanding parts. Use a grinding machine or sandpaper to process all cuts and the surface of the boards if it is rough.
Varnishing and other types of decorative processing. If the parts are expected to be painted, varnished, covered with film or upholstered with fabric, this work should be done when the bed is disassembled.
Assembly. By gluing tenons into the grooves and using metal ties, the structure is assembled, starting from the main frame. Wheels are attached to the drawers, and slats are attached to the bed walls. When everything is ready, put on the mattress and cover the bed with linen.

Possible mistakes

Anyone who has not previously encountered furniture making may make a number of mistakes. Here are the most common ones:

Using fresh wood. Since over time the material will dry out, become denser and, accordingly, decrease in size, the structure will simply fall apart. For a bed, you should only purchase boards that have been left in a dry, ventilated area for two or three years or have been machine dried.
Neglecting to polish parts. All parts of children's furniture must be properly processed to avoid injury. Since a child can stick his hand even into narrow cracks or crawl completely under the bed, even those that are inside the structure should be sanded.
Connecting parts using screws. This assembly option is good anywhere, but not in children's furniture. Under influence permanent loads the thread will destroy the structure of the wood fibers, and over time the structure will become loose. To assemble the parts, you should use special tenon joints, which are shown in the figure below, and be sure to glue them with wood glue. To strengthen areas that are subject to the greatest loads, metal ties are used.

Decor ideas

To make a children's bed from wood with your own hands, you need to be guided by the accompanying drawings and dimensions. Since the size of the mattress is fundamental, you need to independently calculate the dimensions of the parts.

Based on Harry Potter

Making such a bed is not much more difficult than a regular one, but the joy of a child who dreams of touching the magical world of Harry Potter will be endless.

The main decorative elements are:

number 5979 (the numbers can be easily cut out of wood, painted silver and glued to the footboard, or use metal badges for this purpose, which are sold in a hardware store to indicate apartment numbers);
an inscription symbolizing the Hogwarts school of wizards (the easiest way to do it yourself is by printing it on a color printer, gluing it onto a piece of veneer cut to size and covering it with several layers of varnish).

The space under the bed can be left empty, but it is much more effective to fill it with drawers. An excellent option would be to equip an extra bed there, which will come in handy if one of the young wizard’s friends comes to visit.

The original dimensions of the bed and color combination are shown in the figure.

With canopy

This bed will be more to the taste of girls. According to the design concept, the canopy is made in the form of side curtains, and the top of the berth remains open, but if desired, you can improve the design (for example, tighten top part cloth).

Since curtains need to be washed regularly, the fastening should allow them to be removed and hung back without difficulty.

If for some reason the presence of a canopy is undesirable, the same bed can be made without it. To do this, it is enough to shorten the slats on which it rests, so that the legs end flush with the sides.

Cozy house

A real lifesaver for parents whose children have trouble falling asleep. The design of this bed creates a calm and at the same time fairy-tale atmosphere, and high sides in the form of walls and a roof help the child feel protected.

The effect of the night sky can be created on a tree in several ways:

draw acrylic paints, which have a beautiful glossy texture, are durable, and do not have a strong odor;
buy wallpaper or self-adhesive film with a similar design;
cover the board with a fabric of the appropriate color (in this case you will have to regularly vacuum the inside of the bed).

Instead of drawers under the bed, you can equip a pull-out sleeping area for guests.

Two-tier with ladder-chest of drawers

If there are two children in a family, and the area of the apartment does not allow each one to be allocated separately standing bed, it is worth paying attention to this option. True, unlike simple designs, creating a bunk bed will require more time, skill and effort.

Under-bed drawers and a chest of drawers will optimize space and provide additional storage space. If desired, the steps can be made ordinary.

When working on such a bed, you need to take care of the safety of the child who will sleep on the lower tier. All fastenings of the “top floor” must be reinforced with metal corners.

Loft bed

An excellent combination of sleeping space and play area. Such a bed will be a godsend for owners of small apartments, and even if there is a separate children's room, it will delight a child who loves adventure and active games.

Depending on personal preferences, the roof of a makeshift house can be covered with slats completely or partially. It would be a good idea to use fabric instead of boards, but you should not fasten it tightly - since woven fabric collects dust, such a canopy will have to be shaken out and washed often.

