Welcome to a special DIY tutorial! Today I’m teaming up with 9 other DIY bloggers to bring you an inspiring selection of Holiday Crate Makeovers. What’s a crate makeover, you ask? It’s where decorating meets organization, two of my favorite topics! We’ve each taken on the challenge to transform a plain wooden crate into something beautiful and useful.
When I think of the holidays, I think of decorating, baking, shopping for gifts, and making memories. What I don’t usually think about is organizing. And since I don’t think about it, my house ends up in a bit of a mess. This year, I’ve come up with a better plan, thanks to this Holiday Crate x10 Project.
One of my favorite activities this time of year is to curl up on the couch with my girls and a fluffy blanket, and read our Christmas books by the light from the tree. We have several beautiful story books, and I pack them away every year with our decorations, so they keep their special magic when we pull them out again. The problem is I need a place to display them, so they don’t get scattered and lost when we’re not reading them. This crate proved to be just the thing I needed to keep books and blankets handy by the couch.
Here’s a look at how it started. Not very cozy, as my daughter would say.
But I knew all it needed was a little TLC, in the form of chalk paint, and we’d be good to go. (You can find crates like these at several home and craft stores. I got mine at Home Depot.)
First up, a little sanding. Chalk paint doesn’t need much prep, but I did want to remove the extra chunks of wood so no one would get a splinter picking this thing up.
Next, a quick coat of DecoArt’s Chalky Finish paint in “Primitive.” I love this stuff because it covers anything, usually in one coat.
Now for a little decoration. I’m loving grain sack stripes right now, so I decided to add some in a cheery Christmas red. I started by taping off the stripes.
Hint: Once you get your stripes laid out the way you want, add a strip of tape to both ends. This will hold them together in their pattern when you peel off the tape after painting, so you don’t have to measure out the pattern again on the other side.
It took a couple of coats of craft paint to get a nice dark red.
Once the craft paint was dry, I peeled off the tape, being careful to keep the pattern in one piece.
The handle looked a little lost, so I painted the inside red as well, and now it blends in nicely with the stripes.
I repeated this process on the other end of the crate.
Something was still missing, so I painted the tops of all the wooden slats, and the top edges of the crate.
Finally, I covered the whole thing with a good coat of dark finishing wax to age it a bit, and give it a nice soft sheen.
Now it’s ready for blankets and books.
It fits nicely right next to the couch, but I hate to tuck it away in the corner. I may have to bring it out and set it next to the Christmas tree.
Time to make hot chocolate and curl up with a good book!
This is just one idea of how to style a crate like this. Check out these other talented bloggers’ crates for more inspiration:
Carole @ Garden Up Green
Patti @ Garden Matter
Bon Bon @ Farmhouse 40
CD @ CD’s Country Living
Nici @ Posed Perfection
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage
Val @ Love My DIY Home
Karen @ To Work With My Hands
You’re next! what will you do with your holiday crate?
pestep81 says
Meredith,
Your crate makeover is so lovely. The colors are so warm and inviting and would look good any time of year but I do like it with blankets. So clever and functional!
Meredith says
Thank you Patti! I never thought of using it year-round, but that’s a great idea!
Carole West @ Garden Up Green says
Meredith, I love this, reading Christmas stories when the kids were little was a favorite in our home too. Such a great memory and I have to say I miss that. I love this crate and the added red on the panel sides is perfect. Thank you so much for participating, it been fun working with you. Love your energy!
Meredith says
Thank you Carole! Reading Christmas books together is one of those things that I know I’ll miss someday. I just hope the kids have happy memories of it too. It’s been a blast working with you. Hope we get to do it again!
rachel621 says
Oh, this is beautiful! I need to make one like this for next to the fireplace. I agree that painting the top edges makes it even better.
Meredith says
Thank you Rachel! I’d been wanting to do a crate for a while, just needed a good excuse. 🙂 One of these would be perfect next to the fireplace!
C.D. Loken says
Oh I LOVE this idea, Meredith! I just had my grandson home for Thanksgiving, and we read Christmas books by the fire! (No tree up yet!) A wonderful family tradition!
Meredith says
That’s so sweet, and even better by the fire! I hope to do the same with my grandkids someday too…
Karen says
I love your crate, Meredith. It looks perfect sitting beside your couch packed with cozy blankets. I love the idea of curling up with great Christmas books and a snuggly blanket. What sweet memories and a fun crate to stow them in!
It’s been so much fun working with you on this project. I’d love to do it again!
Meredith says
Thank you Karen, and I agree! I was so inspired by everyone in this challenge, and it would be fun to work together again.
Nici says
I love what you did with the crate, Meredith! The grain sack motif on the sides is perfect! Such a fun, new, functional accessory for the holidays and beyond! Loved working on this challenge with you and the other ladies! Have a great week!
Blessings,
Nici
Meredith says
Thanks Nici! This was a great challenge to do together, and I’m already looking forward to the next one!
Val @ Love My DIY Home says
Love the red accents – red is my color! The blankets are a nice touch and I like how you will be able to use this all year long. Good job!
Meredith says
Thanks Val, I never get tired of Christmas red!
bon bon @ Farmhouse 40 says
This is so pretty……I want one! Great idea to store blankets and books for the Holiday’s. The grain sack stripes look so nice on the crate. Fabulous job.
Meredith says
Thank you so much! I love it when organizing is pretty. 🙂
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Your grain sack paint job on this was inspired – I love that look! And it’s great that you’ll be able to use it year-around, too. 🙂
Meredith says
Thank you Jami! I’m kind of obsessed with grain sack stripes right now…
jacquiegum says
This is about the coolest thing I have seen in a while…to fun and so pretty!
Born To Organize says
Gosh I miss the story and snuggle phase of parenting. My “boys” are now 15 and 18.
I love this crate! I’ve seen them at Michael’s but never knew what to do with one. You’ve worked wonders with your stripes. Thanks for the tip for securing the painter’s tape at both ends.
I’m off to check out a few of your links.
Meredith says
Thank! I hope the tips were helpful. I know we don’t have many years left of the little snugglers, so I’m holding on as long as I can!
Jeri Walker (@JeriWB) says
Great idea. These would work great at my family’s cabin.
Meredith says
Thanks Jeri! These really would be great for a cabin. Now I just need a cabin!
Susan cooper says
Hi Meredith, wow, that sure us a big difference in the before and after shots of that crate. Is amazing what a lot of creativity and a little time and paint can do!! Nice.
Meredith says
Thanks Susan! I’m always amazed at the power of paint!
Erica says
You really are creative, Meredith. I personally love crates. I’m not very organized and I like to just be able to quickly put things away. So, for me, crates are the perfect answer. I can be messy within the crate, but then the rest of my house looks more organized!
Meredith says
I totally agree! I love to be able to compartmentalize the projects I have going on into different crates and bins so it’s easy to start and stop a project.