Vintage Cradle Makeover!!

Happy Monday, my friends!  I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!  Our family certainly did and now I am BACK on my low-carb diet after blowing it out of the water this past week.  We’ve been super busy with the holidays and family functions so forgive my absence lately.   However, I recently completed a vintage cradle makeover.  Come see how it turned out!  

As you know, I love shopping for vintage pieces and antiques.   I also love giving forgotten treasures new life, so when I found this darling little cradle, it was love at first sight!  And I knew it would come in handy because WE ARE EXPECTING OUR FIRST GRAND CHILD!!!   Ok. I am super, super excited.  This is how this little cradle looked when I brought it home:

At some point someone hand painted some flowers and vines with obvious great love and care.  But the paint was in bad shape and chipping and peeling.  (And not really my thing.)

The painted details were slightly raised so I knew it all needed to be sanded.  Thoroughly!

The inside of the cradle was sad and worn as well, but still plenty sturdy.   Nothing that a bit of cleaning and paint couldn’t fix!

I’m not sure about the age of the cradle, but I’m guessing not too old based on the hardware and construction.  Perhaps made in the late 70’s, early 80’s?  I know it was not hand made because I’ve seen another identical cradle since I purchased this one.

First things first, I disassembled it, removing the cradle and the hardware.

As you can see the hardware had been painted over as well.

The hardware appears to be stainless steel and other than the paint, in great shape.  So, I soaked it in paint stripper over night.

The paint remover worked beautifully and after a bit of rinsing and cleaning, the hardware looks practically brand new!

Once I sanded the cradle and stand, I hand painted the bottom of the cradle with chalk paint.  I started hand painting the rest of the cradle but didn’t like the rough brush strokes.  However, fresh paint makes a huge difference, right?

So, I ended up sanding it all back down again and decided spray paint was my best option for a smooth finish.

Spray paint is often a better choice for pieces with lots of angles and curves such as this.   And, I did paint quite a bit of our grass~despite my best efforts.  So make sure you put down plenty of drop cloths to protect against over-spray.

And here it is all painted and put back together!  Isn’t it the sweetest thing?

The cradle looks beautiful painted a crisp, bright white.  It looks brand new, but with fun, vintagey charm!

When in doubt, go with white!  I chose a semi-gloss white by Rust-Oleum.

I measured the inside of the cradle and ordered a mattress, tiny white bumper pads and sheets from Amazon.

I put the cradle in my son and daughter-in-law’s room as a surprise when they arrived at Thanksgiving.

Obviously the baby won’t be able to sleep in the cradle but for a few months, but I love the fact it is small and portable, and they can pull it right next to their bed and rock him if he is fussy.  Oh, did I mention, it’s a boy?  And as the Mother of two boys, I admit I’m a bit partial.  This sweet little lamb is sound activated so when the baby cries, it sings lullabies!  (And look how pretty the hardware turned out!)

So, a quick before and after.  Here’s the hardware….

And the cradle and stand.   I wanted to make sure I restored and painted the cradle long before the baby comes so there is no trace of paint fumes.

After the baby outgrows the cradle, we will put it in storage and replace it with a full-size crib for when they visit.  Which we hope will be often!  My son and his wife took our small family heirloom bassinet home with them at Thanksgiving.  To see more of this makeover and its story, you can go here:  Bassinet Update!  Well, now that the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, I can focus on Christmas!  I started hauling out the decorations today, so stay tuned!

I hope you have a lovely, lovely day!  What are you planning for Christmas this year?  Do tell!  And share pictures!  Thank you for stopping by~xoxo Dell