With work area

Suitable for an older child. The only inconvenience when using such a bed will be the choice of a suitable location, because if the place to sleep requires maximum shade, then the work desk should be in an area with sufficient lighting.

With some skill, such a design can not be made from scratch, but can be modified by the bed, the diagram of which is given above. To do this, you will have to move the stairs to the side, disassemble the roof, and cut out a tabletop and shelves from a new board.

Ottoman

To build a sleeping place of this type, you will need a minimum of material, tools and effort. Even a beginner in carpentry can get the job done without damaging the wood.

The absence of carved decorative elements can easily be compensated by beautiful bed linen or special stickers for furniture. If the style of the room allows, it is worth covering the wooden panels with adhesive film with interesting patterns; subsequently, the appearance of the bed can be refreshed by just peeling off old film and replacing it with a new one.

For a younger child who may roll onto the floor in his sleep, it is necessary to provide a limiting edge.

Of course, it is difficult to describe everything in one article possible options design and tell about all the possible errors and misunderstandings that may arise during work. But carpentry is a kind of creativity, so you shouldn’t be afraid to improvise and deviate from the previously outlined plan.

The crib should be ready to welcome a new addition to the family while the mother prepares to be discharged, but not just out of courtesy and joy. Man is a social being, and a stable society is impossible without hierarchy. Having received his territory and things from birth, even if he still did not completely understand their meaning, small man will gain self-confidence, over time correctly determine his place in society and achieve success. This, of course, is not an absolute law, but statistics clearly show: babies who, by the will (or lack of will) of their parents, wandered anywhere at an unintelligent age, have a much greater chance of growing up careless and worthless. There is even a historical and sociological theory: they say that people began to emerge from savagery and create civilization when the cradle was invented and mothers stopped carrying their babies around all the time.

All this may be interesting, but in a developed civilization, dad, rushing around stores and websites in happy anticipation, discovers that the prices for cribs for babies are disproportionately high compared to the complexity and material intensity of the products. And you can’t undermine it; under each hidden scam there is a solid medical, environmental, production and legislative basis. But what about in a consumer society, and let parents spare nothing for their child.

Let's say the head of the family is a craftsman. Then he has the idea of making a crib himself: its design has been formed over thousands of years, there is nothing complicated about it, and nothing is required of material. It is possible to make a crib for a baby with your own hands, using ordinary household tools plus a jigsaw, manual or, better, electric. There is one more reason: after giving birth, the mother, especially if it is her first child, will be “on edge.” Having made sure that the faithful did not revel or procrastinate in her absence, but worked diligently in his field for the sake of the family good, she will calm down much faster and generally return to normal. And there will be more milk, which is again good for the baby.

Which one will we do?

Classic crib for a newborn, pos. 1 in Fig., the design is simple. Basic requirements for it:

Environmental cleanliness and complete health and sanitary safety.
No sharp protrusions or edges.
There should be no holes/openings or crevices in which anything from a finger to a head can get stuck in a little one.
The presence of sides is required; It is well known how dangerous it is for babies to fall even from a small height. It is desirable that the front side (wall) be partially folded or lowered to make it more convenient for the mother to care for the child.
Ventilated, i.e. lattice or perforated bottom. No matter how much baby hygiene products improve, the baby will one day make the bed dirty.
If the newborn is the first-born and it is planned to someday add brothers and sisters to him, then sufficient strength and durability in combination with a collapsible design.

Often, for ease of movement around the house, a baby crib is placed on wheels, pos. 2. In small apartments you can sometimes find samples with drawers for linen in the under-bed space, like in adults, pos. 3. However, for the reasons stated above, drawers under an infant's cot should be equipped with waterproof lids. Finally, a rather complex and expensive, but convenient for mother and space-saving product - a crib for newborns, combined with a changing chest, pos. 4.

Many babies have to be rocked to sleep. Main types of rocking beds hammock, pos. 5, cradle (with upper suspension of the bed), pos. 6, and a cradle (with a bed on the lower curved rocking supports), pos. 7. A hammock is only suitable as a temporary rookery, say, at the dacha on the weekend. The baby’s bones are still soft, and constant lying on something malleable deforms his skeleton. Cribs for newborns - hammocks are most often made folding and transportable.

