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Ideas for using toolboxes in your decor

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Ideas for Using Toolboxes in Your Decor

wooden toolbox with fern fronds in vintage glass bottles on vintage metal industrial cabinet

Ideas for using toolboxes in your decor

Today I’m joining a team of vintage-loving bloggers for a blog hop hosted by Cindy at County Road 407. We’re all sharing unique ways that we use toolboxes in our homes. All of the ideas are at the bottom of the post, so be sure to visit all of them for some creative ideas.

If you’re coming over from Cindy’s blog at County Road 407, welcome! I always love everything that she posts. Her casual Texas style is so cozy and pretty. If you’re visiting here for the first time, you can get to
know me a little better here: Start Here

1. As a planter

vintage metal industrial cabinet with wooden toolbox and fern branches in vintage glass bottles

Wooden toolboxes are ideal as planters. For this one, I raided the back yard and snipped various sizes of fern fronds for a fresh look. 

fern branches in vintage glass bottles inside of a wooden toolbox

My little vintage metal plant atomizer fits perfect next to the toolbox? FYI, I got that little cutie for $1 at an estate sale. It doesn’t actually work, but for $1 it’s a fabulous little decor accent. To see my best estate sale tips, read this post: How to Shop Estate Sales Like a Pro

wooden toolbox with fern fronds in vintage glass bottles

I tucked the fern fronds into some of my vintage glass bottles. I placed the largest ones in the center and the smaller ones at the edges and in the front. (The wooden toolbox and a few other items seen here are from my online shop and are available here if you’re interested: Wooden Toolbox,
Wall Rack, Boxwood Wreath, Wood Bead Garland

 

wooden toolbox with colorful flowers in glass bottles

I did something similar a while ago with some colorful zinnias in my wooden toolbox. It’s such a quick and easy way to create something pretty.

vintage metal box with succulents and wooden croquet balls

A few years ago I had this little arrangement of succulents on the front porch. It’s actually an
old metal file box, but it looks like a lot of old toolboxes I’ve seen so I thought I’d share
it here as well. 

Note – If you like succulents, you might like this post: How to make a driftwood succulent planter

2. As a centerpiece

Toolboxes also make great centerpieces. You can add  produce, little plants, greenery, or bottles like I did with the fern fronds. 

Christmas table with centerpiece of wooden toolbox with greenery and pomegranates

A few weeks ago I used this wooden toolbox as a centerpiece for our Christmas table. It was super simple to make and you can see all of the details here: Cozy Christmas Table with Plaid and Natural Accents

wooden toolbox with pomegranates and green branch clippings

Honestly, I think I spent about 20 minutes making this centerpiece. It really was that easy.

3. Mantel Decor

rustic mantel with fabric banner and wooden toolbox

Out on our deck, I used my wooden toolbox on the old mantel last spring. I tucked in some dried lavender and a little boxwood wreath for a spring look. 

rustic wooden mantel with wooden toolbox and spring decor

I needed something with a shorter profile to complete the asymmetric look I was going for and the toolbox fit the bill perfectly. You can see the details of this spring mantel here Rustic Spring Mantel Decor with Flowers and Vintage Finds

metal toolbox with white hydrangeas in wooden shelf

On our living room mantel I tucked some of my faux white hydrangea stems in my metal tool caddy for a simple summer look. Nothing fancy, but it turned out really pretty, in my opinion. 

(FYI – The metal tool caddy and the hydrangeas are also available from my online shop if you’re looking for something like that. Found here Corrugated Metal Tool Caddy,
Faux White Hydrangea Stems

 

4. Mail Organizer

wooden toolbox mail organizer and vintage fishing creel with flowers

Last year one of my favorite projects was taking an unused wooden toolbox and making it a place to gather incoming mail. You can see the details here DIY Wooden Toolbox Mail Organizer

wooden toolbox organizer and wood cutting boards against painted brick wall

We get so much junk mail and try to toss it into the recycle bin as soon as possible, but it still gets piled up sometimes. The toolbox helps because I can stash it in there until we can go through it all. 

5. Organize Art Supplies

art and craft supplies organized with metal tool caddy

Once upon a time my craft room/studio was really organized and this is how part of it looked. I used my metal tool caddy to store various items neatly inside of my supply cabinet. You can see how my craft room looked after the most recent makeover I gave it here Fresh and Inspiring $100 studio makeover

 

art and craft supplies organized with metal toolbox, milk glass

The pads of paper fit nicely in there. My goal is to work on this space and get it organized (AGAIN) and I’m sure I’ll share an update when I get it finished. I want to create more this year and I need an organized space to do it in.

Other ways to use toolboxes

There are lots of great ways to use toolboxes in your home. Here are a few that I can think of:

  • bathroom supplies – washcloths, containers with cotton balls, etc..
  • craft supplies – use jars to corral paint brushes, markers, pencils,
    buttons, and more
  • small pots of herbs – dress up a kitchen window with an arrangement of
    herb plants

What ways do you or would you use a toolbox in your home? Leave me a comment
below and let me know!

P.S. If you love ferns and botanical prints, grab my free set of 6
vintage fern botanicals here: 

Budget-friendly fern botanical entry

And now be sure to visit the rest of the ideas on the tour. Next up is
Michelle at The Painted Hinge and she always has the best ways to use vintage items. And she styles
everything so perfectly. 

Here are all the posts!

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various toolboxes used in the home

24 Comments

  1. So fun to see how you use your toolboxes all over your house, Angie! You've got a great variety. My fave was the succulents in the file box; industrial love! Great ideas for how to use them, too! I love these hops:)

  2. You have so many good ideas. My favorite is the mantel on your porch. The lavender looks so cute in there. It's been fun hopping with you.

  3. Angie, I adore how you styled all your toolboxes! But I especially love the first toolbox that you styled with fern leaves and then zinnias because I have a toolbox that is very similar and you've given me a ton of ideas for it!

  4. Oh my goodness, you are the queen of caddy ideas! I love how many you have! Makes me want to start shopping for them more often. I always feel I should stop getting multiples of things for fear of becoming a crazy collector of junk, But these are so handy! Thank you for joining the hop. Loved each photo and all of your creativity. 🙂

    1. I guess I'm the crazy collector of junk, lol. I can't help myself and probably need an intervention, but I love finding ways to use them!

  5. Great ideas. I have a question for you…since you are so talented with displaying vintage items, I was given am old metal minters flashlight. I am at a loss as to how to display this in decor. Any ideas?

    1. Hi Maggie.

      Do you have a picture of the flashlight that you could send me?

      I'll see what I can come up with.

      Angie

  6. Totally loving that first look with all the vintage bottles and fern fronds. so pretty and so vintage!!

  7. So many good ideas, I liked the Christmas with the simple red and greens and the metal toolbox with the hydrangeas! Thanks for sharing!

  8. There are so many beautiful ways to use a vintage toolbox I don't know which one to pin first 🙂 Love all these creative ideas you have, Angie. They're fabulous! Hugs, CoCo

  9. Angie your post is chock full of amazing ideas! I am pinning away. Love your shop! It contains such lovely things. Happy Saturday!

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