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DIY Furniture - Crate Coffee Table

10/5/2012

38 Comments

 
Oh friends, have I got a treat for you today.  Ever since we returned home from our hike, we have been looking for creative, but affordable ways to furnish our new home.  We don't have a lot of space in our condo so each piece has to have a purpose.  And if that purpose is extra storage... well, that's pretty much a win in my book. 

So I turned to Pinterest, the source of 99.9% of my DIY projects, and came across this table on Etsy.  My first thought was, "oh so cute!" but that was quickly followed by, "HOLD UP.  I can totally make that."  So off I went. 

With a quick trip to a craft store (I found everything at Jo-Ann Fabrics) and a few basic tools/supplies (drill, drill bits, screws, wood glue, wood filler, stain) you can build this too.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section and I'll do my best to help.  Have fun!!
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The hole on the far left is after both drill bits. The other two are after the 5/32 bit.
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Six screws in one side of crate. Repeat this four times.
  • I started by laying the crates on their sides and marking where I was going to drill the holes.
  • After measuring the length I would need for each screw (for me it was 3/4" screws), I bought 24 of them - 6 for each crate. 
  • Before drilling the screws in, I used a drill bit to create a hole.  The 5/32 size worked for my screw, but you can ask at the hardware store when you buy your screws if you're not sure which size to use.  
  • I also used a 19/64 drill bit to create a wider space for the screwhead to sink into.  They sell drill bits specifically for this purpose, but I don't have one so I just made the best of it with what I had.
  • I drilled 6 screws into each crate and used a little bit of Gorilla Wood Glue to give it extra strength. 
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Patching the holes with wood filler.
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Sanding the wood filler down, after it has dried.
  • Once the screws are in place and the unit is secure, you can patch the holes with wood filler.  This is why I created a bigger hole for the screwhead in the earlier steps.  The goal is to hide the screws and  create a more polished finish.
  • Once the holes are patched and dry, you can sand them down.  They will blend right in with the wood and be smooth.  Once you stain or paint, they will seem invisible.
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Glue the bottom pieces to the base (optional)
  • I opted to add a few boxes to the bottom of the crates to make our coffee table higher. This is optional, but if you do add them you can just use the wood glue. 
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Stain or paint the entire table. Q-tips work well for some of those hard to reach little nooks.
  • Once the table was assembled, I sanded the entire thing in the direction of the wood grain, vacuumed the dust off and then wiped it down with a damp rag to remove anything the vacuum missed.
  • I used 2 coats of MinWax Wood Stain in Jacobean to stain mine, but the options are endless.  Use whatever matches your decor - that's the best part of DIY.
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The finished product!
  • That's it!  This project took me about 2 hours to build and one hour to stain.  It looks great in our new living room and I was able to build it for less than $60 thanks to sale prices and a coupon. 
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If you like what you read, we would love to hear from you in the comments section!  It's fun to get feedback and it helps us create future posts.  And be sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or RSS! 
38 Comments
mackenzie link
10/15/2012 10:44:00 pm

i love this idea!

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Jill link
10/16/2012 02:27:44 am

Thanks! It was a fun project!

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Kelsie
10/19/2012 02:13:30 am

Super creative! Love the look of the finished product. Thanks for sharing.

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Jill link
11/5/2012 06:01:11 am

Thanks, Kelsie! I'm thinking about making another one soon, as a gift!

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Christina @ The Murrayed Life link
11/4/2012 12:38:46 pm

How cool!! I've never seen this on Pinterest but love it. You did a really great job too! Thanks for sharing.

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Jill link
11/5/2012 06:04:19 am

Thanks, Christina! I'm glad you like it - it was super easy to do and we always get compliments on it when people come over. Thanks for the comment!

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Annette
11/5/2012 08:20:31 am

Very cool idea, what a great way to use crates. I think that I'll build me a bookcase using 6 or 9 crates and do like you did with the boxes. If all goes well I'll post pictures and of course you'll get the credit for this wonderful idea.

Thanks for sharing

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Jill link
11/16/2012 11:38:33 pm

That's a great idea!! I would love to see how that turns out!

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Emma (Broke Ass Home) link
11/26/2012 04:27:26 am

This is great! If you wanted a clean surface on the top you could also go to a glass cutter and have a piece cut to size for under $30 typically. Thanks for posting it on the link party!

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Jill link
11/26/2012 09:07:07 am

We actually talked about getting a glass top, but then got kinda lazy :-) It's worked out pretty well though - I kinda like the rustic look. Thanks for hosting the link party and for sharing your blog!

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Leilani
2/9/2013 09:09:04 am

What size crates and support boxes did you use?

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Jill link
2/9/2013 11:33:27 am

The crates were 18"(W) x 11"(H) x 8"(D) and the support boxes were 5"x5"x5". Thanks for stopping by!

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Leilani
2/9/2013 12:07:12 pm

Thank you so much! I saw something like this on Pinterest as well but there wasn't any guide on how to do it linked to the picture so I googled it and happened upon your project! It's amazing!

