WELP! The big kid is officially in elementary school. Our big kindergartner did great. I did great too until my sweet baby Nickerbean cried about missing her big sister. They were the sweetest, big ole tears. “Here sweetie, TAKE ALL THE DONUTS. Momma will do WHATEVER you want all week long.” That’s her best friend. I pray they only grow closer. (while breaking up lots of fights obviously)
Since summer is ending, and we’ve been getting cooler weather…as in 94 degrees instead of 104…stores are clearing out their spring and summer decor and a couple weeks ago, I scored these plastic coated metal baskets at Hobby Lobby for 80% off. I loved the little wavy line detail at the tops and for less than $2 a piece, (I think maybe less than $1.50 but I can’t remember so I’ll round up) I would have picked these up even if I had no clue where I’d use them.
The pink is cute but I decided I wanted to use these on my parents’ open shelving in their farmhouse kitchen so pink really isn’t an option. Side note: I will be sharing pictures and sources for their house very soon. It’s beautiful if I do say so myself.
I used a couple spray paints that we already had on hand to give them an old, metal look. You can go purchase spray paint for around $5 a can but could also just use any craft paint that you have at home for the same look. It might just take longer to apply coats and get good coverage.
I started by using metallic silver. Like I said, my parents had this one in their garage. I don’t have a favorite spray paint brand or anything and I wasn’t super worried about the finish because I toned it down with black later, anyway.
After one coat, I let them dry and flipped them over for another coat.
I NEVER wait the suggested amount of time for spray painted things to dry. I’m just a rebel…also, I have no patience. I’m sure it helps the paint cure better, especially for stuff that will really get use. These will just serve as something pretty to look at, I don’t think it matters too much.
After those coats, I used flat black (I used a LOT of flat black spray paint in decorating for their house.) for a very light, spotty coat over each basket. I sprayed in just enough spots to tone down the shininess of the silver and make them look a bit more aged.
I love the way they turned out! I used them both on the open shelving in the kitchen. They don’t stand out, they just look like old baskets. They’re exactly what I was going for.
This one holds extra kitchen towels. The tea cups are from my parents’ china set from their wedding. The round basket was thrifted and the green finial thing was from my house. On the bottom shelf, I filled in an empty space with a picture of the girls picking peaches. The green bottle was clearance from Hobby Lobby and the heavy glass pitcher was on sale 50% AT a thrift store. Yes, sales at the thrift store too.
Most of the stuff on this shelf was already owned. On the bottom shelf, the basket holding the dish towels was thrifted, then the metal basket. That was all I bought for this side.
The baskets were a quick, easy project and work so well up here. It wasn’t until recently that I ever realized that you could change things that were brand new. Mind blown. I change old stuff all the time but it never dawned on me to change new things. Clearly, with a project coming in at $2, I’ve jumped right in and won’t ever turn back….. That might be an exaggeration but it is good to remember that you don’t have to see/ buy ANYTHING for your house exactly as is (if you don’t want to). Change it however you can to meet your needs. Like I said, I always look at stuff that way at a thrift store and then kind of just forget to when I’m other places. So these cheap baskets are a good start and a nice reminder.
What about you, have you made something bright pink, look farmhousey? ; )Or have you even bought something only to change it?
Thanks for reading, friends!
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