The cradle is easy to rock, but difficult to make, because... some kind of mechanism is required. In addition, the risk for a baby to fall out of the cradle, hanging over the side, is much greater than from a hammock or cradle. The latter, moreover, is easier to make, and the small bumper protrusions on the rocking chairs make it completely safe, which is why the cradle is the most common. The cradle must have a bed lock, preferably a spring one with a self-resetting mechanism, which must be retracted for rocking, otherwise a busy mother may forget to insert it when leaving the crib. “With self-reset” means that the mechanism itself will place the stock horizontally and reset the pin into the socket if the angle of inclination of the cradle exceeds a certain permissible value.

Note: cribs for babies may have completely different bumpers, see the end for details.

Motion sickness in the transverse direction is not optimal for a person, this is how our vestibular apparatus is designed. Anyone who has gone to sea on a boat or sailing yacht knows that pitching motion is much easier to bear than side motion. Babies who are constantly rocked sideways may even develop an addiction to rocking, which is why the obnoxious screamer, as he grows up, risks turning into a hyperactive idiot or “no” autist. The likelihood of injuring the baby’s psyche by excessive motion sickness is reduced to almost zero if the cradle (pos. 8) or cradle (pos. 9) is adapted to motion sickness in the longitudinal direction.

Recently, pendulum beds have become widespread, pos. 10, free from the disadvantages of cradles and cradles. Firstly, transverse motion sickness in a pendulum crib is harmless, because The child’s body does not tilt when it is used and his vestibular apparatus experiences a completely negligible load in one plane. Secondly, it is almost impossible for a child to fall out of it, because the crib itself is not tiltable. Thirdly, the under-bed drawer can be arranged more simply - access to it is provided automatically. The pendulum mechanism itself is fundamentally simple, pos. 11, you will only have to occasionally adjust the tension of the springs as the child grows.

What not to do!

Under no circumstances should you make a crib for a newborn that can swing in 2 planes, pos. 1 and 2 in Fig. Perhaps your offspring, having matured, will set out to become a pilot or parachutist and, from the first approach, will withstand the jumping training with a joyful grin, without turning a bit green. But in infancy, humpty dumpty back and forth would not have benefited Valery Chkalov.

Further, it is undesirable to make the bottom of the crib with too thin lathing, pos. 3. When the baby learns to stand up, his legs will crawl into the cracks along with the mattress. A thick mattress pad (see below) solves the problem, but this is extra work, material and costs, and unnecessary drying and replacement. The best bottom for a newborn’s crib is made of fiberboard with a thickness of approx. 10 mm with holes with a diameter of 20-30 mm, drilled along the grid with a pitch of 70-90 mm. If it suddenly becomes completely unusable, it’s easier and cheaper to replace than a mattress pad, and the spare space takes up less space. And don’t worry, fiberboard is an environmentally friendly material, even cleaner than the original wood. In its production, no synthetic binders are used, and during the processing process, all volatile substances are “exhaled” from the wood.

Note: It is also undesirable to make a height-adjustable bottom in a baby’s crib. The nests under its holders are tempting from the point of view of understanding the world, and the little finger will climb into them. If without nests, then a rather complex and expensive mechanism is required. And for mom, a folding side is quite enough.

A bad solution is also the playpen crib, pos. 4. In all creatures whose life is divided into an active phase and sleep, instinct during the latter requires complete safety. Combining the sleeping area with the play area does not provide it. Which adult is able to get a good night's sleep at work? What can we say about small children who are defenseless and are not yet able to understand their surroundings?

About the canopy

A canopy over a newborn's crib is not a luxury. And not so much a remedy for dust, which should not exist in a nursery or in a well-kept apartment in general. But remember, which adult has not been driven to white heat by an autumn fly or a mosquito itching and itching in the dark? What does it feel like for a baby who doesn’t yet use his hands? And there is really no need to turn on the fumigator or spray repellent in the nursery.

