Adjustable Crate Furniture

Who knew that one type of wooden crate could be so flexible!

My wife and I have not yet settled down, which yields the inevitable event of moving every few years. Every apartment / home is different in color, texture, light quality, and spatial volume. Therefore, we did not want to be locked in to specific furniture pieces. We are fans of DIY when it makes sense, and we liked the idea of furniture that could:

be flexible in the way it lays out
be easy to move and pack
engage us in creating our space

SOLUTION = Wooden Crates

You can find wooden crates all over – from some big box retailers to old barns to the internet. They come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. We were inspired seeing the many DIY pieces online that people have created, but we noticed that most pieces were singular objects that were permanent fixtures in a space. We thought “could we use wooden crates for the entirety of our living room furniture without limiting it’s arrangement?”

Yes we can! No glue required. All we needed were:

wooden crates (purchased from Walmart – dimensions 9.5″ x 12.5″ x 18″)
wood screws (#6, lengths 1/2″ and 3/4″)

We currently have 27 wooden crates (not including our coffee table), one package of 100 – 1/2″ screws, and one package of 100 – 3/4″ wood screws.

Instead of permanent glue, we utilize small wood screws to hold our crates in place. This mechanical fastening allows us to easily remove and re-arrange as needed. Small screw holes remain, which provides character to the wood as the furniture evolves (and is rarely noticed when things are on the shelves). Our creative juices can flow, and our living area can evolve to meet our needs!

Want some added appeal? We added some standard marble tiles on top of some crates for both style and function. The rough side on the back of the tile in contact with the wood keeps the tiles generally in place without fastening.

SOLUTION POSSIBILITIES