There are many things that are difficult about transitioning a
child from a crib to a toddler bed.
The crying, the getting up at night, the threats, the frustration.
And don’t even get me started about what it does to the kids!
But more than anything else, my least favorite part of this transition is the necessary safety item that comes with it.
The Guardrail
And guardrails are ugly.
No, not this kind of guardrail.
Those are ugly too, though.
I’ll bet some of you crafty folks could have that decoupaged and lookin’ pretty in no time!
No, I’m talking about these guardrails.
Instead of buying a separate toddler bed, we just removed the front railing from the crib and added one of these.
I know it is a necessary safety item to keep our precious children from falling out of bed but I gotta tell you…I thought twice about it.
I’m pretty sure soft, fluffy pillows piled on the floor to break her fall would look better than this monstrosity!
It completely ruins an adorable room if you ask me.
Well, I wasn’t going to stand for it!
Especially not in a little girl’s room.
So I scrounged up some extra fabric.
And pieced that fabric together to make a
Guardrail Slipcover!
Ahhh…so much better.
Has anyone ever seen something like this before or can I
continue to pat myself on the back?
I’ve never slipcovered anything in my entire life and I have to tell you that I am pretty pleased with the results.
I quickly realized that it is basically making a giant pillow without stuffing it or stiching the bottom closed. And it just slid right down over that despised toddler bed accessory.
What do you think?
I love how it blends in now…or at least that it blends in as much as a weird thing sticking up from the side of a crib can!
Now…let me see…what else can I slipcover?
So glad you stopped by the Fence today!
Vanessa
P.S. Patent Pending on the Guardrail Slipcover…*wink*!
Linking to:
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Ok you better give yourself the biggest pat on the back EVER!! I have never seen this before. I refused to put the guard rail up when my daughter transitioned into a bed. We just piled up the pillows on the floor and she did fall out of bed a few times. You could probably market this and make a fortune. I am super impressed. Love the fabric too!!
Vanessa, this is brilliant! You should make those to sell! 🙂 Love the fabric…pretty!
You need to Patent that…you will seell a million…you are one smart cookie!!
Cute idea!
Oh my goodness I have never seen that, nor would I have thought of it!! Brilliant idea!! I always hated those things so much You should run with that one!!!
My daughter will be transitioning to a toddler bed soon, and I couldn’t agree more, the guardrail is such an eyesore! Thanks for sharing, what a great idea! I agree with getting a patent. Fantastic job! Love the fabric you chose as well!
FANTASTIC!!
And I agree that you need to patent that.
Girl that is AMAZING and yes you can continue to pat yourself on the back! I have never seen this! Oh I have an ugly blue one in my sons room but hopefully we will getting rid of it soon. You are so talented my friend and the fabric is so pretty! You could slip cover the world and I would love it! 🙂
It’s so pretty! I’ve never heard of one but it’s been a long time since I used one. You did a fantastic job! I love it – and the fabric is gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing in the DIY Project Parade! 🙂
Roeshel
I say brilliant! You should make and sell these to high end kids shops and through interior designers!
Echoing – BRILLIANT. where were you years ago when my boys were using these? That fabric is too cute. LOVE IT…you guys are doing such a great job on this site too btw!
I have never seen this before – you did AWESOME – definitely pat yourself on the back! I LOVE it – ours were ugly and blue and I took them off quickly… with this I would have kept them on! LOL Happy Valentines Sweet Friend and congrats on the awesome fix!
Fantastic Vanessa…so much prettier now:) Happy Valentines day! XO
That is a genius idea Vanessa!!! I would have never thought to do that. It looks sooo much better!
Vanessa- What a great idea. Soon you will be covering everything with slips….your clothes hamper…your birdcage….your toilet…wait..wait…don’t do the toilet-that might not work out so great! Seriously? Great job and it looks wonderful! At my house we always went with the stacked pillows/cushions…lol…but look at what they have now…a guard. Wow! Hugs-Diana
I have never seen this done before. What a great idea! I wish I had seen this idea when my kids still had their guard rails! 🙂
~Crytal
I have never seen this done before. What a great idea! I wish I had seen this idea when my kids still had their guard rails! 🙂
~Crytal
Very pretty solution! Love that fabric!
Great idea, mommy! It looks really good.
What a fabulous idea! We may be needing one of those guardrails for my son in the near future, so I may just have to try this!
Very smart and very pretty!
Kelly
Such a great idea! Guard rails beware…..the Picket Fence crew is on the move!
You are so much more creative than I am! What a great idea! It looks GREAT! I am excited to have found your blog.
Vanessa, That is such an awesome idea! Those guard rails are so ugly and you turned it into something decorative. Great job!
Lori : )
Thrifty Decor Mom
Darling Vanessa!!! I love the fabric you chose! I have seen rail covers but nothing so sweet and charming as yours~ well done! What next will you be slipping a little darling cover over?! I also wanted to say a thank you to Heather for stopping by and saying hello today too! 🙂 Happy Valentines Day!! 🙂
Awesome idea yes you should look into getting it patented or whatever you have to do and make a bundle of them in a variety of colors and SELL them. You did good. :o)
Brilliant! Love it!
