The Super Messy Supermommy: Crate to Table: October's Do Overs

I started my "October's Do-Overs" project very easily. Instead of having a piece that needed sanding or painting, I literally just picked the piece up out of my garage and brought it inside.

This is an old crate that I spotted at my parent's house when they were cleaning out their basement. They had three and I convinced my mom to let me have one of them. This thing is HUGE. I wasn't 100% sure where it was going to go at first. It wasn't until I was sitting in my living room that I decided where it belonged: as a side table.

First, I swept it off really, really well in my garage. After living in my parent's basement and my garage for quite some time, it had acquired quite a bit of dust (and a few spider friends). After sweeping, I brought it inside and vacuumed it off as an extra precaution. When I cleaned it off, I found this tag on the side, which I thought was really neat. It looks like it was once used at a railroad.

The table that was in our living room before was a very, very cheap piece of furniture that Marty and I found somewhere when we first got married (isn't that how everyone's houses look as newlyweds??). I'm all about inexpensive home decor pieces. But there's a big difference in being inexpensive and looking cheap. This table was the latter.

I promptly scooted that table out of the way and slid this one in. It's the right height and I think it just "fits" our room. It's got the repurposed, vintage-y look that I'm obsessed with right now.

Plus, it's a crate. So there was a huge opening on the side where I knew I could store something. I'm a ridiculously cold-natured person and we have thick fleece blankets scattered around the house everywhere. Literally....they're on the back of the couch or folded up in a chair or sitting in the floor. I knew this little cubby hole would be the perfect central location for all our blankets.