DIY Farmhouse Crib

Hey guys!  Whitney here… For those of you that follow us on Instagram and Facebook, you may have noticed my big news.  I am expecting a new little guy here in June and we are thrilled.  Thankfully, the nesting phase kicked in and I have been busy building him all the things :-)…  I decided the only way to share it with y’all was to build my reveal… Here it is for those that missed it!  Check out my DIY Farmhouse Crib with free plans guys!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO_BMepBXRR/?taken-by=shanty2chic

Today I am sharing the plans for his crib with you guys.  I felt 100% confident in my carpentry (and sanding) skills to build this.  I am sharing how I built mine, and if you are comfortable enough to build your own, I hope my experience can help you out!  I also designed this crib to be a low profile crib.  I am only 5’2″ and I have always hated standing on my tippy toes to reach down and get the baby out.  I designed this mattress to sit very low to the ground.  The rails of the crib are still the required height but I dropped everything lower to customize.  If you want yours to sit higher, just add the same length to each leg and line the sides and front up higher than I did.  Be sure to sand the heck out of everything.  No splinters!

DIY Farmhouse Crib

Here it is all finished up and ready in his room!

DIY Farmhouse Crib – Free Plans
Before I start, you can download and print the FREE PLANS here!

First step is building the back of the crib.  I used 1×6 for this part.  I made all of my pocket holes using my Kreg K5 Jig.

After adding all the pocket holes to secure the back, I flipped it over and started on the trim for the front.  I designed it to look like a barn door and I love how it turned out!  I used wood glue and 1.25″ finish nails to attach the trim pieces in place.

Next, I built the frame of the back part of the crib.  I noted this in the plans… I chose to rip all of my 2x boards to give them straight edges.  So, the 2×6 are all 5″ wide and the 2×4 are all 3″ wide.  If you choose not to do this, it won’t mess with the dimensions of everything else, but it will give your crib a slightly different finished look.

I made my pocket holes on the frame pieces first.  Since these are wider boards, I used 1.5″ pocket holes.

I also used 1.25″ pocket hole screws through the outside planks and the tops and bottoms of all planks to connect the planked boards to the 2x frames.  Be sure to use wood glue on all the 2x joints.  You can also use it between your planks but don’t get messy because you will see the glue when you stain.

At this point, your crib should look like this…

This alone would make a great full size headboard!

Moving on to the sides.  Pay close attention to measurements and spacing of pocket holes on this part because if you put them in the right place, your crib rails will cover them.  I started with the top board.  I measured and added all my 3/4″ pocket holes.  I have noted spacing in the plans.

I attached this board to the top rail piece using wood glue and pocket hole screws.

Here is the opposite side of that board.  This will be the outside top side of the crib.  I placed my pocket holes on one side only so I would be able to access them when I assembled the crib.

Here is the bottom board.  I have also marked here where my slats will line up just to help me line them up straight when I nail them in.

I attached this board to the outside bottom trim piece using wood glue and 1″ Spax screws.

Now I attached both of these pieces I created using the crib slats.  These are 1×2 boards that I nailed in place using wood glue and 1.25″ finish nails.  See how the pocket holes are getting covered up!

Here is one side finished up!  You will need to make 2 of these…

DIY Farmhouse Crib – Now for the front!

I built this basically the same as the sides but it will also have the frames. I built the bottom of the front by attaching the two boards like I did the sides, and then I attached the front legs to the bottom boards using pocket hole screws.

Next I made my pocket holes in my top board.  Again watch your spacing on this part so that they will be covered!

I attached the top board using 1.25″ pocket hole screws into the top of each leg.

Next, I lined up that whole frame on top of the top front rail piece and attached it using wood glue and 1.25″ pocket hole screws.

The top rail will have a 1.5″ overhang on each side….

Next I added my front slats using wood glue and 1.25″ finish nails.  Watch your spacing on this part!

Time for the mattress.  I attached cleats to the front and the back of the crib using 2″ Spax screws.

The mattress supports are 1×4 boards that sit on those cleats.

You can see where the pocket holes are attaching the sides to the front and back…

DIY Farmhouse Crib – The Staining

After I finished building the crib, my amazing stepdad was kind enough to offer to stain this to keep me from having to do it.  I gladly took him up on his offer!  I chose to use Briarsmoke by Varathane and I am so pleased with the results.

Speaking of stain… Did y’all catch our latest YouTube video on how to stain wood?  Here it is!

He also sprayed the entire crib with a polyurethane after the stain dried.

Now let’s talk about that hardware…  I die.  Love it so much.  I told our good friend Tyler of Wayne Works what I had in mind and he did not disappoint.  He even rounded the edges just a bit giving them a softer look.  He’s selling them guys!  You can get them HERE!

Here it is again all finished up a DIY Farmhouse Crib!