Hamper Makeover

Remember about a month when all the consignment events were going on?! Well I bought a cute little wicker hamper to use for the nursery for $7.00! It had a lid and handles and was in great shape! I didn’t like the color but I knew with some spray paint and creativity I could make it into something I loved!

Soooo…. I did one coat of Rustoleum “Espresso” Satin Finish Spray Paint and didn’t worry about getting the coverage perfect because I was going for more a multi-tone effect. I forgot to get a before picture, but you can use your imagination on how it looked. The whole thing was that orange color.

original color of wicker

After the spray paint dried I did a wash-type top coat.. or at least thats what I think I did… Whenever I go to Home Depot I always take a look at the ‘Oops’ paint selection. Normally I never find any colors I really LOVE but on one particular trip I found 2 sample jars that I purchased! One was a light blue/green antique-y color and the other was a beige color. I used the beige color for the ‘wash’. I mixed equal parts water and paint in a small mason jar… I made wayyyy more than I needed.. I used a 6 oz mason jar and probably used less than on ounce of the mixture! At least I have plenty extra for future projects!

I bought a foam brush and chip brush to use for this project but I ended up using the chip brush (not for any particular reason, but now that I’m finished with the project I don’t think the foam brush would have worked anyway.. it wouldn’t have gotten in the cracks of the wicker as well as the chip brush did). Like I said before, I barely used any paint to get the effect I wanted- it was kind of hard NOT to overload the brush since I wanted the brown colors underneath to show through. If I found I had to much paint on the wicker I used a paper towel to wipe some of it off while it was still wet.

close-up of the wash effect

Top is done 🙂

In Progress (it looks much whiter than it really is because of the flash)

Finished!

I went to my fav thrift store, Waterfront Mission Bargain Center, and bought some cheap (75 cents) pillowcases to use for liners. I bought this silk pink one with lace trim and 2 other floral print ones.

I am super happy about the finished product! I will admit to say it doesn’t look anything like the image I had in my head prior to starting this but I think I like it even more! Originally I was going for more a brown-red look I think (sort of like the baskets they sell in Target), and this turned out to be sort of a drift wood beachy look. But I love it! It was such an easy and cheap DIY- I spent about $10 total and it took probably around 45 minutes to complete and thats including drying time! I still want to put a little knob on the lid (to match the knobs I bought for the dresser) and might put a clear coat to protect the paint from chipping if it needs it.

There are so many times I see wicker baskets on clearance or at thrift stores that I don’t buy because they are an ugly color, buuuuuut now that I know how easy it is to transform them they will all come home with me!