I cannot lie. I love to shop. Not like ‘spend loads of cash shopping,’ but shop. Check stuff out, compare products, feel the fabric, turn it over, kick the tires… What I’m not really fond of is frequently returning or replacing items. So I frequently ‘shop‘ my own house or upcycle from a local thrift store. My grandpa upcycled before it was called upcycling. We were always so embarrassed because he’d drive behind the local grocery store and “borrow” their leftover wooden crates and pallets. Who knew 20 years later it’d be trendy to re-purpose commercial goodies, especially the wooden fruit and wine crates. As the eldest grandchild, grandpa once gifted me an Ojai orange crate as my reward for accompanying him in his voyage of crime. This Ojai crate has traveled with me to every house we’ve lived in. It even played the part of my nightstand in college. We are currently using it to store the kids’ arts and crafts supplies. I just recently painted it black and used Mod Podge on the vintage label. The vintage Ojai oranges label was so dry it was just flaking off the wood. The Mod Podge sealed the label onto the wood. Grandpa’s been gone many years now, but he would get the biggest kick out of how popular his coveted wooden crates and pallets are.
Here are some more inspiration crate ideas.
See which ones could work for you in your home.
theverden.blogspot.com
how great is this foyer wall of brightly colored crates organizing all the family shoes
www.marthastewart.com
home-frosting.blogspot.com
this magazine storage crate has been white washed & lined how great to store your periodicals
What ways have you upcycled in your home decor? Or do you have any thing in your home that you’d like to reuse? Or are you just like me and you love to shop, but don’t want to spend all your haed earned money on home decor?
This post was written by Christine Navin. Contact Christine at christine.j.navin@gmail.com
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8 Responses to Upcycling Vintage Crates
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Oh wow– I would LOVE some of these crates in my home. I wonder where I could find them around here…
Audrey, I have seen them at yard sales & thrift stores recently. I have also over indulged in the clementine oranges- just to get the wooden crate. They are really cute as well. You can use chalkboard paint so them you can label what you are storing.
I love it! I just recently learned about upcycling myself and found a local boutique that sells repurposed items and will also repurpose whatever furniture you want to bring to them. What a great way to take what you already have and give it a new look!
Janah- that is fantastic. I haven’t found a place like that around here. So for now, it’s alot of elbow grease.
What a great idea! Very versatile both in color options and what you can store in them.
I like using interesting postcards as decor- they are super easy to frame and use as a cheap art option in any room that could use a little pick me up.
Alisa- I love vintage postcards as well. Especially, from some of your vacation favorite locals. I have also seen a great tip- keep a big clear vase & keep all your favorite postcards in it. Just let them stack up- the messier the better.
Love! I am in the process of buying a house and I want these in my garage and back yard! I have seen this idea on numerous DIY shows, very trendy.
Courtney- Congrats on your new house!
I had a several in my basement, but I never go in my basement so I brought them upstairs & cleaned them so I could enjoy them daily.