The canopy over the baby's crib is made from natural fabric that allows air to pass freely: chiffon, voile (silk or cotton), organza (silk only), muslin. Optimal design– a tent, on the left in the figure, or a tent, in the center, allowing, if necessary, to completely fold back/retract the canopy. But we remember: in the process of learning about the environment, the child will tug and pull the canopy.

Purchased children's canopies are equipped with a durable bracket with a holder made of light, durable elastic plastic, on the right in Fig. At self-production the best option is a canopy tent suspended on a cord from the ceiling. An M6 hook-screw screwed into a steel threaded collet cannot be pulled out of the ceiling by a strong adult, and if it is unscrewed, the hole is almost invisible on a ceiling only 2.5 m high. except for the lightest fabric and thin lace, it will not fall off.

Note: best protection on a bed from annoying insects and dust, under which even an asthmatic will not be out of breath - mosquito net. But not a fiberglass window, but a special tropical one. Its meshes are wider than those of airy dress-drapery fabrics and it itself is stronger. This is a rare product here, but still take an interest. Ruched bows also look good on her.

What kind of sides should I make?

Sellers offer a wide variety of protective barriers for infant cribs: folding, lowering, hinged, sliding, with doors and hatches. But upon closer examination, it turns out that there is something everywhere in which a finger or the entire pen can get caught. And the recesses under the overhead parts carefully store dust and, as it were, invite settlers. Only unwanted ones and not of the human kind, but of the arthropod.

The simplest and safest bumpers for a newborn’s crib are folding ones with elastic bands, see fig. The height of the folding part of 150-180 mm is enough for the mother to comfortably care for her child. There are no complaints about such boards, but it is reliably known that at least one new person in this world with a character to envy m-mes Sobtchak & Timoshenko, for 3.5 years she was never injured or broke anything; The rubber bands were changed 2 times during this time.

Note: 2 ways of laying a folding strip of this type will be discussed below.

Let's get down to business

Now it's time to make a crib. Its design and decoration is another matter (with one small exception, see below); First you need to make a strong and reliable base for them. And even before that, decide on the material; first of all, in terms of its safety for the baby, then in terms of price and manufacturability at home.

What to make it from?

Even the safest plastics are no longer needed: as children grow up a little, they begin to touch everything. Tactile sensations from plastic run counter to his fundamental instincts, which can cause irritability and damage the emerging moral and volitional qualities. For the same reason, we also discard metal, which will also cause more harm when the baby starts teething. Then the shortcomings of textile and other semi-soft types of cribs will be fully reflected.

As for laminated chipboard, the emission class of phenol-containing compounds is E0 (zero, highest or extra grade), it seems to be applicable for children's furniture. But conscientious manufacturers honestly indicate in their specifications: “For children from 6 months”, therefore, not newborns. In addition, high quality laminated chipboard road, a crib made from it will cost more than a ready-made purchased one with a canopy. That is, a newborn’s crib should be made of wood.

We select wood for a crib taking into account the fact that its impregnation with any biocides is unacceptable. Therefore, any industrial wood of foreign origin is no longer needed: consumer supervision simply will not allow it to enter the market raw. Among deciduous domestic species, birch and beech are suitable for a crib for several generations; for single use - cheap aspen or linden, but it is expensive. All others contain tannins, salicylates and other substances that are harmless for adults, but can cause allergies in an infant.

Of the coniferous species, pine is quite reliable, but not every type. Pine wood goes on sale in the form of expensive tar, cut down during sap flow, and cheaper dried wood, harvested in winter. Tar is good for outdoor buildings because... It is not susceptible to rot and pests, but is absolutely unsuitable for a crib. In other coniferous trees, the change in resin content from sap flow to sleep is not so pronounced, so it is better not to risk it.

In order not to make a mistake with pine, it is better to make a crib out of it using plywood. The cheapest construction and packaging plywood is made from dead wood pine glued with harmless and safe casein glue. There is no point in “cheating” for manufacturers, because everything else is more expensive. A plywood crib will last if properly maintained. home preparation material, see below, 2-3 times for 4-5 years, which is quite enough for a family.

About finishing

Over time, the baby will feel that there is something in his mouth that is being bitten. And then he will start gnawing on everything. It's natural and necessary process, but once he created children's furniture makers serious problems: leave the tree bare - fibers will be swallowed, or even choking on a splinter. Nitrolac is not harmless, and its sharp scales cut lips, gums, and tongue.

