6 money saving ideas to upcycle your old IKEA crib

Kids outgrown the IKEA crib? Reinvent it into another useful piece of furniture. The SNIGLAR or GULLIVER is awesome in the laundry room, even in the kitchen and study.

IKEA crib

IKEA SNIGLAR and GULLIVER crib | IKEA.com

3 ways to use IKEA SNIGLAR crib for laundry

Michal shares 3 wonderful ideas for an old unused IKEA SNIGLAR crib. The crib is repurposed to now hang the never ending heap of laundry.

All 3 hacks are made from one SNIGLAR crib using the sidewalls only, original fasteners, additional screws, a piece of board and 4 caster wheels.

You don’t not need much tools except for a handsaw, sand paper, and cordless drill.

#1 Extension to ladder towel rail

The problem with ladder towel rails is that bathroom towels constantly fall down from the rail. And not many towels can be dried all at once. And what if you have other odd shaped washing to be dried? Here’s our solution.

ladder towel rail extension hack

1. Measure the width of your straight ladder towel rail warmer.

2. Cut the SNIGLAR bars to fit the width and slot it into the towel rail.

3. The protruding bars serve as pegs for towels and other washing.

#2 Portable drying rack

Portable drying rack from IKEA SNIGLAR crib

1. Cut one of the sidewalls of the crib and remove the top rail that hold the bars together.

2. Cut the top rail into two equal pieces and make a notch in the middle.

3. Fasten the sidewall cut in Step 1 onto the notched pieces.

Just place this portable dryer in front of the fireplace or central heating system and let the clothes dry out.

#3 Large capacity laundry basket

Get rid of piles of dirty clothes lying around. With this hack you will build a robust basket that you can move with ease.

DIY large capacity laundry basket from IKEA SNIGLAR crib

1. Cut both the long sections of the sidewalls of the crib and the short sidewall. Remove the legs as well.

2. Join them together using the original fasteners and additional screws where necessary.

3. Get a board to create the base. We added extra length at the side and back to serve as wall protection.

4. Screw the board into the sidewalls from under the board.

5. Add casters.

6. Staple firm fabric inside the cavity.

7. Roll it into the space beside your washing machine.

See how we hacked it. Link to video.

~ by Michal

#4 IKEA crib drying rack

This wall mounted retractable laundry rack will hold up a load of washing. Very useful if you have a small laundry area. You can use the IKEA GULLIVER or SNIGLAR crib for this purpose. Picture below shows the GULLIVER.

IKEA GULLIVER crib laundry rack

Use straight mending plates to join the sidewalls together. You can use one section or two sections, depending on how tall a rack you need. But more than two is not recommended as the rack may get too heavy with a full load of laundry. Then attach the rack to the wall using two heavy duty hinges. Finish with a pulley and rope and a cleat hook to hold it in place. See the full tutorial. (SNIGLAR version.)

#5 Cookie drying rack

Need a drying rack for your baked goods? Much cheaper and easier to have IKEA make it. Read more.

IKEA crib drying rack

#6 Kids desk

The little one is ready to write and draw. Adjust the height of the cross bar by drilling mounting holes at appropriate height and turn the crib into a kids desk. See details of the kids desk project.

kids desk hacked from cot

#7 Computer desk from old crib

The desk setup can work for adults too.

computer desk hacked from IKEA GULLIVER crib

Andrijana made a computer desk from her son’s old IKEA GULLIVER crib. Add an IKEA LINNMON table on top and secure the table top to the crib frame with L-brackets. If you prefer more legroom, flip the crib over and place the table top on the “feet” of the GULLIVER instead. See the tutorial.

First published on April 10, 2017. Updated with new content.

Jules Yap