repurposed crib becomes... dutch door

So...  I saw this cool thing online, using an old crib to make a dog crate.  I thought that would be perfect for our bedroom. Our metal crate only has one door (on the short side) and I'd love to have one that opens on the long side so the crate covers less of my closet...

My sister graciously returned the crib I gave her when Nini outgrew it (they're getting a "newer" hand-me-down crib for the baby) and we started disassembling it.

But when we started taking measurements I realized my great plan just wouldn't work.  My bedroom is too small and the crate would end up too big. I didn't want to cut apart the headboard/footboard... and using just the side rails would make it too small for the dog...  I felt pretty stupid and like I had ruined a perfectly good crib...

That's when I realized...  the headboard looked about the same size as my kitchen doorway... and sure enough it was EXACTLY the right size.  And I thought of another repurposed crib project I saw online... using a side-rail to make a baby gate.  But as we talked over the possibilities... we found ourselves going in another direction... discussing the pros and cons of making it swing like a "door".

While we waited the year for this house, I dreamed of cutting the rear kitchen door into a half-door.  I grew up with a half-door over the stairs and I loved the idea of being able to keep my (then) toddler from crashing down the stairs at the new house.  But when we moved in, the reality of my tiny kitchen set in and I just didn't want to loose the space for a door to swing and I wanted to help the whole room feel more open (we removed both kitchen doors).  Even half a door seemed too much.

Jump ahead almost five years... now I'm babysitting almost every day and using a compression gate to keep the little ones safe.  It works, but it dings the wall and means I have to climb over it during the day (or unlatch it, move it, walk through, and reset it...).  It's kind of a love/hate relationship... so the idea of having a door really appealed to me.

Here's how we did it...

Removed hardware and cut off legs.

Primed, painted and distressed.  (I figured I'd ding it up a bit so it'd look like I WANTED it to look that way... since it'd end up getting beat up by the kids anyway.)

Found some VERY narrow specialty hinges, since the fit was so tight.

Used some left-over molding (same that we used for my plate shelves) to make a door stop.  Added a cabinet magnet catch (to hold the door closed) and a gate hook & eye to lock it (for when there are babies around).  I still need to touch up the edges of the molding and the previous gate damage... but you get the idea.

It works amazing... the magnet catch is just enough to hold the door in place, but I can swing it open and out of my way while carrying a basket of laundry.  Beorn even adjusted the hook so it latches just right... a tiny nudge and it pops right out (so it can be easily and quickly done while juggling a basket of laundry)... but no amount of shaking the door by little hands will pop it out of place.

So, I now have the dutch door I thought I couldn't have in my tiny kitchen!  It's smaller than a half-door and because it's not solid... it takes up much less visual space and looks pretty too...

I'm still debating the fate of the rest of the crib... stay tuned...