Rustic Wooden Boxes

Storage for your Collections, Treasures and Craft Supplies

Rustic wooden boxes or twig handled trugs can be used for many things – as a top for an old worn out wheelbarrow, to put craft items or tools in, or for storing towels in the bathroom.

Giving that country flair to your home and garden has never been easier.

Rustic wooden boxes can be made from barnboards or fence boards salvaged and given a new life, or you can use lumber scraps from other carpentry projects.

If you have access to driftwood, this project would be a really amazing driftwood craft.

There are techniques that give a brand new wooden box the look of antiquity, such as crackle paint and weathering and distressing.

Make your wooden boxes with the simplest of techniques – nailing together some pieces that have been cut to your preferred size.

For the bottom of the box, use a piece of plywood for added strength if you want to use it to store heavy items in, or simply more of the same or lighter lumber.

Chasing the pieces: this refers to how to put the pieces together.

If they are chasing each other, this means that you start at one corner, and each subsequent corner you attach the pieces the same way.

You can chase the pieces or simply make two of each size and have the end of the side pieces hidden by the front and back pieces.

Ways you can embellish your rustic wooden box:

• You can add a rustic twig handle and make the rustic wooden box into a tote or trug.

• Add large wooden beads for feet to hold it up off the ground to stay dry.

• Paint with a folk art design or symbols, and then rub some of the paint off with sandpaper to make it look really aged.

  Rub linseed oil cut with turpentine on a rag over the whole thing to darken and preserve the wood.

There are many creative ways to build and customize rustic wooden boxes to make them look antique and distressed.

My Rustic Wooden Box Project

When I saw these little cedar boxes my eyes got wide - I could see a rustic project in the making!

These are old plant boxes that nurseries used before selling plants in plastic containers.

Originally, they had ugly plastic strapping holding the ends together, which were also nailed. I snipped off the strapping.

I used tie wire to replace the strapping.

The boxes were actually nailed together as well, so the tie wire just adds another layer of security.

A couple of twig handles later, I have two charming rustic wooden boxes with twig handles, perfect for storing rustic craft tools and nails, for displaying terracotta pots of plants or towels in the guest bathroom.

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Rustic Crafts

Wire Techniques for Crafts