Upcycling idea: shelving made from crates

Eye-catching shelves with a wow factor!

All it takes to transform a few empty drinks crates and shelf boards into a unique designer piece is edding permanent spray in neon shades. The vivid colours are real attention-grabbers and will turn a simple set of shelves into quite a showpiece for your home. You can choose between neon orange, neon pink and neon green. First of all, you need to apply a primer to the crates. Next, customise them using spray paint in your very own choice of colours and patterns. Acrylic sprays offer the huge advantage that they can reach right into those awkward corners and around tricky edges without any problem.

Categories: Home decor
Living room
Products: Permanent spray
Materials: Plastic and foil
Difficulty: A bit more challenging
Downloads: Images (ZIP)

Step-by-step

Step 1

First clean the beverage crates thoroughly. Cover the work surface and the surrounding area well using foil or paper.

Step 2

First, take off the spray head of the white spray can and remove the safety ring, then put the spray head back on. Shake the spray can vigorously for about 3 minutes until you can clearly hear the mixing balls in the can. This is important as this will ensure that the colour pigments are mixed thorougly. In our Spray basics section, we offer important tips about the perfect way to spray.

Step 3

Spray the boxes all over in white. For optimum spray results, it is best to apply the spray using a criss-cross motion.

Step 4

Let the first colour dry thoroughly. Next, spray the entire lower area with neon green. Each new can of paint must be activated as described in Step 2.

Step 5

You can design another box (primed in white beforehand) with orange stripes.

Step 6

A box painted all over in neon yellow also looks great! Make sure you spray paint on all edges and corners.

Step 7

Of course, you can also design the inside of your box. Here, we show you how to spray the inside of the beverage crate in neon pink.

Step 8

Once the paint is completely dry, it's time to start building your shelves. Use two crates for each shelf to act as supports, placing one at each end. The way you position the crates is up to you; you can display them with the opening facing towards you or with the open side hidden.