Manage Your Life
Saturday, November 28, 2009
8 ways to turn (free) wooden wine crates into functional design elements
editor
There's something wonderfully
Tramp Art-y about using wine crates as decor elements, and really, what other throwaway material can look so good in so many ways? We've already covered
the $220 designer version of the plain wooden box, so now let's see what
creative folks all over the web are doing with the free version (you know, the kind that you sweetly convince your local liquor store owner to give you).
1.
Make a pet bed. Lola Serrano of
Dolamakes stuffed a cute plaid pillow into a wine crate and Little Lo just can’t get enough.
2.
Make a pet feeder. (I don’t know why the best wine crate projects are for pets!)
Last week, Grace over at Design Sponge posted Julia Custer Norris’s d.i.y. feeder, designed to make mealtime more comfortable for her big pup. (This might not be an actual wine crate, but the principle applies.) Read the full instructions at
designspongeonline.com.
3.
Make a garden, like the gals at
You Grow Girl.
For even more wine crate inspiration, check out these links:
4. Build a midcentury-modern-ish storage unit
5. Add casters to mimic Martha's rolling, under-bed crates
6. Imagine a fully-loaded storage wall
7. Hang wallpapered display shelves like the ones on Design Sponge
8. Try out Readymade magazine's no-assembly-required bookcase
More d.i.y. on Shine:
See how the Ronnybrook Milk Bar turned wooden milk crates into wall decor
Easy upholstery how-to video from Threadbanger
Learn potato printing from Lotta Jansdotter herself
Weekend project: Make a birdhouse out of a gourd
Related: wooden crate, wine crate, upholstery, under-bed storage, storage unit, potato printing, pet feeder, pet bed, garden, display shelves, decorating, d.i.y., bookcase, birdhouse
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Posted by Julie Anna Mon May 12, 2008 2:36pm PDT
Ooooookay. Another "Be Green, Make a Something out of Something Else You Can't Use in its First Incarnation" article... what really I'd like to know is where are all these people finding FREE WINE CRATES???
So maybe they're all urbanites, with a wine shop on every other corner. Not all of us can find these things. To find a genuine wine shop, I'd have to drive 120 miles round trip. Or maybe I'm just ignorant and jealous.
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Posted by Joy Tue May 13, 2008 12:29pm PDT
I had the idea a couple months ago of making a coffee table out of some wine crates.
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Posted by Jake Wed May 14, 2008 2:23pm PDT
Sorry, maybe I'm just a spoiled urbanite who lives less than a days drive of the nearest liquor store, but these are some really interested ideas; easy to do in order to add a nice rustic touch.
Perhaps if I lived in the middle of nothing and nowhere I wouldn't really need such things either, but maybe I'm just ignorant and jealous.
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Posted by AnnaP Sat Jun 7, 2008 9:47am PDT
With some nails and some excess lumber, you can make the crates yourself.
And check out any local business with shipping department, or home depot or lowes.
These options may not be free, but it's probably cheaper than buying that shelf at Pier 1.
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Posted by ENLaw Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:46am PDT
We buy cases of wine and have yet to get a wooden wine crate! The ideas are cool but I would have to scour a lot used furniture stores or antique shops to find usable wine crates.
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Posted by lleuke M Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:51am PDT
There's nothing on the link "You Grow Girl" that displays the use of a wine crate as a planter. Any chance of getting a more specific reference for that? It's adorable.
I'd also like to know how to get these crates.
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Posted by Darlene Sun Jun 15, 2008 4:29pm PDT
I've found them at Sam's Club and at Speck's. If there not out front ask the clerk if they have some in the back.
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Posted by Mon Sep 8, 2008 7:11am PDT
Winepine on eBay or winepine.com
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