I’ve been stuck with the same plastic toolbox for the last 5 years. I remember when I bought it: We had just moved to New York and were amassing more and more tools for the various fix-it projects around the house. We needed something quick to contain them so I bought one at the hardware store down the street. It was black so not too bad, but whenever I opened the closet and saw it sitting there the toolbox negatively impacted my mood—at a least a little bit. So recently I thought I’d spend a little extra to solve the problem. When my all-steel toolbox from Japan arrived in the mail, I think I let out an audible sigh. Problem solved.
Here are 10-plus good-looking toolboxes to better the visual display in your life—be it sitting in the garage, utility closet, or out in the open.
Above: The House Doctor Toolbox in White is made entirely of white powder coated steel; $58.05 at Goodhood in London. It’s also available in a muted Army Green for the same price at Goodhood.
Above: The compact (but good-looking) Muji Steel Tool Box measuring about 15 by 7 by 5 inches and is made in Japan; $30 at Muji.
Above: The Cantilever Tool Box is made in Southern California from high quality (20 and 22 gauge) steel and has a long piano style hinge; $75 for the small size (shown) and $77 for the large at The Good Liver in Los Angeles.
Above: From Japanese company Toyo Steel Co. LTD, the Large T-320 Toolbox made of stainless steel is $28.60 at La Trésorerie in France via Trouva.
Above: The Tool and Utensil Box Plus is available in Stone Grey/Anthracite (shown) or Light Grey/Fire Red is made of high-grade industrial quality with removable plastic insert trays; €43 at Manufactum.
Above: My personal favorite (this is the toolbox I bought recently) is from Puebco, a Japanese utilitarian company we’ve featured on Remodelista before: the 100-percent Steel Toolbox is small (9 by 11 by 5 inches) from Chandal in Barcelona via Trouva.
Above: The classic Japanese Trusco Tool Box Y-350 comes in blue, olive (shown), or silver for $46 at Rikumo.
Above: The Best Made Co. Front Loading Toolbox in red, matte black, or navy (shown) is a larger version of the 15-inch Best Made toolbox featured above. This one is $148 at Best Made Co.
Above: The Stainless Steel Toolbox from Japan measures 4.5 by 15 by 7 inches is $178 at Manufactum in Germany.
Above: The larger Trusco Blue Cantilever Toolbox is common in Japan; it has a cantilever mechanism and comes in bright textured blue steel; £130 at Labour & Wait.
Above: The Aluminum Lunch Box is, in fact, a lunch box, but can easily be used to store a select group of household tools; it’s $70 for the 10 inch size and $75 for the 14 inch at The Good Liver in Los Angeles.
Above: For a really rugged and industrial option, though still good-looking, the Tactix 20 Inch Steel Tool Box in dark navy blue is one of the largest on our list; it’s $51.86 at Hay Needle.
For more editor-approved garage essentials see our posts:
