Design Bleuprint: Upcycling Soda Crates

Here’s a refreshing way for upcycling soda crates!

I love to create footstools from soda crates, or as we say in the south, Coke crates! Haha!

The first step is to paint or stain the feet you want to use. Cute feet can be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot fairly inexpensively. But there are several online sources as well. One of my favorites is Osbourne Wood Products. They are located in North Georgia and their customer service and selection is incredible. This is not a sponsored post, I just like to share my favorite resources.

So once I have my feet ready to go, I attached them to the crate. I flip the crate over and mark where I want them in each corner. This is super easy with my little orange square. I found this square on a junking trip. This small square is such a handy tool, I can’t tell you how many times I reach for it.

So another important tip in picking out a crate is to make sure the bottom is in good shape. I love that crates are rustic and well used, but often these crates are in bad shape. The bottom needs to be sturdy enough to support the feet. And I like stools that are strong enough to sit on, so you don’t want the bottom to break on you!

I drill the holes and bolt the feet into the crate. Sometimes (usually) I will replace the hanger bolts included with the feet with longer bolts so that the feet can be securely attached. Hanger bolts are thredded on both ends allowing you to screw it into the foot and use a washer and nut on the other end. These can be purchased at a hardware or big box store.

Next step is to add a piece of plywood to the top. I cut the plywood to size and using my nail gun, I secure it to the top of the crate.

Now I add foam rubber. I buy foam in large sheets, as it is more cost effective. My trusty electric knife makes it so easy to cut the foam to the perfect size. I got this knife at a consignment store, brand new in the box!!

From the picture, you can see that I cut the foam slightly larger than the crate. I think this creates a nice full cushion for the top of the stool. The foam is attached to the top plywood using a pneumatic staple gun. You have the grab the bottom edge of the foam with the gun and staple it to the plywood, sometimes actually shooting into the side of the plywood.

Next I cover the foam with batting. The batting is used to help shape the foam edges, making the cushion more rounded. This is done by pulling the batting securely  and stapling. Be sure to use a large enough piece of batting that allows you to pull and shape the foam. Start by tacking the foam in the center front, back then on each side, then work out from the center of each side to the end. The ends should be neatly folded and stapled as if you were wrapping a package. Once you have completely stapled it on all sides, you need to trim the excess batting. Be sure to trim this very close to the plywood.

The fabric is applied exactly like the batting. But be sure to line up or adjust the pattern so that the end result is neat. So again, make one or two staples in the fabric to the front center plywood, then do the same on the back center, then the two sides. Now that the fabric is tacked in place on all four sides you and can finish each side. Be sure to always work from the center out, pulling the fabric taut and smoothing as you go. This will give you a smooth finished product. Trim off the excess fabric close to the plywood.

The final step is to add some trim to hide any staples that may be showing. I just hot glue the trim on.

And viola! It’s done!

Once you have mastered this upcycled project you can translate it to any box shape. I have made stools from wine crates, apple crates, and even a drawer. Check them out in this post. Hope you enjoyed this project. Let me know what you think!