Crate on Wheels – DIY Toy Storage Tutorial
Crate on Wheels. Learn how to make a DIY Toy Storage with this tutorial by Ingrid from Now At Home Mom.
Hello “The DIY dreamer” readers! My name is Ingrid. I blog at Now At Home Mom where I write about DIY projects, crafts, delicious dessert recipes and sometimes about my little 2 year old boy Nate.
I would love to thank Christine for having me today! I have an easy and fun DIY project to share with you; using crates and paint to create a fun toy storage solution for my son.
This post also contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Crate on Wheels – DIY Toy Storage Tutorial
Supplies:
- 1 small bottle of blue acrylic paint
- 4 small bottles of white acrylic paint
- Rust-Oleum chalk board spray black paint
- 2 wood crates
- 8 swivel plate wheels
- 2 miniature canvas stands
Instructions:
I started by applying the acrylic paint with a medium size paint brush directly on the wood.
No sanding was necessary for this project because I was working with untreated wood.
I outlined a rectangle using painter’s tape and spray painted it using Rust-Oleum chalk board spray black paint.
I waited three hours before removing the painter’s tape to ensure a perfect rectangle.
I had previously bought mini canvases for future projects, and I felt that the wood from the canvas stands would make the perfect frame for my chalkboard rectangle.
I measured the outline of the chalkboard rectangle and used my miter saw box to cut the pieces as per the measurements to create the frame.
I painted the small wood pieces in white to blend in with the rest of the crates.
I framed the chalkboard rectangle by gluing the pieces of the miniature canvas stand.
Here is the difference of appearance between the two crates, where one has had the frame completed and the other one has only the chalkboard paint. As you can see, the frame adds a layer of texture and charm.
I decided to add wheels to each crate, so that my son Nate, could move them around at his leisure without damaging the floors. We bought the smallest size available for the wheels, however the spacing of the screw holes were bigger than the wood of the side of the crate. I was only able to put 2 out of 4 screws per wheel.
I was going to leave the inside of the crates untouched but decided to give them a coat of white paint too.
Not all my ideas turn out the way I envision them, the blue acrylic paint I chose stood out too much against the white, so I decided to soften the blue by washing out the color with a mix of white acrylic paint and water.
I then sand it. I loved how it looked, so I decided to sand the entire crate to give it a distress look.
Voila, these simple crates are now transformed. Since, I made this for my son, he has played with them and moved them from room to room.
As I am writing this post, I can see them in our main living room and they still look great.
See, told you this was an easy and fun project to do, you can get creative with different colors that could work well with your kid’s play room décor.
I would love it if you would stop by and visit me at my blog Now At Home Mom anytime!
Thanks again Christine for inviting me and letting me share with your readers.
Wish everyone a great day!
Ingrid
P.S. If you are looking for another fun storage solution, how about a controller stand with a charging port, headphone stand, and storage box!
SUPER CUTE!! My nieces just moved in. SO going from no kids to 2 I need all the help I can get, and these are awesome! Found You through See vanessa craft. New Bloglovin Follower Here!
Hi, I know that Jouet is the French word for “toy,” but what is “livre”? I didn’t remember that word from high school (yikes, almost 40 years ago!)French, so I looked it up and it is described as an obsolete French currency.
Hi Nance, ‘LIVRES’ is for books, we live in Montreal and we speak both languages so I decided to write it in French these two words for my son :-)
Thank you so much Christine for having me today for my first guest post! :-)
Ingrid
Ingrid, wow! Congrats on your first guest post!! And your rolling storage crates are amazing!! I can just see him pushing it around….or a couple kids racing them! Very awesome!
:-) Thank you so much Amy! He pushes them around all the time and wants to go inside of them too but we stop him so he doesn’t break them! thanks again Amy!
Ingrid – I see hear your usual awesome pictures and clear instructions. Looks like a nice project
Oh! thank you very much Larry :-) glad you recognized my tutorials and thank you so much for stopping by too! I appreciated it!
Cute! Love the finish, the casters, and that you framed the chalkboard. Love.
Kristin
ExploringDomesticity.blogspot.com
thank you so much!
Goodness Ingrid! You are so talented. Those are great!
Thank you very much Kelli! you are so sweet! :-)
The crates look so cute Ingrid! I love the chalkboard labels!, I wonder if it would also work to use an old empty picture frame… Do you think? I have some of those lying around… I love the labels in French too… Our older son is in French Immersion and it is so cute to hear him start speaking to us in French now!
Krista
I have followed Ingrid for ages, she always comes up with clever ideas and executes them perfectly :-)
I love this! I need these for my boys!
These storage crates are just too awesome! Love the chalkboard label to keep everything organized!
Selene
What a good idea with the wheels! I like the chalkboard front too! I’ll definitely be adding those 2 features to the crates we’ve already got for our boy’s toys!
These are so adorable. I love the chalkboard idea so you could change what is stored in the boxes. Thanks!
~Erin
I just came across your site on I heart nap time. These turned out really great. Thank you for the thorough tutorial. I’m going to give this project a shot! Thanks for the inspiration!
Ingrid – This looks like a lot of work, but totally worth it for easy and convenient storage for kids… and you could do this for anything! Hugs, Holly
These look great, I love the colors. The wheels are ideal for hardwood, love them. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah
What a great idea! I love new and creative ideas for storing toys! Thanks for sharing.
What a cute idea! Ingrid is always so creative. I love her style! Thanks so much for sharing these cute crates with us, Ingrid and Christine!
~Abby =)
Great project and it turned out great! Why do I think if I did this my son would just be pushing the carts all over the room? LOL
I love these crates! I especially like that they are on casters. :)
Adorable! Love this! I just found your blog via ABFOL. I am just starting a new link-up party and I’d love for you to share your projects!
Mary
Congratulations Ingrid on your first guest post! It was great and your craft was perfect, as usual! LOVE it!
Love those boxes! The chalkboard labels and wheels are brilliant!
So cute found you via: Whimsy Wednesday! I love a DIY project!!
Christine – terrific idea and easy to do. Great step-by-step tutorial.
What a great idea. I love that the kids can roll them over to where they’re playing. They could also fit great under a bench or side table.
Very clever storage solution! Pinning!
Blessings,
Nici
I love these Christine! So cute and functional! Thanks so much for sharing at the Inspiration Exchange – we’ll be featuring these tomorrow. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoyed Canada Day last weekend!
Jenn :)
My kid would enjoy rolling these down the stairs – with the cant inside! Cute idea. Pinned! Thanks for sharing on Two Cup Tuesday!
i sure do love me a crate!! well done!
Love it!! What a great storage idea!
I featured you this week!
So cute!! I’m always looking for creative and cute toy storage, love this!
I have been wanting to add some crates with wheels to my pantry but cant’ seem to find some that I can DIY myself. I may have squealed a little when you said you got yours at Michal’s. Yay! Now I know where I’m going. Yours turned out great!:)
Love it! I pinned and stumbled it :)