Whoever invented these is a GENIUS!

Have you seen these amazing storage crate seats? Seems like they're all over pinterest, but I think I initially saw them at Fantastic in First, which has a great tutorial for making them (check that out for step-by-step instructions). I spent about 3 hours making them yesterday with the help of my parents and the weather staying nice for us. My dad supplied me with plywood, a staple gun, and staples. I did purchase spray adhesive, but did not end up using it, so that's $8 I am going to get back. :) Are you ready to see the finished product?

Ta da! I actually made 8, but a pyramid looks much better with 6. :)

If you look carefully, you will see that the foamy seat parts are different heights on some of them. That's because I spent $10 at Value Village for two foam pads (instead of $60 at Joann-eek!). So, five of them are 1" thick and three of them are 2" thick. Both are equally comfortable, the thicker ones just took a smidge more fabric to cover.

Slip your hand under for easy lifting and access to whatever is stored below.

 A few things I did differently than the other lovely bloggers I've seen:

1. I did not use spray adhesive. I just stapled the foam to the wood (on top of each corner). I also used the strength of the fabric that is stapled to the bottom to hold it all into place. 
2. I did use vinyl instead of cloth fabric (shout out to my mom for the BRILLIANT idea). Kids are going to be sitting on these and there is always the possibility of an accident. The vinyl is waterproof and super easy to clean with disinfectant or a simple wipe down. The ribbon is easily replaceable. Also, the vinyl was on clearance at Joann for $6 a yard!

The Bambino is super interested in the new addition to the living room.

So there you have it! I think I am going to put one at each table (I have tables this year instead of desks-yay!) and the team captain of each week will get to sit on the special seat. I haven't decided what to store in them yet. Since tables don't have cubbies for supplies like desks do, I could put things like writing journals and pencil boxes in them and the captain could be responsible for passing them out. I could also store things that are infrequently used so they aren't being opened by kids...  or maybe I'll use them at a writing station.


I don't know... any ideas?


Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)