d*s reader jenn krampe was inspired after seeing a piece of wooden, multi-leveled art in a pottery barn catalog. on the way home from work jenn found an old crate (left by a local business) and convinced a co-worker to help her get the crate home. overwhelmed with the possibilities that the crate held, jenn settled on cutting up the crate to create a layered piece of wall art like the one from the pottery barn catalog.
here’s the breakdown: jenn’s wooden crate was free (score!), the wood glue was $3, the back board for the artwork was $8, and the hanging rig & saw were pieces jenn already owned. so the total cost after cutting, gluing and attaching to the board: $11! and the best part of the story? months later one of jenn’s friend sent her a link to a similar piece of art selling at pottery barn for $400. talk about a budget-friendly (and still beautiful) version- great work, jenn!
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your pictures!]
31 Comments
That is beautiful, and I imagine took HOURS AND HOURS to fit all those pieces together!!
I absolutely love this, and it looks especially fantastic against that fabulous orange wall! well done.
Some people are just too clever.
Well done! That crate has never looked so beautiful.
Way cooler than that PB one!
Smart lady!!
Nice! and SO MUCH better than the pottery barn version!
This is awesome. Great job!
As a matter of fact, it was the Pottery Barn “artwork” section that inspired me to start my Etsy shop.
Again, great work!
Fabulous! What a great way to reuse & create something to be proud of. Much more rewarding than saying I bought it at PB!!
LOVE IT! And more unique that PB. If I had picked up that crate to bring it home my husband would have looked at me like I had really lost it… till he saw the outcome! Sundance Catalog always has rustic (overpriced) artwork like this too.
Brill! I love the gentle summery/autumnal colour washes you used.
May I ask what colour paint you used on the wall, and is that a slight gloss on it? It’s perfect.
This is so beautiful – I love when old materials are re purposed into something fabulous.
This is inspiring. I may just have to steal this one! I mean try it. :)
I want that.
You go girl! That is awesome, I love it! And glad to have a pick-up when needed!
i love it too much. i wanne have it too
i’m going to pick up the next crate i see and make one! i love the depth and texture!!! FANTASTIC! oh and my neighbour just broght me a bag of homemade cookies…. what a day!!!
Wow, that’s amazing! Great job!
i would be really proud of that if i made it!
What a gem! I want to make one.
Thanks for the comments everyone!! :) It was a lot of fun to make & turned out better than I thought it could have. Isn’t it great when a plan actually works? :) Also, the orange paint on my walls is from Home Depot-Behr brand & it’s called New Brick. The finish is satin-shiner than I thought it would be but I really don’t mind it now. Thanks again!!
this is very much inspired by australian female artist Rosalie Gascoigne. her work is amazing!
Beautiful! Reminds me a lot of the work of a famous local Canberran artist Rosalie Gascoigne – and she’s hung in the NY Met! :-)
wow! this is fantastic!
I love the way this looks & at $11, what could be better?
I was wondering what you used to cut the crate up. Just a mitre saw or something more heavy duty?
So much better than the original!
Now why didn’t I think of that? :)
It’s not my style, but a very clever idea and it looks really neat.
I used a mitre saw for all the wood blocks, & a circular saw to cut the wood off the metal corners of the crate. I couldn’t get some of the screws loose b/c of all the rust so I had a take a more drastic route. :)
I love this. I have very little for the walls of my new home. This is such a creative and fun idea. Thanks!
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