Thursday, December 19, 2013

{DIY} Crate Coffee Table

We're slowly starting to get more furniture to fill up the house, and I built my very first piece! This coffee table (that I spotted here ages ago and have planned to make ever since) was a great starter piece - considering I have absolutely no experience building anything beyond Ikea furniture, this was surprisingly easy!


Supplies:

  • 4 crates (I used these), 
  • 4 furniture legs (I used these
  • Wood stain (I used Varathane in weathered gray), brush/applicator, & cloth
  • Polyurethane 
  • Sander and sandpaper
  • Thin sheet of MDF*
  • Jigsaw*
  • 1.5" screws
  • L-brackets
  • Screwdriver
  • Drill
  • Decorations for center of the table (in my case: plastic plant tray, potting soil, succulents, & stones)


*I used the jigsaw to cut the MDF, which I placed in the center of the table as the base of the little garden, but you could easily improvise this step if you don't have a jigsaw.

Start by sanding the crates (the ones I ordered really needed it), then stain them. Once they've dried, arrange them in the pattern you'll use for the table but upside down, so the top of the table will be completely flat. Use the L-brackets in the center of the table, and screw all the crates together. Once all the crates are securely attached, add the legs. My legs had screws sticking out of them, so I drilled a hole in the table slightly narrower than the leg screws, then screwed them on. Flip the table so it's upright. Cut out the MDF so it's slightly smaller than the hole in the middle, then attach it in the middle of the table - I put mine where the first slat in the crate ended, so it was a couple of inches down.



There are tons of possibilities for what you could do with the center of the table. I chose to make a little succulent garden - I planted the succulents in a round plastic planter tray that happened to fit perfectly in the table, then filled it in with stones. Unfortunately, most succulents are toxic to dogs & cats, and our critters have a tendency to get into everything! I'm planning on covering them with a glass cloche (but currently have a casserole dish over top of them; pretty fancy!)

I know I didn't get very specific directions and the lack of pictures doesn't help, so please let me know if you have any questions!

26 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Saya IBU WINDA ingin berbagi cerita kepada anda semua bahwa saya yg dulunya cuma seorang TKW di SINGAPURA jadi pembantu rumah tangga yg gajinya tidak mencukupi keluarga di kampun,jadi TKW itu sangat menderita dan di suatu hari saya duduk2 buka internet dan tidak di sengaja saya melihat komentar orang tentan AKI SOLEH dan katanya bisa membantu orang untuk memberikan nomor yg betul betul tembus dan kebetulan juga saya sering pasan nomor di SINGAPURA,akhirnya saya coba untuk menhubungi AKI SOLEH dan ALHAMDULILLAH beliau mau membantu saya untuk memberikan nomor,dan nomor yg di berikan AKI SOLEH meman betul2 terbukti tembus dan saya sangat bersyukur berkat bantuan AKI SOLEH kini saya bisa pulang ke INDONESIA untuk buka usaha sendiri,,munkin saya tidak bisa membalas budi baik AKI SOLEH sekali lagi makasih yaa AKI dan bagi teman2 yg menjadi TKW atau TKI seperti saya,bila butuh bantuan hubungi saja AKI SOLEH DI 082-313-336-747- insya ALLAH beliau akan membantu anda.Ini benar benar kisah nyata dari saya seorang TKW trimah kasih banyak atas bantuang nomor togel nya AKI wassalam.


