How to Make Cute Tables from Boxes

End tables and night stands are so expensive but there are some really cute ones you can make on your own, with little effort or money. Craft stores are full of boxes of all types – plastic ones, wooden ones, even hard cardboard ones. These boxes, no matter what they look like, can be turned into some really cute tables.

At the craft store you’ll find boxes of all sizes and shapes. Some have drawers, some have tops that open, some are ordinary and some are ornate. It’s best to buy the plain ones, to save money, then decorate it yourself. The boxes cost from two or three bucks to twenty or more, depending upon size and type. For a table, you’ll want a pretty good size box, but it doesn’t have to be gigantic. It does, however, need to be one that has a flat lid, unless you intend to never set anything on top of it.

Make a cute table to set beside your favorite chair simply by taking a box slightly larger than a cigar box, and attaching legs. You can various legs at a home improvements store, made just for this type of project. Purchase ones that actually look like table legs, or save the expense and purchase one-by-one sticks to cut to size. Look around the store to see what else they have that you can use. You don’t have to get fancy because you can paint them or further decorate them, if desired. If the box has a lift-up lid it can hold your remote, glasses, tv guide and other items. The lift-up lid box isn’t ideal if you’ll be setting a lamp on the table, though.

You don’t have to purchase the box from a craft store. You can use small milk crates (found at dollar-theme stores), or any other smallish wooden box. If you’re using a plastic crate-type of box, glue foam and fabric on it, attach the legs, set it with the open side facing the front, then put it beside your bed for a night stand. The open area can be used to place books, remote and other items.

Wooden crates and other boxes can also be put upon a set of tripod legs. Nail or screw the tripod set to the center of the upside-down box for a really cute table. Paint the table or leave it all-natural.

There are various decorating techniques for your little table. Paint it, cover it in fabric, use stencils to make a design on top or on the sides, replace the small wooden knob with something more impressive, or buy copper or brass sheets to cut and cover all or part of the table.

It’s easy to make the box tables, and compared to the price of a new end table or night stand, the cost is minimal. There are so many different designs you can make, you’ll want to make a table for each room in the house.