Friday, September 20, 2013

DIY: Apple Crate Bookshelf Reveal

This has been a long time coming! I have been wanting to build one of these for a while now. Okay, I take that back I have been wanting, my husband, to built one of these for a while. I finally found a decent price for crates on craigslist and Daniel went and picked them up for me! What a catch, that husband of mine ;)
DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls
I was able to purchase seven different crates for $65.00. After doing a lot of research on crate prices, I thought this was a pretty good deal. Most crates I had seen were going anywhere between 12-20 dollars. This is the layout that we finally chose, after moving them around and playing with a few different patterns. 
Here a few instructions:
1. Pick your layout and lie the bins down evenly and screw them together,  
connecting two at a time.
2. Once all of them are screwed together, flip it over and measure out the back. Now you will need a thinner piece of wood - and using several screws attach it to the back (securing the bins in place)
3. Do the same with the bottom (centering both) (SEE PICTURES BELOW)
4. Next we purchased four wheels (with brakes) and screwed them to the bottom of the bookshelf.
DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls
 DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls

That is basically it, as far as putting it together. Next we used a 2 in 1 stain and sealer to coat the crates. They felt and looked a bit dirty so the stain and sealer fixed that right up! Here is the shelf after a coat of the 2 in 1 and another coat of plain polyurethane.
DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls
 I love how it turned out. The back is a little heavier than the front, so locking the wheels and placing it against the wall prevented any tipping issues, however with little miss addie girl on the move we will be attaching it to the wall soon, to ensure it doesn't accidentally tip over. Here are a few pictures of it all set up inside!
DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls
All items I already had but....
WHAT'S ON THE SHELF?
-Washington Apple Sign - Thrift Store ($7.00)
-Milk Glass - all thrift store finds
-Gray decorative candle (ross)
-Dishes - Shopko and Dollar Store
-"W" Frame - Printed out from computer and spray painted dollar store frame
-Wedding gift photo and tea light holder (Michael's)
-Mason Jar with Dollar store Fake flowers
-Random books
-Magazines and thrift store blue jar
-Vintage Coca-Cola crate ($15.00)
Can you tell I'm an avid thrifter? :)
DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls


DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls

DIY - Apple Crate Bookshelf - Orchard Girls
Please feel free to let us know what you think!? We love having your feedback. What is one project that you have been really wanting to do for a while, but just haven't had the time or money? Thank you for sharing with us!





As always, but sure to stop by our Link Party Directory to see where we link up to.

28 comments:

  1. Hi, Kayla. Cuuuute idea! And so functional, too! My newest project, that I'm still working on, is making a solar-lit lighthouse for outdoors, made out of Terra-cotta pots. I hope to complete it this weekend, so maybe I'll be posting it on my blog soon!! Am a new follower on Bloglovin'!
    Ann @ Cairn Cottage (http://cairncottage.blogspot.com/)

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    1. Wow, that sounds impressive! I'll keep an eye out for it! Good luck, and thanks for following along with us.
      -Kayla

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  2. The bottom photo makes it look black/espresso which gives it a contemporary aspect. Nicely done!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by! Yeah, that bottom photo does make it look a lot darker. I actually really like it, maybe I will stain it someday that dark. :)
      -Kayla

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  3. Aww this turned out great!! I've been looking everywhere for these crates!

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    1. Thanks so much, Ann! I had been too. I finally decided to put an in search of ad on craigslist and the next day a guy emailed me saying he had some!! I was so excited. You could give that a try.
      -Kayla

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  4. Hi Kayla, Your I love that you used casters & love how it turned out.We do like to thrift & hoping to get out this weekend to find a re-purpose project. Hope you girls have a great weekend. xo Theresa @DearCreatives

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    1. Thanks so much, Theresa.Oh, good luck on your thrifting trip. Hopefully you'll get some good "finds". We hope you have a great weekend, too!
      -Kayla

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  5. This is a great idea! I love how it's on wheels! :)

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    1. Thanks Kala! It defintiely helps, since it is pretty heavy, and great that they lock too :)
      -Kayla

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  6. Moving around bookshelves is such a hassle, so I love the wheels! We'll be featuring this over at Someday Crafts tomorrow, so come check it out if you have a minute :)

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    1. Thanks, Miranda - if definitely helps with moving it around, and since they lock that works great too. Thank you so much for the feature, too! We are honored :)
      We will be sure to stop by - since we will be linking up as usual!
      -Kayla

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  7. Now this is quite the project,LOVE it:)Great thinking with the castors too.Very rustic and vintage.

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    1. Thank you so much for the comment and stopping by, Deidre! I am currently LOVING all things rustic and vintage :)
      -Kayla

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  8. That's really a nice project...looks like it would be perfect for my closet. Hmmm...now I'm thinking.

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    1. Thank you, Jeanne! Its really pretty simple to make, its just finding the crates that took us the longest! Let us know if you give it a try :)
      -Kayla

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  9. So cool, love how you stained the old wood too, nice touch!

    Tania

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, I thought about leaving it..but it was a bit dirty feeling and I thought it would give it a nice touch and shine!
      -Kayla

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  10. I love this! It's so clever!

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    1. Thank you so much, Laura! Have a wonderful night :)
      -Kayla

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  11. What a great use for apple crates. Love the bookshelf. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures. This is a feature.

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    1. Thank you, Christie!! We are honored that you will be featuring our bookshelf. We hope you have a wonderful week.
      -Kayla

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  12. Looks awesome! Don't forget to link up to The DIY'ers. http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-diyers-30.html

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  13. I absolutely love this. What a wonderful idea. I love recycling any kind of wood. Thanks so much for sharing with us at our Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop.
    Angel

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  14. I LOVE what you have done. You should come show off your creativity starting at 8PM CST at Craft Frenzy Friday! http://obsessiveandcreative.blogspot.com/2013/09/craft-frenzy-friday-6.html It won't be a party without you!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Rhonda. Feel free to visit our Link Party Directory page to link up your party.
      -Kayla

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  15. Wow this turened out great, thanks for sharing at the weekend blog hop, will be featuring and pinning this at the hop on Monday...

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    1. Thank you so much, we're honored! Thanks for featuring our project. We loving linking up with you girls :)
      -Kayla

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