An Easy DIY Wine Crate Ottoman

About 15 years ago (back when I thought spiky maroon hair was a good look for me), I worked at a local wine and cheese shop. This led to my love of both of these things, as well as one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

The store received shipments of wine in these awesome wooden crates, which they then sold in the store for $7 apiece. I bought four of them to stack as bookshelves in my first apartment, and they’ve been with me ever since.

Here they are in my old/kind of dodgy apartment I lived in before I bought my house (down payments don’t pay for themselves).

 When I bought my new house, I gained a lot of extra square footage, which meant I needed a few items of furniture. My new place already had bookshelves built in, so I really didn’t need my wine crates anymore.

Or did I?

You see, what I wanted was very specific. I wanted a large green ottoman with a wooden base that I could sit a large tray on.

That’s when I decided to make my own.

I have exactly zero carpentry skills. Luckily, I didn’t need any for this project. 

First, I went to a thrift store and found a set of heavy 1970’s celadon green curtains that were on sale for $1.

I cut off the pleated section, as well as the hems. This left me with four large perfect squares.

A friend recently gave me two huge garbage bags filled with his family’s old curtains he found in his attic. He knows I sew, and thought I might be able to get some use out of the fabric.

Unfortunately, the curtains were pretty damaged and yellowed with age.

Fortunately, this didn’t matter. I washed them and then tore them to shreds. This ended up taking a couple of hours, but was a great stress reliever. 

I stitched the curtains into two giant pillows, and stuffed each one with the curtain shreds. This made them nice and heavy, which was perfect for what I had in mind.

I laid out my wine crates like so:

Each side is 33″, which is just a couple of inches smaller than my giant pillows.

I stacked the two pillows on top of the crates.

Then, I added a big thrifted tray, one of my favorite art books, and my remote controls. Now I’m ready to bing watch Netflix in total relaxation.

I think it really works with my eclectic décor!

Even if I decide I no longer like the ottoman, I’ll still have the crates to use for other projects, and those giant pillows make great floor cushions for entertaining, or a cozy bed for Douglas!

Cheers!