Upcycle Your Old Wine Crates! Check Out Tinuke Odunfa’s D-I-Y Steps

I went shopping at my local grocery store, or supermarket , a couple weeks ago. There was a lady stocking the wine shelves. I spotted the awesome little wood crates that they came out of. Of course I dashed there and asked if I could have them. They were the cutest little things.

I had no clue what I was going do with them. Maybe to store items in my room, as a stool, no idea. I left them just sitting in a corner till it came to me.

My ‘aha moment’: I will use them to store my vast collection of perfumes. It definitely doesn’t compare to my friend, Shaly Waly’s collection. (puts mine to utter shame). Nonetheless, I shall use it to store and display my lovely perfume bottles. But first, I have to make it super cute.

To complete this easy-peasy DIY project,  the following items:
1.2 empty wooden wine crates
2. Gold spray paint
3. Silver spray paint
4. White (spray) paint
5. Masking tape
6. Scissors
7. Cardboard boxes or old scrap newspaper
8. Ruler
9. Pencil
10. Utility knife

How To
Measure and divide the front part of your crates into 4 equal parts. Draw the vertical lines in with a pencil.

Cut pieces of the masking tape. Start to place them at a diagonal starting from left to right. The right corner should stop at the first line drawn. Use your utility knife to cut down the excess of the tape down along the penciled in line.

In the same diagonal, stick the tape from where the first ones end, going upward from right to left, forming a ‘V’. Again, cut the excess along the next penciled in line. Try to place them at equal distances as much as possible. Also match the angle of the beginning of the strip of tape to the adjoining one. Press on the tape so you don’t have room for paint to seep in.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach the end of your crate. Tweak it to perfection. If it isn’t tidy, cut off excess, or add more tape to exposed areas until you get the chevron pattern correctly.

Tape long diagonals across the rest of the sides and back. Try to start where the last one ends.

Take your fully taped crates outside, place it on some newspapers or old cardboard boxes. Hold the can at a distance and cover the body with the silver spray paint. Add a few splashes of gold here and there to give it a gradient-like effect.

When it is dry to touch, peel off the tape.

Give the paint about 30 minutes to an hour to be completely dry (depending on your paint). Now start to tape over all the painted portion so as to expose only the negative space.

Spray with the white spray paint.
When it is dry, peel of the tape.

There you have it, the cutest little statement piece of storage or even décor. So much for using it to store perfumes. I ended up placing some giant chess pieces in it and using it to decorate my office. I’ve got a lot of compliments about it and nobody believes it when I tell them what it actually is. This, my dears, is upcycling. I will bring you more of these types of projects.

Please don’t forget to share pictures of your completed projects with me when you attempt any of the DIY projects. Tag me on Instagram @lagosinteriordesigner and Twitter @tinuke and or hashtag your pictures #liDIYers
Also, please make suggestions for DIY projects that you would like to see. Someone may get an awesome, cheap and cheerful solution for their home or party in the process.
Happy DIY-ing.