DIY Stuffed Animal Storage Crate

If you have a kid, chances are they have stuffed animals littering their room. A DIY stuffed animal storage crate, or “zoo”, is the perfect solution to keep those critters in one place.

This project can be customized to whatever size storage crate you need. The first one I made was 2′ wide and deep, 3′ tall and made with 1×4’s and 1×2’s. This turned out to be way too big for the amount of stuffed animals my son has. I decided to make another slightly smaller one to save space in his room out of 1×3’s and 1×2’s.

What you need for this project

• 1×3 or 1×4 wood boards (top and bottom frame)
• 1×2 wood boards (sides of crate)
• 1 1/4″ wood screws
• Wood glue
• Nylon rope
• Cabinet backer board
• Saw, Drill, Sander and Nail gun
• Paint or stain and sealer
• Letters or decor

This is how I cut the wood for the second, smaller storage crate.

• 8 1×3 @ 20″
• 4 1×2 @ 24″

Assemble the Crate

Make sure to sand the pieces smooth. Then, assemble your 1×3 pieces to make the top and bottom frame. Simply screw two 1 1/4″ screws on each end to create a square. Make sure to pre-drill those holes and use wood glue!

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You will end up with two squares that are identical.

Now to make it start looking like a box. Lay the two squares on end with screws facing up. Place one of your 1×2 pieces in each corner, flush with the top and bottom square. Screw 1 1/4″ screws into the 1×2’s to secure in place. Repeat on the opposite side.

You will end up with a simple hollow box.

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Drill the holes for the rope

Now its time to make some holes for the rope to be threaded through. The spacing of the holes will depend on the size of your crate. Make the spacing even on all four sides. My crate dimensions were 20″ x 21″. On the 21″ side I spaced 6 holes at 3″ apart. On the 20″ side I spaced 5 holes at 3.5″ apart.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect! The best thing about DIY is is the uniqueness of every finished product.

Once your holes are marked, start drilling. I recommend first drilling with a smaller drill bit, then using one big enough for the rope to fit through. If you use to big a drill bit right from the start it might splinter or split the wood, making it look sloppy and creating sharp edges.

After all the holes are drilled, give them all a quick sand to smooth out any splinters that might have come loose.

Paint or stain

Now is the time to paint or stain the crate. I love using Minwax stain for my wood projects. This is a natural pine stain to bring out the beauty of the grain. If you are going to stain the wood instead of painting it, I recommend brushing a layer of sealer on, just to help keep it cleaner and more shiny.

Thread the rope

The rope I used was white braided 1/4″ rope. Lowe’s sells it in packages of 50′ and that was the perfect amount for this smaller crate I made. Tightly wrap the end in clear tape to create a point (this will make it much easier to thread through the hole).

Start threading through the back at the bottom corner of one side. The go straight up to the top hole, threading through the front. Move to the hole right next to that one on the top back and thread through to the front again. Repeat these steps until you get to the last hole, then pull through until you have a few inches sticking out at the bottom where you started and tie a knot. To complete that side, pull the rope as taunt as you can and tie a knot where you finished.

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Cut the rope, and prevent fraying by either slightly burning the ends or wrapping in clear tape.

Attach the base

For the base I used cabinet backer board that I had left over from another project. Place the crate on the backer board and trace the edges. Then, cut along the marked lines and lightly sand the edges to make it look less rough.

Flip over the crate and backer board and attach with finishing nails. If you don’t have a nail gun, you can just hammer small finishing nails in manually.

Finished Product

And there you have it! An adorable place to store those stuffed animals that will fit in with any nursery decor. This stuffed animal storage crate is so easy to do, anyone can accomplish it!

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Here is the bigger crate that I first made so you can see how different in size they can be. I love this that can be customized to fit a certain place. I also added letters to the bigger one since I had more room on the 1×4’s. This can be a child’s name or just a cute label.

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