Last week I put together a trough out of my parents’ old kitchen for growing potatoes. Today I made a box out of some kitchen press doors so we could have some outdoor storage for gardening paraphernalia on the balcony.

In an apartment, any space-saving measure is a good one. In particular, anything which helps avoid domestic disputes arising from traipsing mud through the living room is a step in the right direction. Hence I thought building a box for storing outdoor things outdoors was a sensible idea.

Ingredients and Equipment

• 4 cherry wood kitchen press doors
• 4 short battens and 2 long battens made from maple floorboards
• A drill and 1 1/4″ wood screws
• 2 end pieces made from a fifth press door
• 2 hinges
• 4 wheels left over from some Ikea purchase

Method

As you can see from the images, the box again was made in a similar fashion to the trough last week, using battens to strengthen the structure and allow for some easier screwing – it was quite tricky to screw the cherry wood directly into cherry wood.

I used some old simple hinges for the door. I’m not sure what the origin of the hinges are but I suspect it was an old press or wardrobe, rather than a door, as they are quite small. I attached the door so it opens downwards with the hinges at the bottom. This meant that I needed some clearance underneath so I attached four wheels we had leftover from some piece of Ikea furniture. This allows the door to open down fully.

To complete the door I screwed a screw into the top and attached the doorknob to it with an elastic band. Not the most exotic solution but it does the trick.

Conclusion

If after making it for 3 hours and with a very sore back someone had asked me whether this a better option than say buying a box for twenty quid, I’m not sure what I would have said. Nonetheless, we have a box now and I’m proud of it. It also looks better aesthetically in my opinion than anything you might buy. Well it definitely has character. We are contemplating painting or stencilling the outside of it but have no concrete plans as of yet.