DIY Wooden Crate Tutorial

Can I tell you how excited I am that I am actually writing this post?  I built these wooden crates last summer and for some reason it has taken me a whole year to finish them off!  Just one of those projects that I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with.  Well, they are now done, and I LOVE them!


Whoever built our house must have been a bit mathematically challenged because the alcoves on either side of our fireplace are totally different sizes – there is a good 4 inch difference between them.  Apparently he had not heard of the “measure twice, cut once rule”. 


Anyways…. in order to make things appear more symmetrical and add some functional storage, I decided to build some wooden crates that would be custom built to the size of each of the alcoves.  They provide great storage for my 12×12 scrapbook albums, magazines, throw blankets, extra pillows and a few other odds and ends.


Since this was my first wood working project and these were actually built over a year ago, I have done my best at putting together a tutorial for you.  I have given measurement examples for my 30 inch x 17.5 inch box but, of course, it can easily be done in any size that you would like.   Please don’t let the instructions intimidate you – it is much easier than it sounds and, I swear, writing this tutorial took way more time than actually putting together the boxes.  I had all of my measurements figured out before I bought the wood and just had the friendly sales guy at our local home supply store cut it all down for me.  If there is anything that is not clear in the instructions, please let me know and I will do my best to help you out. 🙂


MATERIALS
{Measurement examples based on a 30 x 17.5 inch box using pine boards that were 5/8 inches thick}.

• (6) 30 inch pieces of pine tongue and groove boards{mine were approximately 5 inches in width} for the front and back of the box. If you are doing a different sized box, these pieces should be cut to the desired length that you would like your box. The tongue will need to be cut off the top on two of the boards to form a smooth edge for the top of the box.
• (6) 16 1/4 inch pieces of pine tongue and groove boards for the sides of the box.  The tongue will need to be cut off the top on two of the boards to form a smooth edge for the top of the box.   If you are building a different sized box, these boards should be your desired width minus the thickness of the tongue and groove boards since they will be fitted in between the front and back sides of the box.  Since I wanted a 17 1/2 inch box, I subtracted 1 1/4 inches to accommodate for the front and back of the box{5/8 inch on the front + 5/8 inch on the back}.
• (1) sheet of plywood for the bottom of the box.  This should be cut to the desired size that you would like your box minus the thickness of the tongue and groove boards {since they will be added to the outside of this piece}.  For example, I wanted a finished box measuring 30 x 17.5 inches.  My tongue and groove boards had a thickness of 5/8 inches so I took 1 1/4 inches {5/8 + 5/8}  off the length and the width for a final base size of 28 3/4 x 16 1/4.
• (4) 2×2 boards measuring 14 1/4 inches.  If you are doing a different sized box, you want this measurement to be the height of your box minus the thickness of the plywood plus.  {NOTE: You may need to sand it down a bit just so it is not extending past the top of your box.}
• Wood Glue
• Screws
• Finishing Nails
• Sander
• Stain
• 8 metal “L” brackets
• oil rubbed bronze spray paint
• drawer pull

DIRECTIONS

• Fit the tongue and groove boards together for the front, back, and sides of the box.  Make sure that the boards on the top all have the tongue cut off to form a smooth edge and sand down as needed. Glue boards in place using wood glue. 

• Starting with one of the sides of the box, line up the tongue and groove boards on the outside of the plywood sheet and place one of the 2×2 on top of the plywood sheet {it should be about flush with the top of the box but you can always sand it down a bit if it is slightly over}.  NOTE: The picture below shows how I lined up the pieces before screwing the 2×2 to the pine boards but it is NOT where I attached the sides to the plywood base.

• To attach the 2×2 to the tongue and groove boards, I first added some finishing nails to hold it in place and then used one screw in the middle to secure it.

• Repeat this with the 2×2 on the other side of the side panel.  I then flipped it over and added two more finishing nails from the front {one on the top board and one on the bottom board} to secure the pine boards to the 2×2.  Repeat this with the other side panel.

• You should now have two completed side panels.  To attach the front and back of the box, use a framer’s square to line up the sides so they are completely flush along the bottom and attach the front of the box to the 2×2 using finishing nails {I used 2 nails for each pine board}  Secure with a screw towards the top and bottom corners.  Repeat on all corners of the box.

• Turn the box upside down and add the plywood base by using 4 screws in each corner to attach it to the 2×2 blocks.  
• Sand down the entire box and you are done!

I was pretty happy with the crates after they were built.  Amazingly, they both fit perfectly in their space.  All I had to do was finish them off.  Should be the easy part, right?  

Not this time.

I got a case of DIY paralysis and they stayed like this for almost a year…


I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to paint them with a rustic white finish or stain them.  So, of course, I did nothing.  

I finally decided that I just needed to try something, and stained them a walnut color.  After I stained them, I still wasn’t sold, and posted on Instagram for help.  Almost everyone {me included!} thought that I should paint them white, so I started to paint them white.   And then, after painting one side of one box, I decided that I didn’t like them white.   Ugh.  I wanted the stain, but they needed a little more personality.   Enter the spray paint…


I headed down to Home Depot and picked up 8 “L” brackets {for each crate}, some screws, and spray painted them all with some oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  


I added them to the corners of the box along with a handle in the same finish and some casters.


So much better!


Sometimes, no matter how much thinking I do, I just need to get in there and play around with things to make it work! 





If you too have a case of DIY paraysis, take some time this week and just get to it!!  You will be happy that you did. 🙂