Warmly, Michelle
Love it! Never seen or heard anything like it – and you know in blog world, people try to slip cover their dogs! haha…so, you think this would have come up by now…so, pat away sweet Vanessa, it appears to be an original idea! And, it looks great – my Hudson is out of the guard rail stage and I would have loved to have had that…actually, My kids better be glad I didn’t think of that when they were younger because I may still have their rails up if they looked that pretty! Yippee for you 🙂
That is so awesome Vanessa!!! What a great idea!
Just keep on with the back patting, because this is so clever. I’m actually bowing to your cleverness. So what are you covering next?
CAS
This is fabulous!!!! So you need to sell these, not kidding 🙂
Where were you when I had toddlers 🙂
XOXO
Kristin
Very clever and pretty too, Vanessa!
Wow, that is such a good idea -And I just love the fabric!!You’ve made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear -as they say here!!
Vanessa, how smart of you to think this up. It looks much better. Those things are kind of ugly aren’t they. Now it is beautiful. Thanks for joining the party.
I think that your slipcover idea is fantastic…….and I am so impressed by your creativity. Being a grandmother of older children, we do not need a guardrail at the moment, but I wish I had seen your idea a few years back. When the babies visited, I just hated the look of that ugly rail!! I give you a standing ovation !!
I think your daughter’s room is just precious!!! I love how you made the guardrail cover…. Very creative!!! You may be on to something 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog and for becoming my newest follower. I love my new blogging adventure. It is so fun to make new friends!
So beautiful!! I did that for my daughter’s rail, too, because I couldn’t stand the ugly thing! We’re soul sisters, ha! =)
I’m telling you this is my all time favorite project. It’s just the best idea. Thanks so much for linking up.
Hope you’re still a-patting because I’ve never seen pne like that either. It’s a GREAT idea. You’re right – they are so ugly but I never thought to do anything about it.
You are turning into a bit of a craft queen!
Sarahx
Even though your material pattern is going the wrong way, I think you did a great job for the first one that you ever did. See when you think you can, you CAN do it!
Aren’t you something!!!! This is adorable & clever. We had racing car beds @ my house (that were low & to the ground) didn’t have the priviledge of pretties! Love it.
Hi girls~ Just stopping back by to say thanks so much for sharing at my party this week!! Hugs to you both- Courtney 🙂
It is lovely but just a note of caution. I do believe that mesh is used to lessen the chance of suffocation. Not sure I would want to market and sell this for fear of liability should something terrible happen. I do think the risk is minimal but in today’s world who knows.
Dear Anonymous. Thank you for letting us know this concern. I’ll be honest I jumped straight online when I saw your comment to research this. We At The Picket Fence would never want to promote the use of something that would be harmful to a child.
Here was what I found and my thoughts.
1)I actually did find one other item like this that is marketed, I think it might even be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was marked as a bedrail cover and being sold commercially. It was not near as cute as Vanessa’s of course. ;o) I also found one example of a solid fabric bedrail by Summer Infant. I also found several “bolster pillow” type bedrails which were basically long pillows running the length of the bed which would have significant stuffing and fabric, these also were being sold commercially.
2) I did some research on the mesh. It was mentioned in the advertisements that the mesh was for visibility for the child and for parent. Also the guardrail is designed to sit slightly “away” from the bed, probably to prevent suffocation.
3) Because the bedrail is used for older children who are most likely already sleeping with a pillow etc. the risk is much slighter than say using the rail and cover with a baby which we would not recommend.
I also would believe that using the rail with cover would be equivalent to using a bumper pad in a crib. Actually probably less dangerous as there is no stuffing used in the rail cover unlike with a bumper pad.
That all said, we appreciate anytime someone points out a possible risk with a product we have created, recommended or are using. If we were to ever market or sell this product we would of course do extensive research before selling something that would ever be a danger to a child. That said, we hope that if someone recreates this idea for their child that they would do their own research as well.
Thank you again for feeling comfortable sharing your concern with us. I hope we’ve helped to alleviate some of that.
Heather @At The Picket Fence
I featured this awesome idea from last week’s party today. I hope you stop by and pick up your “I’ve been featured” button. You know I just love this bedrail cover.
Way to do your research on the anonymous comment. It looks safe to me, and so stylin too! Wonderful idea.
Okay the previous 46 comments probably say the same thing as me … I don’t have time to read them all, the babe is napping and I’m sneaking in blogging time. BUT … are you going to sell these awesome covers? I want one!!
You are genius!
Maegan 🙂
I JUST put my son in a real bed and I was staring at it thinking the same thing. It messes up the beautiful comforter and pillows, I can’t really make the bed “right,” and honestly it has just become a new toy to catapult himself over. But I know it has to stay…for when he does eventually fall asleep, but man it is ugly. I wan to do this, but maybe I need some little ties, because he will pull that bay off and turn it into god knows what within 2 minutes!
http://www.kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com
Hey I’m all for product inventions – get the patent going! LOL! Love this! Thank you again for linking up to Tuesday’s Nursery!