As my kids have grown, we’ve been lucky to always have someone who was in need of the mattresses and bed frames they were leaving behind. (In fact, just last month, our old toddler beds were picked up by a couple who was adopting FIVE children!) If that wasn’t the case, however, I think holding on to the crib mattress to use for a reading nook is a brilliant move.
The blogger behind small + friendly makes it look beyond adorable in the photo above, doesn’t she?
Source: smallfriendly.com via Amy on Pinterest
I gave ours to the kids as a play mattress and it has been used as an iceberg, a boat, a flying carpet, a lily pad, a drawbridge, a dog bed, and yes, a reading corner. It gets dragged all over the house and it’s been one of the best toys in my six years of parenting.
That’s a fabulous idea and looks really comfy too. Must make a mental note of that one for the future.
Thank you so much for your kind words and awesome feature! Rookie moms is such an awesome site, I feel honored!
I created a kickass reading nook from a memory foam mattress topper stuffed inside a duvet cover. So cozy. It lives behind our big yellow chair.
Wow! This is an amazing idea. Mine is just stored and kept because we don’t have any use for it anymore. Now that I’ve seen what it can do, I’m definitely getting it out for my kids.
Brooklyn uses ours (which is extra small since we had a mini crib for her) as a seat, toy, thing to jump on and off of, place to sleep in our backyard tent, etc.
Luckily for her, the seam had ripped open before she started using it this way, and since it was under warranty, the company sent us a new one for baby boy, so she still gets to use the old mattress;)
She has a new loft bed and is loving the “fort” underneath it — we have thought about putting the mattress under there for her…
@Carla, your site is great as well! I’ll definitely keep checking in to see what’s new!
I kind of don’t get this – first of all the curtains – why? When I read I want more light, not less. Second of all, she uses a lounger which makes sense. A crib mattress doesn’t make sense – a chair is a much better place to read than a mattress. It looks really nice, but I just don’t see more here than a poorly though out pinterest item. No offense to anyone, I just value practicality…
Ghanimatrix, I always love to hear the voice of reason. You’ve made me see this in a new light! You’re right that we often get carried away with the cuteness of polkadot fabric and adorable tents for kids. My main takeaway from this image was that keeping the crib mattress is a generally good idea, and one that I missed out on. I loved hearing from @Cara and @Lauren above about how theirs gets used, not just for reading, but for pretend play. I’d certainly rather sit on a chair with a back, but kids do like to lay on their bellies and look at books.
Please do keep posting your reality checks. They make for good discussions.
I agree that I would want more light (though you could easily attach a light as we have in my daughter’s fort under her loft bed) and a back but kids like different things.
My daughter’s current reading nook is under said loft bed on one side of the bookshelf that’s under there (that we left the shelf out of since she kept sitting in it). Super small space — not what I would want but perfect for her.
$600 (!) later, our son’s organic matress is now a slide and trampoline.
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