How to make a bookshelf

How to make a bookshelf

Note: This is a sponsored post for The Home Depot Foundation. Every thought, opinion, and experience is 100% my own.

For the Celebration of Service event this year, I had the honor of creating a storage unit for Richard Hutchison and his brother, John. See, John was hit by a drunk driver and paralyzed from the chest down 10 years ago. Richard, a 20 year veteran of the Army, has been taking care of his brother ever since. As Mr. Hutchinson gets older, it is harder and harder for him to take care of his brother whose bedroom is upstairs. In the last year, if Richard needs to take John out of the house, he has to call the fire department to move him. Team Depot heard about their situation and came up with a plan to help. Together, they decided to turn the downstairs living room into a bedroom for John and create a wheelchair accessible bathroom downstairs. Currently there was only a half bath off of the living room. Richard and John asked if I would be willing to help with storage solutions for the new bedroom. They have a ton of books, family pictures, and a giant model car collection that they both adore.

I’ve always wanted to test out the unfinished crates from Home Depot and finally I had the perfect project! I love that the crates are already made, can be painted or stained any color, and fit together to form a storage solution for any space. Here’s what I came up with for John’s new bedroom.

This might be the easiest piece of furniture you ever build! Here’s what you’ll need:

• 5 large crates ($11.97 each from Home Depot)
• Stain or paint of your choice (I used Rustoluem Ultimate Wood Stain in weathered grey)
• Purdy paintbrush (Purdy brushes are the best!)
• Drop cloth (To stain or paint the crates on.)

So, how to build a bookshelf? Give each crate 2 coats of stain with a paintbrush. The end! Well, then decide how you want to stack them. Now, if you have small children, I would recommend screwing the crates together and attaching them to the wall. But, if you don’t have kids (or pets), they are sturdy enough on their own. I also like the idea of not screwing them together so that you can easily rearrange the shape whenever you’d like! I did not screw them together for the Celebration of Service event since kids do not live in the Hutchinson’s home.

Here is the crate storage solution all set up in John’s new bedroom! Cleary the walls still need a little paint and the outlet covers needs to be screwed back on, but you get the point.

I wanted to show you a few more ways you could possibly arrange the 5 crates. Here’s a stair step idea that stores all things Maxwell.

And here are the 5 crates stocked with shoes. Maybe for a closet, laundry room, or entry way?

And a simple square 4 crate option, just for fun!

I’m excited to share more details about the Celebration of Service and exactly what we did to improve the function and beauty of their home next week! Oh and have you ever made crate furniture? I’d love to hear!

Original article and pictures take www.creatingreallyawesomefunthings.com site