DIY Nesting Boxes

Hello-Hello. Back again with a very easy and very functional DIY Nesting Box tutorial. Before we jump in wanted to share some of what has been going on in the LMB household over the past few weeks, if you missed it from LMB or our social media. Well we finished up the front room shiplap, and what a job that was. I felt like I was cutting shiplap for days on days. I decided not to post about it, because not only have we posted about it before, I am sure how-to’s are out there enough with how big the trend is right now. I really love the texture and character it brings to our home, and enjoy all the tedious work it takes to put up. I know there are some people out there starting to dislike this trend, but for our home I think it just belongs, and will always fit right in. As you already have read and witnessed over social media, LMB finally got her trip to Magnolia, and while I really-really wished I could have been there with her for all of her happy moments, I was very busy at home. If you don’t know already we are Jeep people, I drive my overly shared and overly obsessed Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and LMB’s Jeep Wrangler, got some upgrades I surprised her with while she was away. The Jeep is a Polar Edition Unlimited, nicknamed Elsa (because you have to nickname your Wrangler and it is the Polar Edition-Only fits), I need to make it a point to share it more, I don’t want her to be left out. Any-who, I step away from Jeep land and back into DIY world. Here is how the DIY Nesting boxes turned out.

 

I had a little inspiration for this build, as we have an old nesting box used in our decor. I really enjoy the piece, because of its versatility throughout our home. It can be used for storage, a great way to go overboard in holiday decor shoots, and well, someday The White Cottage Farm will have chickens and this piece can be put to use what it was designed for. I also can see some great functionality for household with little ones running around, keeping tucked away, while also being used for a sofa table. We have used ours under our mounted TV, and currently it is used as a sofa table.

The Build.

Very simple build. Starting with the bottom board, lay a 1 x 12 @6 ft pine board, flat across a pair of saw horses or work bench. Cut two 1 x 12 boards into 12 pieces-measuring 11 inches long. Cut one 1 x 12 board into 6 pieces-measuring 10 inches long, these are going to be your dividers. The bottom two rows will be the 11 inch dividers, and the top row is going to use the 10 inch divider. Starting at the outside edges, flush the sides of the dividers to the side of the flat pine board,  pre-drill holes and screw them in from the bottom.

Mark all the dividers on each side center of the board to easily see their center. Using a gap of 14 1/8, mark on the side of the flat 1 x 12 mark out along the board. To make things go quicker, I cut some scrap wood at 14 1/8 and mark my lines using it along the piece, aligning it with the previous line before it. Line up the marks on the front and back and screw in using finishing nails from the bottom side of the flat 1 x 12.

Using a KregJig Pocket hole, drill 4 holes into the side of the remaining dividers, and mark out two more 1 x 12 with 14 1/8 inch lines across it (keep in mind 3/4 of inch from each end to account for the flush mounted side dividers. Once all KregJig pocket holes are done, place another 1 x 12 @6ft, across the top of the bottom row with dividers. Screw into place, using a rafter square or small level, to ensure the divider is perpendicular to the top and bottom boards, and screw into place. You will also want to utilize the rafter to ensure the divider is straight from front to back.

One the top board is installed the bottom row looks to be complete. Now using the same steps steps, install the next two level of dividers, however you will be screwing them in from the pocket holes rather than from underneath. Once the dividers are installed, again using the same steps, install the top boards.

++Quick after-action tip: Stain the boards after the completion of each level before putting on the top board, this will make the staining process much-much faster and easier.

Now that all is complete, add a 1 x 4 to the front face of each level, measuring 2 inches from the bottom of the box, to the top of the 1 x 4. You can do this by placing your rafter square or tape measure in the box, placing the front facing 1 x 4 in place, and raising the board until it only shows 2 inches. Using clamps to keep each end in place, measure each side for 2 inches, and a level to verify the boards are square and level. With everything clamped in place, screw the front boards into place. The placement of the screws can either be across the lateral boards or vertical boards, but using 2 inch screw be sure not to have them pop through to be seeing from inside the nesting box.

The last step of the build, is to install the back. I used those pressure treated dog-ear 5/8in x 5 1/2 inch fence boards that are usually just over a dollar a board. I cut the board at the dog-ear, and screwed them into the back of the piece. I had to place vertical 1 x 4 to make up the difference from the cut dog-ear. I wanted to add a little bit to the top so I placed a 2 x 2 select pine board across the backside of the top, to give it a very small backer for the piece. Now, it’s read for stain.

That is it. Be sure to check out LMB post on how she styles Nesting Boxes, and let me know what you think. Find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks.

 

The Tools

Miter Saw

Drill

KregJig Pocket Hole System

Level

Clamps

Rafter Square or any Builders Square

Tape Measure

The Materials

(8) 1 x 12 @ 6ft

(4) 1 x 4 @6ft

(7) 5/8 x 5 1/2 @6ft Dog-Ear fence boards

2 inch GRK Trim Screws

Stain: Minwax Early American