2 Minutes Upcycled Takeaway Box Phone Stand

This is a super easy way to construct a quick phone stand that works in both portrait and horizontal directions. Takes less than 2 mins (or even 1) to make if you have all the things you need.

Suitable for phones that can fit into a take away box!

1. 2 takeaway boxes of the same opening size but different volume (depth) - more on that in step 1

2. 1 lid of the takeaway box.

3. Scissors

4. OPTIONAL: Double sided tape or other kinds of glue

The stand takes two boxes to make and it is important that they have the same opening size but different volume (depth). The idea is to use the difference in box depth to make it stand up.

I've used one 500ml box and one 750ml box. You can normally find the volume info at the bottom of the boxes. From what I've tried, 500ml and 650ml is a bit too similar so the stand can be less stable when the phone is in certain position.

Stack the boxes together, the shallower one placed in the deeper one.

OPTIONAL: If you want this to be more stable and don't need to separate the boxes later, you can stick the two together by adding some double sided tape (or glue) on the outer sides of the shallower box where the two box sides overlap. Press the two boxes together where the tapes/glue are.

To secure the phone in the stand, we need a stopper, which will be made from the lid.

Cut a piece of the lid from one of the straight edges as shown in yellow, make sure:

1. The length of the piece is shorter than the short edge of the box, so the stopper can be used on all edges.

2. Make sure it includes at least 2 locking bumps (see yellow arrow) so it can grab on the edge of the box properly. Cut where the blue line is. Note that different lids may have different placement of the bump on the edge but as long as you have 2 it should work just fine.

3. When cutting the strip, try to cut the stiff edge all the way through in one go. DO NOT snip in between the stiff edge of the lid as it would create uncontrollable cracks.

Once the piece is cut from the lid, trim it smooth to desired width (mine is about 1cm).

Put the stopper on the bottom edge of the stand depending on the orientation you'd like to use it.

Note that if you have not stick the two boxes together in step 2, the front box may slip out as shown in the second image if your phone is right against the stopper (more obvious in horizontal orientation). Try put the phone as close to the back of the box as possible if you wish to avoid this without gluing the boxes together.

Enjoy your upcycled phone stand 📳