Now there is no such problem: water-based acrylic varnish, firstly, is completely safe; secondly, it is very durable. Compounds of a similar composition restore the enamel of bathtubs, which even a seasoned wolf would break its fangs on.

Very suspicious parents can also put special silicone pads on the sides of the crib. But you will have to buy them and adjust the design to the chosen model: construction and aquarium silicone is not suitable for homemade products, you need a special one, from which teething toys are made. It is not on sale in its raw form, only in finished products.

Cradle and classic

How a classic wooden crib for newborns works is shown in Fig. on right. Pay attention, firstly, to the placement of the sides in the pockets and the prefabricated design of the rocking chairs. We'll deal with the first one later, and use the second one further. Its recommended dimensions and specifications of parts in a modern, labor-free artistic details, execution, are shown in Fig. below.

Cradle

Who knows, perhaps the pediatrician, after looking at your restless baby, will recommend rocking him to sleep in a cradle. Child differs from child to child, and there is no one who can agree on everything general rules. In such a case, in Fig. drawings of a newborn's crib - a cradle made of boards. However, it is no longer possible to keep an older child in a cradle, so the length of this crib should not be increased. Secondly, a latch (stopper) of the bed is still needed, since the baby is restless. In this design it is manual, so remember to insert as you leave and supervise each other.

Plywood classic

Here in Fig. – detailing of a classic-type plywood crib for a newborn with a side with elastic bands. It was made at home; a hand jigsaw (electric ones were not widely available at that time). The wayward person mentioned above grew up in her. Material – 2 sheets (quite a lot left) of birch plywood 6 mm thick; Construction pine will also work.

First of all, a plaster was prepared (several pieces of packaging cardboard put together), the outlines of the parts were sketched on it, and everything was covered with solid plastic film. Then a sheet of plywood on the plaza was impregnated with a water-polymer emulsion, first on one side, and after it had completely dried on the other, and cut into blanks with a hacksaw. Using a jigsaw, grooves for the sheathing were cut out in the middle plates of the bags and openings in the backs.

Parts were glued together from plates using PVA for wood (sold and is sold in construction and hardware stores). The glue was applied with a brush in a thin layer to all glued surfaces of the plates of the package and left until softly tacky (the glue film turns slightly yellow and becomes translucent in places).

There was no money to hold the packages together; there was no time to do it. Therefore, small bags were simply wrapped in plastic and tied tightly with a flat elastic band; It took a whole skein, approx. 10 m. It was necessary to tighten the bags with an elastic band, twisting and pulling the turns very evenly so that the plates did not crawl along the glue. The upper and lower planks of the walls (items 1 and 3) still crawled, so after applying and soaking the glue, they had to be knocked down with small nails. The nails were then pulled out, and the holes were covered with homemade putty made from sawdust using the same PVA.

It was more difficult with the backs; you can’t tighten them with rubber bands. Therefore, holes were drilled for assembly guides, for which furniture dowels 18 mm long were used. The gluing of the backs was carried out on the plaza under pressure, which was used to use dumbbell plates and stacks of books. According to calculations, for 2 layers of PVA of such an area, a bend of 25-35 kg is needed, evenly distributed over the surface of the bag.

Also, the parts of the support belt were glued together from 3 strips of plywood, but it was assembled locally in the crib. After drying for 3-4 days, any leaks of glue that appeared in all parts were cut off with a safety razor blade (there were no assembly knives then either) and the edges were sanded.

While the glued bags were drying, the frame of the bed was assembled from boards cut into half a tree, glued without holding and reinforced with nails. The rectangularity of the frame on the glue that had not yet hardened was carefully verified by measuring the sides and diagonals, because it then served as an assembly template, and only then were the nails driven in. The flooring of the bed is fibreboard with perforation, see above. It was laid on glue and nails on the side on which the legs of the crossbars were, so that they lay on the longitudinal beams, and did not hang on nails and glue.

Note: The racks of the sheathing of the backs were made similarly to those of the walls, but shorter. Placed in place before placing the top plate.

