One of my favorite “time wasters” is perusing Instagram and lusting over gorgeous photos of farmhouse decor in inspiring homes… think Joanna Gaines and her ilk. I get so many ideas and so much inspiration for our own home, but the thing I always wonder is, where is all these people’s STUFF?? Because if your family is like mine, there are shoes and socks tossed on the floor inside the front door, piles of mail on the entry table/ counter and a cabinet full of DVDs in family room, none of which are cute OR inspiring. We are a REAL family and we have STUFF, which doesn’t keep me from TRYING to have a cute or inspiring home. I am just trying to find places that might look cuter to keep our stuff.
Not too long ago I spotted a post by one of my fav Instagrammers, Donna of FunkyJunkInteriors, who had repurposed some old wooden crates into a neat little “cart” of sorts to serve as a side table in her living room. I immediately thought of the PILE of vintage fruit crates I insisted we move (twice) because “they are cool and I can do something with them,” AND the unsightly pile of cookbooks I inherited from my Mother, that has been sort of haphazardly sitting in a weird space in our family room until I could figure out what to do with them. LIGHT BULB MOMENT!! I could make my own cart to store the cookbooks, it would be functional and cute and fit with our farmhouse decor! I ran the idea by my hubby who was immediately on board, (I think he envisioned a few of those crates leaving his work space) and we headed to the hardware store for supplies.
I scrubbed the crates with mild soapy water and the jet attachment of our hose and left them to dry in the sun. One dry I gave them a coat of poly sealer to bring out the pretty wood and make them easily wipeable. Once they dried it was as easy as screwing the crates one on top of the other and attaching casters to the bottom. I chose rubber all direction casters so it would roll easily and not scratch up our wood floor any worse than it already is. We chose to add a piece of barn wood (cut to seize) to the bottom to reinforce the bottom and really give the caster screws something to hold onto.
And voila!! A cute little cart ready to hold cookbooks!!
This is only a FRACTION of the cookbooks I inherited.. there are larger ones on a bookcase and I forced myself to really PURGE to what I thought we would use. I love how it turned out and how handy it is. I think I will make another one for the art studio. Where would you use this?

This is SO cute and looks easy. I made a similar cart out of three old crates last summer. Lovely!
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They are so handy. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner! LOL
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This is so creative…I would love to subscribe your blog. I love DYI
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Thank you so much Jillian, you can subscribe by clicking the button over in the right column. 🙂
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Upcycling is my new favorite thing. I look at everything with a different perspective now.
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I absolutely love this DIY! It is so cute and on trend right now.
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I love farmhouse decor! Looks great.
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This is super cute! I also love farmhouse decor but wonder where the ‘grammers keep all their stuff!
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This is such a great use for a crate. I would love to make one. Thanks for sharing.
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I love DIY woodworks and crafts. This looks so vintage and rustic. A creative way to decorate your space. Thanks for sharing your idea here.
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Such a great way to repurpose an item. Much better than a generic old bookcase
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I have to try this. This is such a wonderful way of reusing these carts! I’d love to convert one into a bookshelf for my bedside!
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I absolutely love this! The rustic feel is amazing!
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