Musings... Cardboard Box Furniture? What Went Wrong?

I didn't mean for this to happen. It just kind of did. A week or so ago, about a half-dozen Bankers Boxes were purchased with the intention of stashing away my old college notes on some shelves. I actually managed to throw away a lot of stuff that I didn't want or need anymore. Unfortunately, there still wasn't enough stuff cleared out for me to put all the filled Bankers Boxes back on the shelves.

The end result was that I had one box left with nowhere but the middle of the room to go. I was originally planning on clearing some more stuff off the bookshelves and putting the box there. Now, I'm not so sure.

For years, the carpet has been where I've been storing food and drinks while I'm sitting on a chair at my desk. There are tables but they're filled with stuff that can't get wet, and I would rather clean a carpet than write off some very expensive electronics. Naturally, it occurred to me that the floor was kind of dirty and that I should get a coffee table or side table. I've been hesitating because a table would take up the open space on the carpet and get in the way. Now that a big white box has been forced upon me, it doesn't seem so bad anymore.

Even worse, I've been using the box as a light-duty table for food over the past weeks and like it. This feels wrong. What I wanted was a $40, solid pine wood side-table, but now I have a $3 cardboard box that's essentially disposable and designed to be moved with relative ease. The load capacity appears to be adequate for my food and I'm suddenly not in the mood to spend $40. Yes, the box looks hideous, but it's supposed to: it's not furniture, it's not supposed to look good, and it shouldn't even be there. Yet it is. I ended up buying more boxes for another project and had another spare. My "table" is higher now.

Bla bla bla, don't try this yourself.