      KLIK DISINI BOCORAN TOGEL HARI INI




















      Saya IBU WINDA ingin berbagi cerita kepada anda semua bahwa saya yg dulunya cuma seorang TKW di SINGAPURA jadi pembantu rumah tangga yg gajinya tidak mencukupi keluarga di kampun,jadi TKW itu sangat menderita dan di suatu hari saya duduk2 buka internet dan tidak di sengaja saya melihat komentar orang tentan AKI SOLEH dan katanya bisa membantu orang untuk memberikan nomor yg betul betul tembus dan kebetulan juga saya sering pasan nomor di SINGAPURA,akhirnya saya coba untuk menhubungi AKI SOLEH dan ALHAMDULILLAH beliau mau membantu saya untuk memberikan nomor,dan nomor yg diberikan AKI SOLEH meman betul2 terbukti tembus dan saya sangat bersyukur berkat bantuan AKI SOLEH kini saya bisa pulang ke INDONESIA untuk buka usaha sendiri,,munkin saya tidak bisa membalas budi baik AKI SOLEH sekali lagi makasih yaa AKI dan bagi teman2 yg menjadi TKW atau TKI seperti saya,bila butuh bantuan hubungi saja AKI SOLEH DI 082-313-336-747- insya ALLAH beliau akan membantu anda.Ini benar benar kisah nyata dari saya seorang TKW
      trimah kasih banyak atas bantuang nomor togel nya AKI wassalam.


      KLIK DISINI BOCORAN TOGEL HARI INI





















      Delete
  2. Could you please give more step-by-step instructions? Is it possible not to have the centerpiece?
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You don't necessarily need to put anything in the middle - if you just want an open hole, that just makes it easier! Here are some instructions:
      1) Sand the crates
      2) Stain the crates and let them dry
      3) Turn the crates upside down (table top on floor) and arrange the 4 crates in the pattern shown.
      4) Attach the crates - there are a variety of ways you could do this. I used 4 L-brackets inside the hole in the middle of the table to secure the inner portion of the table. Then, I used screws to attach the bottoms/side of the crates together - I just added a few screws on the inside of each crate to attach it to its neighbors. To make it more secure, you could also attach the crates to a base (sheet of plywood or make a wood frame for it, etc.), although I skipped this since it seemed stable without it.
      5) Find a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the screw sticking out of your table legs. Drill a hole for each of the four legs, then screw them on.
      6) Turn the table over, and if you don't want anything in the middle, you're done!
      Hopefully that helps! If you have questions about anything in particular, just let me know.

      Delete
  3. Love this! I'm a little fuzzy on the middle centerpiece construction?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! And I'm not at all surprised you're fuzzy on that piece since I barely explained it, haha. I measured the size of the hole (I think it was about 9"x9"), and used a jigsaw to cut a piece of MDF that would fit. While it would probably be best to attach it with some brackets or something, I cheated on mine and actually did not use any hardware for this step at all. I shoved the MDF into the first slat in the crates - so that the little shelf is basically just resting there, supported by the crates.

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  4. Where did you put the Polyurethane?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I just sprayed the whole table with it to protect the stain.

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  5. Where did you get the crates and the legs from?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got them both from Home Depot - there are links in the post where the supplies are listed out

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    2. The link for the legs goes to a Home Depot page for a kitchen stool. Could you possibly update the link. Please!

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  6. Awesome idea! I love it and will be attempting to make one of my own!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm surprised you used MDF. It seems no matter how careful I am watering plants, water gets under them. When MDF gets wet, it expands like a wood sponge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point! MDF probably isn't the smartest choice. I just went with it since it was the cheapest. Since I used succulents, they require such a minimal amount of water that it hasn't been an issue at all, but if you want to use plants that require more water, a different material would be better!

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  8. What size are the crates???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 18 in x 12.5 in. x 9.5 in - there's a link to the specific ones I used in the post

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  9. What color is the stain and who makes it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Follow up - after about 10 months of use, this idea is great, but I wish I had fought the temptation to buy cheep (<$15) crates - they break down after only a few months.

    It's a great idea so invest in the beginning, cause once they break, it's a pain to fix.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Any way you could provide a visual of how you bracketed the crates together? I'm a very visual person and I absolutely love this idea and want to make it

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is INCREDIBLY helpful. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, its really beautiful, i'll try to make it .. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  14. ¡Qué bonito! Imaginación al poder

    ReplyDelete
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