Jill link
2/21/2013 12:43:30 pm

You're welcome! The same thing happened to me - I kept seeing this table on Pinterest, but it only linked to Etsy and didn't have a tutorial... so I made one up! Glad you found it helpful! :-)

Lindsay
2/20/2013 08:54:33 pm

This is such a creative idea!!! I just love it and plan to copy it! Where did you find the crates? I guess maybe Hobby Lobby but if you can let me know I will be eternally grateful! Thanks!!!

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Jill link
2/21/2013 12:41:49 pm

Thanks! I got the crates and the support boxes at JoAnn Fabrics, but I've seen them at Michaels and Hobby Lobby too. Have fun building your new table!!

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COLETTE
6/10/2014 11:53:17 am

I went to Hobby Lobby, they didn't have this size.

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Shelby
4/1/2013 01:32:22 am

We're planning on making this for our new house! How sturdy does it feel? Cause I know the wood looks pretty thin on it!

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Jill link
4/1/2013 07:30:36 am

Cool - I'm glad you're going to build this! It's pretty sturdy actually, we have glasses, plates and feet up on the table everyday and it's still holding strong. I will say though, there were two kinds of crates at the store and one was kinda flimsy and more craft-like, the other was sturdier and felt more like real wood. We went with the sturdier one which was 2 bucks more and it was totally worth it. Happy building!

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fine dining in dubai link
6/28/2013 09:23:23 pm

Every step of the project went very quickly. It was so nice to baste a project on my dining room table and not have to crouch on the floor! Here the table runner is about to be quilted. (Toes included for scale.)

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cutebambi link
9/5/2013 04:09:38 pm

Great site, was just reading and doing some work when I found this page

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erin link
9/12/2013 01:09:11 pm

where did you find the crates?!

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Christina
10/7/2013 11:23:33 am

I found mine at Joann's Fabric. Michael's has them also.

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acme furniture link
10/6/2013 09:15:06 pm

I enjoyed reading you post. I am sharing it with my other friends as the information is really very useful. Keep sharing your excellent work.

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Stairlifts in Middlesbrough link
10/13/2013 07:46:06 pm

Thanks to you! Finally I got some stuff in your blog post related. I was searching for some material related to matter included in post. Very useful and very informative. Thanks once again and do share some more posts if you have!

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Jackson link
10/18/2013 04:09:25 pm

I am very glad that I find your regular post here. Which seems to be very important and it made good time pass for me. I will always give a nice thrust look in to you from my bookmark feed. I don’t actually comment and don’t like to spend time in typing the comment. But here I have to do this because this deserves a good like.

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Striped rug link
10/18/2013 04:11:03 pm

I think that your viewpoint is deep, it’s just well thought out and truly incredible to see someone who knows how to put these thoughts so well. Good job I read your post and I found it amazing .Your thought process is wonderful. The way you express yourself is awesome. Thank you for sharing this information, I would recommend it to my friends, and hopefully this article useful to those who read it. Thanks.

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Celia
1/17/2014 01:34:32 am

Hi,

I waas going to buy my crates at home depot but when i arrived there it felt that put together the table would look "small" and the crates were very weak :(.

Do you feel like your table is a little "small" and/or that it could break easily ?

Thank you

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jillbandur@gmail.com
2/2/2014 08:28:37 pm

Hey Celia! I bought mine at craft store and they had two kinds. One did feel a little flimsy and one was a bit stronger, but neither felt small. I went with the stronger ones and the table is still holding strong at a friends house. (We have it away when we moved.) good luck!!

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Alyssa Smith
3/12/2014 03:47:36 am

What size crates did you use??

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Gormè
4/11/2014 11:02:50 am

Where can I buy the boxes? Love the idee.

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Jill@atraillife.com
4/12/2014 12:42:37 am

Any craft store should have them, I've seen them at Joann's and Michael's recently

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Kristi
4/18/2014 05:04:30 pm

My boyfriend and I love this table so much we went to Joann's today to buy the large crates. We were ready to pay the $12 per crate price but for some reason the crates were on clearance and we got them for $2 each. So for your beautiful table we paid under $25. Thank you.
P.S. Run as fast as you can to Joann's

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Jill@atraillife.com
4/19/2014 11:35:27 pm

That's awesome!! Good find!!

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aleenashes-UAE link
5/10/2014 03:22:43 am

That amazing i love it really good idea

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keven link
5/10/2014 03:25:31 am

wao fantastic idea nice table

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Tamara
5/11/2014 03:16:12 pm

I just finished staining mine today thanks to your great tutorial. I found my crates @ Joannes and with the app on my phone, was able to get all crates for $6.20 each. Was able to have McLendons cut me a scrap piece of plywood for the base for $3.50. Going to be the cheapest piece of furniture I have ever owned!

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Jill@atraillife.com
5/11/2014 10:14:18 pm

That's so great! Thanks for sharing!

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    Update!  Life has become busy in a great way, so we don't have a lot of time for blogging these days.  We've left the site up as a reference, and we do check our blog emails whenever we can, but we are no longer actively posting or commenting.  Thanks for understanding and have a wonderful day! 

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    I'm a Chicago girl who loves the outdoors and everything DIY.  He's an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and addicted to nature.  Follow us as we share our experiences with home projects, recipes and hiking with our energetic Weimaraner, Rooney.

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