FOCAL POINT STYLING: DIY: HOW TO STAIN A WICKER BASKET

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? A while back I had mentioned I'd probably be thrifting less since moving out here because the thrift assortment was a little different, but it's actually been working out pretty good! Late Saturday afternoon, I went to a few local thrift stores, and found something I've been hunting for to change up our decor mix while living here in AZ: baskets. Baskets are great for fabric storage, or stashing extra throws. They also make wonderful textured containers for indoor plants and the large flat, round baskets (known as sifting baskets) make awesome wall decor. Although I found some baskets, (at a great price!) they were exactly the shade & tone I was looking for - so I tried staining them and they turned out pretty good! Here's what I did...

This planter basket was only $2 at a Boys and Girls Club Thrift Shop I popped into.

Although the basket was too light, I got it anyways. And rather than paint it a color or black, I used my "go-to" stain on the basket: MinWax Jacobean Stain - and LOVE it!

How to Stain A Basket in Two Steps

1. Brush on the stain first with just a chip brush.

2. Wipe off the excess stain.

By doing this, you'll allow variations, shades, tones and textures naturally be highlighted.

I've been collecting some other baskets for the walls, using them in the bedroom plus adjacent bathroom, and this stained basket with the palm was a good mix. To save money, I bought a smaller interior majesty palm (with a gift card at Home Depot), but I still wanted / needed some height. To add height to the palm, I used two of my unused containers from outside: one upside down as a riser in the basket + the other on top (w/a clear dish underneath to catch excess water.

Adding a plant to the bedroom helps breath in life to the space, plus a palm just naturally works with woven accents such as the basket planter and sifting basket wall decor.

The zodiac disc was actually a gift to my parents in New Jersey from friends who had gone to Florida for a visit.

Great wall decor! A sifting basket I got at Goodwill!

The wall baskets I actually first started to collect while in Florida: One I found at Faith Farm Thrift in Ft. Lauderdale for $3, but most new finds I have thrifted here at Goodwill. I like the simple mix of rounds in the bedroom, since the living room is filled with so many square frames. I did use a few framed photos in the bedroom (shots of textured details from our trip to Italy), which aren't "tribal" but they tell the story of us plus the black and white photos mix well with the baskets. I guess you could say the baskets add tribal influence and mixing personal photos help keep the space from looking too themed. Like with any room, it will continue to evolve over the time we live here.

Thanks for stopping by!