Make Your OWN Furniture: Wooden Crates

Everyone, meet Julia.

Photo Credit: Todd Thiele

My gorgeous and soon-to-be-married niece, Julia, moved into her apartment in Colorado and needed some furniture on a dime. Julia is the daughter of two brilliantly thrifty people, so she had NO problem coming up with really cool DIY furniture options. She also studied interior design, so she makes really FABULOUS things.

I’m always interested in seeing what she’s up to, so I thought you guys might be, too. With that, I would like to introduce her as a DIY contributor to TheMommyhood.com. First up…

DIY Furniture With Wooden Wine Crates

Here is a side table made with stacked wooden crates.
(This is not a kid-friendly option. That in my house would be like giant blocks to be knocked over, or maybe they would take it apart and jump from crate to crate in a game of “don’t touch the floor” but still, isn’t it cool? Love it.)

And I love the lamp.

Three more crates are used in the same room as wall shelving.

Where To Get Wine Crates

Julia got hers for free from a friend who owns a wine shop. So, next time you head to the liquor store, inquire about crates. I went to two nearby stores recently to look for some. (I didn’t even have a project in mind, I just wondered how easy they would be to come by). The first store didn’t have any at all and the second store said the owner’s wife snaps them up and does things with them. Hmm, this might be tricky. Of course there are lots of liquor stores around, so I plan to spread out my wine purchases and start asking at different stores.

Once You Have Some Wine Crates

Once Julia had the crates all she did was stain them. Each set of three wine crates were stained in the same color to create uniformity because they are from two different wine sellers.