Every second person on Pinterest has turned their kids old crib into a bench.  I LOVE this idea but wasn't sure I could do it.  Turns out - it's super easy!  It is also back breaking work!

This was a really fun project - mostly because I wasn't sure that what I wanted to do was possible.

My vision was to create a mission style banquette for my dining room.  My 2 youngest sons LOVE restaurants and HATE sitting still.  Banquette seating in the dining room would feel like a booth to them with is very restaurant-y.  Trapping them in a restaurant booth at home will (hopefully) keep butts glued to seats until the meal is complete.

This piece was my inspiration:

This banquette has simple smooth lines that I thought I might be able to replicate.  Also-I didn't need a corner banquette.  I basically just needed a long bench.

Here was my process:

Step #1- Find the old crib in the cluttered attic.

Old crib - disassembled

Step #2-  Assess the materials.  This crib was actually in really good shape, but it had long end posts that didn't really work for my design, so they had to go.

4 Post crib - before

Step #3 - I removed the posts

I sawed off all 4 posts

Step #4 -  The next step was to assemble my basic design.  I purchased a couple of 2x4's at the hardware store and had them cut to size.

2x4's attached to the crib head and foot board

I attached the 2x4 frame to the head and foot board of the crib.

Step #5 - Seating.  I used 3/4" plywood for the seat.  This made the project VERY heavy!  But it also made for a sturdy seat.

3/4" plywood seat

Step #5 - Bracing.  The back of the banquette felt sturdy and like it wasn't going to move around ,but I wanted to make sure.  I used a couple of mending plates to brace the 2 sides of the crib together.

Back Braces

Step #6 - Standing and finishing.  The plywood was pretty rough so I sanded the dickens out of it.  Now it's smooth like butter!  I made sure to sand all of the edges so that nobody gets a splinter!

Power sand everything!

Step #7 - Fill and stain.  I filled the screw holes and stained the bench.


Step #8 - Cushions. I'll be honest, i'm not in love with the cushions I chose for this project.  I wanted to make a tufted seat, but I also need something that is machine washable.  I had a couple of old couch cushions that I cut to size.

Cut couch cushions to size

An electric knife cuts dense foam easily!

Banquette with cushions

Step #10 -  All done!