Corralling toys is always a struggle in our home. It seems like the open topped chests work best for our kids to make a clean sweep quickly. They can just toss their stuffed animals all into one, sports stuff in another, etc. Old shipping crates with wheels make perfect toy boxes. I found a free shipping crate on Craigslist and retrofitted into a toy box. Inspired by Pottery Barn Kids Rustic Toy Box with Wheels (no longer sold), which retailed for $299, I created my own version.
Pottery Barn Kids Version (no longer sold):
Supplies:
Old shipping crate
4 — 1×3’s ($1.98 each at Lowes)
4 — wheel castors ($3.96 each at Lowes)
Dark Walnut Minwax Stain
pre-wood conditioner
16 #10 screws
air nailer with air gun
red paint sample: Valspar Heirloom Red in Satin ($2.94 at Lowes)
angled Purdy paintbrush
wood glue
chop saw
pencil for marking
tape measure
sander with varying grits of sandpaper
old T-shirt for applying stain
Minwax Wipe-On Poly
gloves
optional: Silhouette Cameo and vinyl
1. I got this shipping crate free off Craigslist. They were about to throw them out. ROADKILL RESCUE! They actually had 4 more, I should have snaked them all. What was I thinking? Bare minimum I could have recycled the wood. DOH! Moving on… This is what my shipping crate looked like when I got it.
2. The first thing I did was sand all the stickers and writing off. Then I tried to knock off just the 2” x 4” off the bottom but with it came the glued on 1” x 4”. So I had to recut a 1” x 4” that I had laying in my garage to fit the bottom and wood glued and air nailed in place.
3. Then I cut 1”x 4’s” down to frame all four sides of the front and back of the shipping crate wood gluing and air nailing in place.
4. I decided to go for the rustic look so I kept the sides as is. I also liked how it had little handles built in on the sides, which would make it easier to lug around the room once I added caster wheels. What was too rustic for me was the unsightly top though. So I added more 1” x 4”s mitered in the corners to give it more of a finished look and hide the edges of the plywood.
{Squuuueal! Are you catching the vision yet?}
5. So before I nailed the top pieces in place I decided it would be easier if I stained the inside first. So I used Dark Walnut by Minwax applying it with the grain of the wood with an old t-shirt. Since the inside was birch there was no need for pre-wood conditioner because it is a harder wood. Then I glued and nailed the top pieces in place.
6. Using an electric drill I predrilled holes and then screwed in the casters to the bottom of the crate.
7. I did give all the pine pieces a coat of Minwax pre-wood conditioner so my stain would go on evenly — VERY IMPORTANT step when working with soft woods. Then I added stain to the rest of the piece except for the middle section of the front and back.
8. With an angled paintbrush I cut in and painted two coats onto the front and back middle sections of the chest using a sample premixed with Heirloom Red Valspar paint.
9. With an old T-shirt I applied two coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly to the entire piece sanding in between coats to apply a nice even finish.
10. To make it look more like the Pottery Barn Kids Rustic Toy Chest I added vinyl. I actually cut out the vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo to read ”Allan Clark Electric Co, Taylor, MI”. That is the name of my son’s great grandpa’s company and Isaac Allan was named after Grandpa Allan so I thought it would give the piece a little bit more meaning.
Can you believe it??
As you can see the sides are a bit darker than the trim I added because one is birch and one is pine. I knew that going into it but I decided to use two different woods anyway. I think it adds to the rustic feel of the piece and I love it.
From shipping crate to rolling toy chest. I would say that is quite a
Roadkill Rescue!
Would you like to see another idea for repurposing a crate? How about an outdoor crate storage table?
Do you want more kid’s storage ideas?
WOW!! What a great Roadkill Rescue, Beckie. Love that you personalized your version with family names. 🙂 Bravo!!
Beckie I love this box! You did a beautiful job!
Susan
I absolutely love this roadkill rescue, amazing job – you rock!
Wow…this is the first I’ve heard of Katie Davis. Thank you for posting that video. I watched the full speech on You Tube and started my morning with tears. What an amazing and special woman! I will be sharing her message on my own blog this week. God bless!
Awesome project Beckie. I love it. I always want to put wheels on things, but I’m afraid my boys will take it for a ride down the stairs 🙂 Fabulous job.
I think this is just too cool! I love finding old things to recreate. Pat can’t pass up any old wooden boxes.
Great job! Especially love the meaning behind the words!
Soooo awesome Beckie! I think I will do this for my nephew’s new baby that is going to be arriving soon! Fun little nursery decor. Your talents continue to amaze me.
You are so amazingly talented!! Makes me want to get a bunch of power tools 🙂 I think these would make great outdoor planters too. I didn’t watch the video yet but that sounds pretty amazing.
I’ve always like you, but now even more — you have family from Taylor, MI! Me too! Small world! Great project!
wow that is totally awesome and very creative. Love it!
That’s really fantastic … I can’t believe you made it. It just looks amazing.
The transformation is amazing. Your are very talented. I’m going hunting for shipping crates:)
HA! Yah this will definitely be on the first floor and we have no basement. That would scare the crap out of me!
Beckie, I love how your creative mind works!! This project is amazing and I always love your roadkill rescue projects!!
YAY! thanks Kari.
Beckie, that is so awesome!!! You are always such a great source of inspiration, bravo girl!
xo
Kate