Ever since my kids were born I’ve come up with ways of to hide small messes in plain sight. Woven baskets are one of my favorite ways to contain collections of toys, mail, and this week… our wine-making supplies.
My husband and I began making our own wine about two years ago. You may have noticed the bottles used as props in my photos. However, those beautiful, decorative wine bottles also come with the the not-so-pretty and very large wine-making supplies which include a large, white, 6-gallon plastic bucket, a 6-gallon glass jug, a bag of corks, and several smaller accessories.
For the past two years, I’ve been storing the supplies in their original cardboard box and it’s just been sitting in a corner by my front door. Not a very welcoming look!
I thought by getting rid of the box it would force me to find a storage solution right away. I’ve been on the search for a large covered basket that can store it all; but not only do most of the large baskets not come with a cover, they are also priced well over $100.
Hampers were an option, but I wanted a very thick-woven, round basket that didn’t look like a hamper. I actually have one that I purchased at the Christmas Tree Shops 13 years ago for only $20 which I love. It’s the perfect color, size, shape, and has a cover. Everything else I came across recently just didn’t compare.
Until this week when I came across the identical basket! Horray!!! I’m not going to tell you where I got it, but I will tell you it was not brand new – the reason I tell you that is so I can explain how I go about cleaning items. I do this with some furniture pieces before I restore and paint them depending on their condition. Whether I’m refurbishing an item for my own home or to sell it, I want every piece to be clean enough for a buyer to take it home and start using it right away.
So even though this basket looked like brand new, I still sprayed it down, inside and out with a cleaner, let it sit for a few minutes to disinfect, rinsed with the hose in the driveway, then let it dry in the sun. From there it was ready to paint – not only because I paint everything – but also because I didn’t want it to look like a hamper sitting in my foyer.
Three coats of a custom mix of General Finishes White and Antique White were brushed on. I then removed the tape and had planned to spay on a clear varnish, but didn’t have any in stock. So I improvised and brushed on – both inside and out because I wanted the basket to be very clean for use – a clear polyacrylic.
The basket was still a little short and the cover didn’t sit perfectly flat so using a chisel and hammer, I cut a whole in the center of the cover.
I love that the basket now looks like it has a glass handle.
The custom white paint used on the basket is the same used on this newly painted entryway table. More on that table later!
Wa La! No more ugly mess by the front door.
My Feng Shui is in order again.
Thank you & Enjoy!
Vicki
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Hi Vicki – what a great idea with the design on this basket – love it! Sharing tonight and thanks for linking up!
Thank you so much Suzanne. Love your Link Parties and am totally honored to be part of it!