The crib was assembled using screws (nowadays, of course, confirmations would be better). The loads on the joints of the baby crib are small; fastening with threaded hardware along the layer in this case is quite reliable and at the same time allows up to 4-5 disassemblies/assemblies if the plywood is impregnated with a water-polymer emulsion. The squareness of the box was verified with a stock, and its horizontality with a level. Then marks were made along its bottom and beams of the support belt were placed along them using glue and nails; The transverse ones should be spaced between the longitudinal ones, so the crib will be stronger.

The oval support boss of the flap of the side is less traumatic, and it is easier to make than a pocket. Some 18 mm thick scraps were used for the bosses; they were installed with glue and nails. At the ends of the planks, U-shaped holes were selected for them using a drill and chisel - there were no household wood routers then either.

Time still passed, and the crib was covered with an oil varnish, not as harmful as nitro. Immediately the rubber bands were fixed in the blind holes too furniture dowels. Then another final drying, and the crib is ready.

Transformer

There are also many convertible cribs for newborns on sale, but at least one variety is not just a fashion statement. We are talking about a crib for growth, but it doesn’t come down to a sliding bottom. An already sufficiently formed personality may be indignant: “I won’t sleep like a little guy!” Therefore, a transformable crib “from scratch” should be structurally and externally similar to an adult one. In this case, the fence is made removable from a cord; Of course, this is an option only for fairly calm babies. And the transformation comes down to removing one back and using it to increase the length of the bed. Drawings of a homemade “growing” crib for newborns are shown in Fig.

Drawings of a crib “from scratch to grow”

What if you are very restless?

It also happens that the doctor throws up his hands: nothing can be done, he needs to sleep with you, then he will outgrow it. Or, on the contrary, the mother may be the most wonderful in the world, but she is weak and she cannot constantly get up at night to feed. Then you will need a cot attached to the parent's bed without a front wall. A crib for restless newborns must include a bumper - a soft, hygroscopic pillow along the contour with ties, see fig. on right. And from what and how to sew a crib bumper with your own hands, see the video below:

Video: how to sew a bumper (sides) for a child’s bed

Arrangement

Under no circumstances should you protect the crib mattress from getting wet with oilcloth; this will lead to abrasions and diaper rash for the baby. Firstly, you need 2 mattresses, with a reserve for drying. Secondly, they must not rot and dry quickly enough. Therefore, it is preferable to sew them from linen and wrap them in calico, flannel or flannel. The stuffing is the best horsehair; its almost complete replacement is coconut fiber or sisal.

Now remember that the bones of a newborn are soft. Therefore, the thickness of the mattress should be small, up to 6-7 cm. But then sleeping, feeling the hard bed with your body, will not be so comfortable. A 10-15 cm thick mattress pad made of the most dense, 45-50 number, furniture foam rubber will help out; it is wrapped in the same fabric as the mattress. The mattress pad will also absorb some of the moisture, which will speed up the drying of the mattress, but then you also need 2 of them.

A newborn does not need a pillow to prevent torticollis from developing. However, sometimes, on the recommendation of a doctor, for very fidgety people you have to buy a butterfly pillow: its middle is almost flat, and its wings are voluminous. But there is no need to experiment with such pillows yourself - suitable materials are not sold separately and the manufacturing technology cannot be “domesticated”.

Decorations

When considering the design of a baby’s crib, you need to remember that his vision, both in terms of sharpness and color perception, develops gradually. Therefore, the contours of the decorative elements need to be smooth, and the colors dim and unsaturated, preferably close to the middle of the spectrum: pale yellow, light beige, light green, pale blue. Bleached red and orange are acceptable, but poisonous green, deep blue and purple tones no way, like everything shiny.

A very simple and useful way for a child to decorate his crib is to hang a carousel mobile above it, see picture, with soft toys. Their smooth movement will not only calm the baby, but will also contribute to the development of his visual motor skills. Since mobile phones for babies came into use, the number of children with congenital visual defects has decreased markedly.

Finally

Presumably, it has now become clear to you that a simple crib for a newborn is not so simple in its essence, because it contains the whole world of a new person. Therefore, let me wish you success not only in mastery, but also in studying the basics of child psychology. They have it from the very beginning, even if they themselves do not understand it yet.