This diy-er is at it again! I recently added the perfect accent table to my kitchen using wood crates from a local craft store. I really wanted to display my tiered tray in the kitchen, but the thought of taking up counter space or my kitchen table gave me anxiety. I didn’t want to have to constantly move it out of the way and it wasn’t really the look I was going for. My heart was set on a specific corner and really couldn’t find a table for the space. I take that last part back I did find some tables but to the tune of hundreds of dollars. No thanks!
I’m not someone who will spend a fortune on furniture so I’m always on the look out for diy projects to accomplish the same look. If you are like me this project is perfect for you and it was cheaper than most stuff you can find in local stores. Most of those stores require you to assemble the furniture anyways so why not just make your own? Keep reading to see how you can have the same or similar look at your own home. You can really add your own flair to this wood crate table with paint, stain, and leg choices for the table.
DIY Tutorial – Wood Crate Table
Time & Materials
- Project time: Approximately 3 hours
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Cost: $$ (varies depends on materials used)
- Disclaimer – Some of the links below may be affiliate links which means I may make a small commission but at no additional cost to you. I only promote products I actually use.
- Materials Needed
- Wood Crate(s)
- Hairpin Legs
- Paint or Stain
- Foam or Paint Brush
- Wood Glue
- Finishing Wax
- Rags
- Orbital Sander or Sand Paper
- Hammer
- Brads
- Drill & Bit
- Optional Materials
- Wood Clamps
- Brad Nailer
- Additional wood for top piece
- Screws
- Polyurethane
- Gloves (if you don’t like getting your hands dirty)
Steps
- Prep the wood crates.
The first step you want to do is prep the wood crates by sanding all of the surfaces. I purchased my crates from here. Since they are unfinished the surfaces were pretty rough so I used my orbital sander to smooth out all of the sides – inside and out. You can also do this by hand and use sand paper for this step.
- Paint or stain the crates.
Next you want to paint or stain your crates. I wanted my piece to have a pop of color so I used Martha Stewart Vintage Decor Paint in River Rock. I did two coats of paint but you can do more or less depending on the look you want to achieve.
- Attach the two crates.
After the paint has dried the next step is to attach the crates together with wood glue and brads or wood glue and clamps.
- Brad nail the two crates together or use a hammer and brads.
I used my clamps, wood glue, and my brad nailer for this step but honestly you can hammer in the brads with a traditional hammer.
- Hammer excess brads down flat against crate.
My brads were a little too long so I just hammered them down. You can achieve this step with a hammer and brads just by tapping the brad flat against the side of the crate. *You can skip this step if you used wood glue only.*
- Top of table. (Optional)
I wanted the top of my table to be a solid piece of wood. Since I stacked my crates horizontally on top of each other the slats of the crate formed the top. I wood glued and clamped 3 – 1×4 pieces to each other that measured 19 inches long.
- Stain or paint top of table.
After the glue dried I sanded the top piece of wood and stained with my favorite Varathane Briarsmoke stain.
- Attach the top of the table.
I used my brad nailer and wood glue to secure the new top to the crates. If you don’t have a brad nailer a hammer and brads will get the job done the same. You can also use wood glue and clamps for this part as well.
- Add the legs.
The next step is to add the hairpin legs to the bottom crate. I did run into a small obstacle with this step. The screws that came with the legs were too long for the crates. I happen to have some smaller screws at home on hand.
Line up the legs on the bottom surface and use your drill with the bit to make starter holes for the screws. Next use your drill to secure the screws to the bottom of the crate. I used the screws that came with the legs for the corner screws and used the smaller screws for the other screw locations.
Carefully drill the screws that line up on the slats since they are thin and may split if you over drill the screws.
- Finish the crate table surface.
The final step is to seal the surface of the crate table. I personally love to you use finishing wax on most wood surfaces. I used a dark finish wax so that it would make my paint color a little richer. Finishing wax is super easy to use. Apply it liberally with a lint free rag and then buff the surface with another clean rag after 10 minutes.
You can certainly use a polyurethane finish as well, but I’m just too impatient to wait for it to dry.
Final Thoughts
I will say that I love the end result but I did run into a few obstacles along the way. I wish that I was a little more patient sanding the crates because the finishing wax was difficult to apply along the slats of the crate. Originally, I planned to use the crate upright and not horizontal but it didn’t give me enough height. Since I changed the orientation of the crate the screws for the legs were too long for the slats. I was able to modify with smaller screws but I made it work. Not every diy project will go smoothly and you may have to improvise along the way.
I hope you found this diy wood crate table tutorial helpful. If you end up making one please let me know how you made out. I would love to see the finished product. If you run into any trouble along the way I’m only an email away to help.
In the mean time here’s the new home for my lemon inspired tiered tray. I’m also working on styling the rest of the wood crate table so be sure to keep your eyes out.
Wood crate table holding my lemon inspired tiered tray.
Thanks for checking out Creative Mockingbird and you can see my other diy projects here.
