After we got our second dog about a year ago, the number of dog toys lying around the house multiplied and I finally got tired enough of tripping over them to do something about it. They needed a home, even if they would still wind up spread all over the house over time. I decided I wanted to find a cute wooden crate, attach some kind of feet to it, and toss all the toys inside – but not one of those unfinished ones from the craft store. I’ve got a few of those storing other things around the house, but I wanted this one to be different.
After a few weeks of perusing thrift stores and yard sales, I finally found this antique milk crate on the second day of a 3-day estate sale. We went by after a race one Saturday morning and picked it up for $30 – they gave me the third-day price at 50% off, saving me $15!
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| It came with holes in the bottom already, meaning that I didn’t have to pull out the drill for this one! |
I cleaned the crate up before taking it inside and let it sit for a few weeks as I looked for some cute feet to attach to the bottom of it.
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| It seems like it’s missing something. |
I really wanted to use antique glass doorknobs, but the few that I found cost around $20 each, so I decided to go in a different direction. I went to the knob and hook aisle at Hobby Lobby during a week that they were 50% off and found some that looked like a miniature version of an antique knob for a total of about $8. I also made a trip to my favorite aisle at Lowe’s – the hardware aisle with all the drawers of screws, hooks, corks, etc. – and picked up a few washers for under a buck.
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| Knobs and nuts |
I needed the washers because the nuts that came with the knobs were smaller than the holes on the bottom of the crate, so they kept going through and the knobs would fall off. Once I added the washers on the inside of the crate, the knobs stayed on…
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| A little wobbly |
But they didn’t fit down snugly because the holes were too close to the lip on the bottom of the crate. So I went out to the garage to look around for something to fix the problem, and a little piece of scrap wood caught my eye.
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| That’s better! |
I pulled out the saw and cut the wood scrap down into four pieces about 2″ x 2″. Then I marked where to drill and drilled a hole in each square. They were just the right height to hold the knobs into place.
And in the end, we had a unique new toy box to corral all the little boys’ toys.
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| Playtime! |
It’s so funny to watch them go over to it, put their paws up on it, and pull out a toy to play with. I wonder if we could train them to clean up when they’re finished playing…
Here’s a breakdown of the project:
- Time: 30 minutes
- Cost: ~$40
Thanks for stopping by!
Laura