Yesterday, I shared some of my newly acquired yard sale and flea market finds and this vintage milk delivery box was among the deals. It didn't look like this when I bought it, though.
The box was in excellent condition with a clean interior (it wan't all rusted and nasty), but the paint advertising the dairy had worn off. This box fit several categories that I look for in what I buy. It has a story, it is multi-functional, and it's great storage. I can image one of these sitting on my front porch when my house was young (it was built in the 1940's.) I am not old enough to remember those days, but we did have bread, beer, and sodas delivered to our door when we lived in Germany. 
I decided to use the blank front to my advantage and marry the vintage piece with a modern product. Chalkboard paint was the perfect solution. This box can become anything you want it to be.
How about as an ice bucket or cooler for drinks? If I was using this for ice, I would want to put a plastic liner in it, just to be safe, but the insulated box would keep your ice chilled as you guests linger through the evening hours.
I also immediately pictured it being a perfect and stylish place to store powdered laundry detergent. It's almost the perfect size to drop a small box of soap into.
Idea number three is to use it as diaper storage. A clever girl, Katie Bell, used one she found at a yard sale this way. I store my diapers in a metal bread box, so we are definitely on the same track. I tested it out and it is the perfect size for half a box of diapers.
It's a great idea to keep diapers handy and hidden in a common room.
Some other ideas...
- Use it as a planter or to store potting soil. To successfully grow a plant in it, make sure you drill holes at the bottom or fill it with gravel to provide proper drainage.
- It's a good size to hide your non-pretty toiletries in the bathroom, like hair products and lotions. It would also look great sitting on the toilet tank to keep extra TP rolls on hand.
- If you have a great porch, why not sit one on the steps as a nod to the past? Sometimes an item doesn't need to be repurposed to be used in a creative way.
Now, go enjoy the fireworks. Happy Independence Day!
I linked this up to SNS over at Donna's blog.