When Hubby's parents mentioned to us they still had the cot Hubby and his brother had been raised in we were more than happy to take it off their hands. It is a metal cot with 2 sides that drop down and may have even been used by their older cousins before them (so at least 45 years old)
Now before doing anything I checked the current safety standards for cots in Australia. This cot meet all current regulations other than the year it was made. This means it cannot be sold or purchased for use, but we did not buy it so no issues there
The cot has a wire base and we were surprised to find out that it takes a standard size mattress so that is all we have to buy now along with bedding which I am sure I can get second had or make up from bedding we already have.
The paint was chipped and because we were not 100% sure of the age we did not want to take any risks with lead paint so we spent $100 and had the cot sandblasted.
Then Hubby started painting. It was not really practical to spray paint due to the paint wastage so Hubby painted it by hand, plus since he is off work it was a good use of his time. He ended up using up paint we already had (the same paint used for the antique door knob and knocker) which is why the cot ended up high gloss black but we had plenty left and did not want to waste money buying more.
We are really happy with how it turned out and now that the paint smell has gone and the paint is really hard it is great.
We also acquired a few other bits and pieces that I have not really sorted through yet so that will be a surprise when I go back for a proper sort through.
We are really focused on second hand for this baby as we believe there is no need for much to be purchased new when it comes to babies. There will be a few things though as both my Nan and my Great Aunt have already asked what I would like them to knit for our baby who will be in NZ for next winter. I was thinking some singlets would be good.
Suggestions anyone?
