It can be a challenge to design and make something for young infants.
Unlike older kids, who are able to explore the world around them, babies probably won't appreciate slightly more complex DIY projects, like this incredible, repurposed teardrop camper.
No doubt, Imgur user Mergs21 had this in mind when he planned to make something for his baby niece.
Ultimately, he designed something so useful, so practical, and so incredibly impressive: a convertible crib with the most amazing veneer wood panel design.
He spent hours cutting and fitting little drawings of animals onto an adorable safari scene, and carefully constructed the crib so that it would transform into a toddler's crib for when his niece got older.
We absolutely loved the traditional design of the crib with the vibrant, bold colors of the intricate panel.
Scroll further to see how this beautiful little crib turned out, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Imgur user Mergs21 wanted to build something special for his sweet little baby niece.
So, he started out by designing and building a pretty traditional crib, but decided to add on some amazing flourishes…
He came up with the idea to build a marquetry panel for the backboard on the crib.
To do so, he would fit the panel with over "100 individual cut and fit pieces of wood veneer."
He went with an adorable design of little animals on a safari.
After cutting out each design from his drawings, he cut and fit them out of wood veneer with an X-Acto blade.
Then, he held them temporarily together with painter's tape.
Here it is, all slowly coming together.
After cutting out all the animal designs, he worked on the background and details.
And here is the backboard design in its final stages.
Afterward, it was all glued onto a plywood panel. Any small gaps were patched up with a black wood filler.
After the panel was properly sanded, the DIY-er poured an epoxy finish on top, to leave a glasslike surface and to bring out the color of the wood.
To make the panel incredibly strong and durable, he joined each piece with mortise and tenon joinery, and held them together with 3/8" bolts.
After attaching the panel onto the white oak backboard, he moved the design down to the basement, and finished each piece up with shellac.
Then, he assembled the crib, and mounted the piece.
"I've heard that babies come with a lot of baggage, so there are two large storage drawers underneath for clothes and blankets," he wrote.
The drawers are mounted with push-to-open hardware, so they're pretty easy to slide open.
The great thing about the crib is that the marquetry panel can be easily reversed, so that the surface matches the rest of the backboard.
It can also convert into a toddler bed, for when the baby grows older and tires of cartoon animals.
The crib can also be very easily broken down into four exact sections, so that it's helpful during moving and storage.
"She likes it, so [that's] good enough for me!" wrote the proud uncle of his niece's "seal of approval."
We hope you enjoyed this crib DIY as much as we did!
Please SHARE if you think this uncle did an amazing job!
