Milk Crate Furniture How-to

Reader Contribution by Instructables
Published on February 20, 2013
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This article was originally posted in Instructables and was reposted with permission from Will Holman.

Milk crates are the classic dorm-room, bachelor-pad, record-crating, ready-made storage. The logic is unassailable: They’re modular, stackable, sturdy and cheap.

But can they be elevated, aesthetically and practically? I tried before, and came up with a quick wall-mounted solution. Recently, I came into a trove of crates while demolishing an old building at work. I wanted to come up with a piece of free-standing milk crate furniture that didn’t look cheap.

This milk crate credenza is light, strong and handsome enough, reveling in rugged simplicity. A beautiful wood top contrasts with the cold, clean plastic while tying the crates together structurally. Made with little more than a drill and zip ties, it took about two hours to put together. 

Milk crates are not free for the taking from behind stores. Those stores, or the dairy companies, pay for the crates, and it hits the bottom line when they go missing. Be respectful. Ask. Shop owners may part with a few lightly damaged ones. New crates are available all over the Internet at dozens of sites. Thrift stores, record shops, and dumpsters are other solid sources. If a crate isn’t directly behind an establishment that sells or uses milk, then it’s probably abandoned to the world and available to take. Check out Milkcrate Digest for more information on legally acquiring crates.

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