6 Ways to Repurpose an Old Wine Crate

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A few months ago I met a nice lady on Craigslist who I now refer to as my "dealer."

Turns out her husband used to work at a liquor store, and over the years they accumulated some wine crates.

The starting point for 6 different wine crate repurposed projects

Well hello there!! Come to mama...

She sold them to me for $6 a piece, and although I didn't know what to do with them at the time, I knew they had potential.

Two weeks ago I challenged myself to 7 DIY projects in 7 days using only the materials in my garage.

Naturally the first thing I did (aside from starting a huge pot of coffee) was to deconstruct all the gorgeous wine crates stacked under my work bench.

With the exception of stain and some butt hinges (totaling ~ $20), I stuck to my plan. Here's what I created over the course of one week, complete with a tutorial for each item.

Jump to:

1. An Oily Shelf
2. A Farmhouse Tool Caddy
3. A Decorative Vase
4. A Herringbone Serving Tray
5. A Wood Lantern
6. A drop leaf table for a kid's play kitchen

1. An Oily Shelf

Make this shelf for essential oil storage from an old wine crate! Cheap, practical, and fun.

Calling all essential oil collectors and oily enthusiasts! Most wine crates feature built-in grooves tailor made for slide-in shelving. My friend wanted at least two shelves and an open area for some of her larger bottles.

Everything was finished with whitewash stain to give it a clean, rustic finish.

2. A Farmhouse Tool Caddy

DIY Farmhouse Tool Caddy made from a repurposed wine crate! #farmhousedecor

The hardest part of this project was making a template for the side profile. Once I tinkered with the outline and got something resembling good, I traced the profile onto leftover beadboard.

3. A Decorative Vase

Make a decorative vase out of an old wine crate! And 5 other ways to repurpose an old wine crate.

I saw something similar in the grocery store and thought, "Hey, I could make that!" See how I did it here. And for a whole lot less than what they charge at the store, no less.

4. A Herringbone Serving Tray

Get this extensive tutorial for not only how to make a wood tray, but how to add a herringbone inlay. All from an old wine crate! #herringbone #diydecor #woodworking #tipsandtricks

By far one of the most tedious things I've ever made... but also the prettiest! The pieces were cut from pre-stained strips of wine board ripped to 1 1/4", then secured with nails and wood glue. Get the full rundown here.

5. A Wood Lantern

how to make a wood lantern from an old wine crate! #woodworking #diydecor #falldecor

The only thing hard about this tutorial is breaking down your wine crate and configuring the right dimensions for your candle. The rest is easy. It helps if you have a table saw, but that's not necessarily a deal breaker. Get the build instructions here.

6. A drop leaf table for a kid's play kitchen

Learn how to add a drop leaf table to your kid's kitchen following this farmhouse hack tutorial!

I'd been dying to upgrade Evan's play kitchen ever since I heard about the oh-so-trendy Kmart Cubby House Hack. To see how I finished the rest of the kitchen, head here.

Wine crates are a lot like used pallets; you can usually get them for free or cheap if you know where to look.
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Wine crates are slightly easier to take apart since they're smaller and a lot less dirty. Best of all, your wood comes pre-designed with beautiful vintage artwork. If you can't find your own Craigslist dealer, try asking a few liquor stores if they would donate a few leftovers to your cause 🙂

I hope these tutorials got your juices flowing; happy upcycling!