DIY: Bookshelf Made From Crates

After being married for a year and starting our rental business, Matthew and I's humble home has gotten cluttered quite quickly. We have had to get creative with storage.  We bought a dozen wooden crates from Michael's, half of which were bought with a 50% off coupon (SCORE!) and picked up some stain and Home Depot. And that's it! because the crates are stackable, we didn't need to attach them to one another.  Let's take a look.

Make sure to wipe down the crates before staining to remove any dust or residue. Working in sections, apply the stain and let sit for about a minute, then with a rag, wipe off excess stain.  Feel free to leave the stain on longer for a darker finish.

Here is a look at the before and after.

 Once I stained all of the crates and allowed them to dry, I played around with the layout and liked this way the best, with half of the crates standing vertically and the other half laying horizontally. 

 Matt built a stand for the crates so we could add other things below, like our vintage trunk that holds all of our props for the photo booth. We also have our more delicate props (masks, glasses, etc.) sitting on top of our new crate bookshelf (next to the TV).

Then the fun part was organizing all of our things into the crates.  Not only do they have specific place where they now belong, but they look beautiful on display!

No more craft supplies overflowing onto the floor, or extra sewing fabric turing into a heap of unfolded mess when I was looking for a particular style.  No more disorganization! YAY! :]

<3 Saleena   

Linked to: Trendy Tree House, Katies Nesting Spot, Thrifty101, House of Hepworths, Momnivores-dilemma, Creations by Kara, I gotta create,