Plastic milk crates have found themselves becoming all sorts of DIY furniture pieces. They line homes as stools, ottomans, tables, and of course, shelves. Stack them, hang them, or leave them be, and those crates won’t disappoint you with their functionality.
It’s their appearance that could use a little help. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with leaving them as is, huddled up against the wall. Why not give some milk crates a refresh? Get stylish like DIYer Jay Munee who turned a set of plastic crates into a cube storage cabinet.
When you watch the tutorial below, you won’t believe your eyes. Using materials from Dollar Tree, Jay assembled a chic gold unit for her bathroom. And it has see-through doors, y’all. Jump below to see how it’s done!
DIY Crate Cabinet
Materials
- 5 x 7 picture frames – 3
- Mini plastic milk crates – 9
- Utility hinges
- Hot glue gun
- Side cutters
- E6000 clear adhesive
- Masking tape
- Magnet strip
- Metal thumbtacks
- Zip ties
- Spray paint (Jay uses metallic gold)
- Toilet paper holder and/or adhesive hooks (optional)
Instructions
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Gut the Frames
Remove the backing and guts of the frames. Using the side cutters, clip the metal placeholder tabs from the frames.
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Attach Hinges
Attach 2 hinges to one side of a crate with E6000. Hold them in place with tape until they dry. Repeat with other crates that will have doors.
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Frame It
Dot the hinges with E6000 and attach the picture frame to them. Allow to dry. You should be able to flip it open and shut on the crate. Remove the tape.
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Assemble It
Begin assembling your crates by applying E6000 to the sides that will lock together. Like Jay, you can use the adhesive just for the bottom row. Bind them together with a clip to dry.
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Stack & Fasten
Stack the remaining rows of crates until a shelving unit is formed. Fasten the crates with zip ties.
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Add Accents
Jay added a toilet paper holder and plastic hooks to the upper edges of the shelves to use as holders. You can attach some with E6000.
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Paint It
Bring cabinet outdoors to spray paint. Be sure to cover all surfaces evenly; allow to dry.
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Magnetize It
Cut a small piece of magnetic stripping and glue it to the inside of the frame “door”. Push metal thumbtacks into crate.
Jay used small crates to create a cabinet that’s compact enough to fit in her bathroom. You can follow this project to a T or pick your own size and number of cubes to use. Go bigger or go smaller! Just be sure to get the right picture frame size to match your storage crates.
Click on the video to see how this turns out and the other tricks Jay Munee uses in this tutorial to make her stylish storage piece. You might get inspired to tweak this budget-friendly design for your personal space. Stack it, rack it, paint it, use it!
What do you think of this cool crate project? Could you picture this in your own home?
