On Saturday, October 6th at our Portland store, DIY expert Shannon Quimby and Anne DeWolf, Head Designer and Co-Owner of Arciform, will share examples of how they have incorporated reclaimed materials into their projects, and how you can, too.

Shannon Quimby is a published author, HGTV designer, and one of the nation’s top salvage experts. Here, she shares her latest DIY idea – repurposing a wood crate as a storage ottoman – which will be given away to one lucky holder of a Portland Salvage Home Tour ticket.

Wood crates do double duty as storage ottomans

There are some day-to-day household items that no matter where you store them or how often you pick them up, keep resurfacing on the floor, the couch, or someplace they don’t belong. In my home, it’s remote controls, pet toys, baseball hats, books, and old magazines. I’m sure you can add to the list.

A great way to keep these home accessories corralled is with crates. They are inexpensive, easy to come by, and make the perfect spot to quickly hide small items. But they do have a drawback: no lid. So even once you’ve got the clutter collected in one spot, it’s still exposed clutter.

Problem solved: with a scrap piece of wood panel, some leftover burlap, and fabric batting, the unattractive contained piles disappear. But the good news doesn’t stop there. What once were just ordinary, discarded crates, have now been DIY’ed into functional and good-looking furniture. And as we all know, you can never have enough storage.

Now, if only I can figure out how to get coats hung up and shoes put away neatly and regularly…