If you're looking for a way to stretch your design budget, these wine crate night stands are an easy and affordable way to go.
When it comes to furnishing and decorating your home, buying quality pieces that you love and that will stand the test of time is the way to go. While some pieces of decor might get swapped out or added as time goes by (new pillow covers, paint changes, little items picked up while traveling), the foundation pieces will remain. Since it is not always possible to have your dream furnishings, try starting slowly. Save up for that one item that you will always love and in the mean time, use your creativity and make do with temporary solutions — like this easy wine crate nightstand DIY.
Jacquelyn of the design blog Lark & Linen shows how easy this project is on her site, and explains:
When Justin and I first moved into our condo we picked up a few discarded wine boxes at the LCBO for a dollar a piece, unsure of what exactly we'd do with them. For the last year they've sat stacked next to our bed as a nightstand placeholder until we could afford those we really wanted.Though they were unfinished, their rough and tumbleness began to grow on me. When operation get-bedroom-finished came into full swing not long ago, I decided they could stick around (dang budget) but they needed to step it up. Enter: stain.
After two quick coats (and three days of air drying on the balcony), I brought them in and couldn't believe the immediate difference.
The result feels rustic and well-loved, bringing about an immediate sense of warmth. Extra bonus: you would never even guess that the entire project cost a mere three dollars (plus a can of stain, which I happened to have on hand). I think I'll keep them around, for a while at least.
Find the full instructions at Lark & Linen: Condo life: $3 nightstands.
(Images: Lark & Linen)
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Absolutely adore this idea. It gives such a great character to the crates and turning them into something super useful and environmentally friendly. Love it! Great post guys :)
This is the greatest idea. As a wine lover and not-so-proud owner of rubbermaid tote nightstands, I am officially in search of crates!
how does staining them turn them into a nightstand?
SGV- It doesn't.
These are beautiful; the only issue is that wine crates are becoming increasingly hard to find due to their rising popularity. Maybe if AT stops posting about them I'll be able to snag a few here in Chicago! ;) I did find some from a garage sale not too long ago, along with some vintage Pepsi crates, but for all of the DIY wine crate projects I've dreamed up they're not enough. If anyone knows a good source here in Chi-town, lemme know!
This is a great post.
^ LJSCARPELLO, I'm with you on that one. Guess I'm going to hit up some liquor stores?
$1 at the LCBO??? I am so jealous. I can never ever find them at any of our local LCBO's and even if I find them at thrift stores they're still a hell of a lot more. They look great as a table!
i love the rustic look! For me, i would've permanently affixed the wine crates together with braces or nails to keep them from shifting and busted out the front panel of one of the crates (either the top or middle one) so i could have a mini shelf. since they're temporary nightstands, they should at least have SOME function!
Thank you, SGV.
If you have any friends in food and bev ask them to ask their different wine reps to let them know when they get some in. Or I'd you are a wine lover chances are you frequent the same shop/store. Ask them to see if they can get some for you!
@LJSCARPELLO agreed. I found some for $20-30/crate. Unbelievable.
Yo, buy three cases of wine and then you get, get this, THE CASES with them and a DISCOUNT on the wine.
Also, one can turn a bucket or a stool, or a taxidermy dog into a nightstand if one wishes. THERE ARE NO LAWS AGAINST NIGHTSTAND CREATION.
LIZZYC - thanks for the laugh!
I wish I could find a few crates my way. When I had no need for them the local vineyard was practically giving them away. Now I can't find them anywhere.
Super late but the chain store Total Wine sells them for $5 whenever they get them in, usually Thursdays where I'm from (NC). I'm making this but I'm attaching them together permanently.