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If you can turn the baby crib into a child’s bed, and convert the changing table into a dresser or shelves, you’ve just saved yourself the cost of a whole new set of bedroom furniture!
Convertible Cribs
There are lots of convertible cribs available. Most can be reconfigured into a low-to-the-ground toddler bed, when your baby is old enough to leave the crib. The toddler bed is the same size as the crib, so you can even use the same familiar crib mattress. This may help to ease the transition from crib to bed for your child.
Some convertible cribs will convert further. Some change into a twin bed which your child can use throughout childhood. The ends of the crib become the headboard and footboard for the twin bed.
Many convertible baby furniture makers have started making cribs which will convert into a full-size bed. The sides of the crib become the headboard and footboard.
ChildCraft Industries even makes a crib which will convert into a daybed, a twin bed, a full-size bed and finally a queen-size bed! This product is called a Crib2Queen. While more expensive than many baby cribs, it’s far less expensive than buying even some of those beds as your child grows.
Convertible Changing Tables
Many standard changing tables are simply a waist-high shelf, with three shelves below it to hold diapers, pads and changing supplies. These changers work great when you have a newborn baby, but the shelving unit isn’t a great piece of furniture after your baby outgrows the changing table. There are usually no sides or back to this type of changer, so it doesn’t even make a good bookshelf.
Another type of changing table is really a dresser full of drawers, with the top surface specially configured to work well as a changing table. It may have low rails to keep the baby from rolling off, like a standard changer … but the rails are removable so that it becomes a standard dresser when the child is older.
Still another option is a flip-top changing table. This is a chest of drawers with a hinged extension on top. To change the baby, you open the hinged top and it nearly doubles the changing surface. This is especially useful when changing an older, bigger baby. The entire hinged flip-top is removable when the diaper days are over and you want to convert into a standard dresser.
More Convertible Baby Furniture
There are some really innovative designs out there, such as an unusual convertible bassinet that turns into a toy bin and bookshelf, or a child’s chair and table.
The convertible trend is hitting toys, too. Have you seen the infant bouncy seats that you can later use as a toddler rocking chair? Or play centers that can also be configured as a push toy when your baby is learning to walk?
But it’s the big items of nursery furniture where choosing convertible options makes the most difference … in convenience and in your pocketbook. Nowadays you can choose furniture for your baby that will become her childhood bedroom furniture and can even be used into adulthood. Smart!
If you go this route, be sure to choose furniture in a color and finish that your child is likely to appreciate when she’s no longer a baby. Don’t go for a Winnie-the Pooh motif, unless you’re happy to paint over it in a few years.
The best choice for convertible baby furniture intended for long-term use is probably just stained or natural wood; you can choose crib sheets and curtains for the cute baby décor.
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