Fall Centerpiece with DIY Instructions

Well, when I saw this on pinterest, I thought "well, that's what I want on my table for fall!".  But going back to the fact that we hardly have an abundance of good thrift or antique stores around here, my chances of finding a box like this were slim.  So I decided it had to be made.  After sketching up a quick plan, the honey and I cut the boards, stained, and added handles.  That was it, and I am loving how it still came out looking old.  Just what I was hoping for. 

 

Here's a quick run-through of how to build your own!

 

Our dimensions were (each board is 1x3 unless otherwise noted):

 

2 (4 total) side boards at 24" long each

2 (4 total) end pieces at 5" long each

2 bottom pieces at 22 3/4" long

4 square pieces of corner wood at 2 1/4" long (ours was a 3/4" square..something we had that we just cut down to size)..this will be used on the inside to nail the boards to if you want it a little sturdier than if just using wood glue.

 

After cutting all of our pieces and sanding the "new" out of them..making them look old and a little rounded, we stained them with Rust-oleum Wood Stain in Dark Walnut.  Then, once dry, we glued the two bottom slats together, no nail needed here.  Then we added the first side plank with a little glue, then nailed a few finishing nails down the length of the plank into the bottom piece.  Then we put the first end piece on the same way, fitting them in between the two side boards and nailing through the side pieces into the end pieces at the top and bottom of each piece.  This finishes making the first level of the box.  After that is when we added the little corner pieces in each of the four corners, for a little extra stability and somewhere to nail the second row of boads into to help the wood glue dry (the corner pieces will not come all the way up..I wanted to be able to hide them).  Then add the second row of planks the same way as the first.  Let it all dry, and add your choice of handles!  The handles we used are from Lowe's, found here. 

 

Here are some basic pictures so you can see the construction of the box.

 

 

The little corner pieces.

 

 

And a few different shots/angles to show you the wamth of it with the candles, and stuffed with an acorn/berry garland and grapevine balls.

 

 

 

As for the table runner, it's just a piece of burlap.  I washed it, ironed it, and cut a rectangle piece to coordinate with the weird dimensions of our table.  Then I just pulled out about 7 strings on each side to give it the frayed look.  Easy!