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    Home » My 1920's House

    Styling the inside of a built-in with painted baskets

    Published: Jan 3, 2021 · Modified: Oct 4, 2021 by Susan Moncrieff · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

    I've lived in my 100-year-old house for a few years now.  It's just long enough that when I look at my styling and decor, good enough is no longer OK.  When I first moved in, it was all about being able to put things away.  Of trying to get rid of clutter and finding a space to put items.

    White painted baskets to style the inside of my built-ins.

    Last Christmas, I shared how I decorated my living room. How I used blue chairs and a cream rug to lighten a long narrow and dark livingroom.

    I remember looking at my published post and saw how my built-ins were not well-styled. It seemed fine but when I looked at a picture, it bothered me. Not only because the inside of the built-in wasn't neat, but it was dark. My whole goal in my living room was to lighten and brighten that room!

    Here's the picture that bothered me.

    blue chairs on a cream rug in front of a yellow brick fireplace

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    Do you see the built-in on the left.  It bugged the crap out of me (even though I tried to convince myself it was OK).  It was messy and dark.  Yes, it was good enough at the time when I shared it.  But now, I want it to look neater and brighter and lighter!

    Where to buy cheap baskets to paint

    I'm not someone who gets wonderful buys at the thrift store. But this one day, I was so excited. I found matching baskets at Goodwill. They still had the new tags on them. They came from one of my favorite stores - Target. I'm not sure how or why but they were waiting for me.
    I brought them home, emptied most of my built-in and put the baskets on the shelves.

    Built-in with open doors that have books, wicker baskets and misc. decor on shelves.

    I still thought the interior was too dark.  So, I grabbed one of my samples of white paint, the wicker baskets, and was determined to lighten them.

    How to paint wicker baskets

    I put about 2 cups of white paint in my paint container and added a cup of water. I didn't want the paint to be opaque. I wanted the paint to be watery so that it would be more of a whitewash.
    a spoon with watery paint running into the paint container

    I used a really cheap brush so that I could just slap the paint on and work it into the wicker.

    Because the paint was watery, it did take two coats.  But they were quick and easy to do.  By the time I finished the first coat, I could do a second coat.

    brush painting wicker basket white

    Below is one of the baskets painted white.  It's beside one of the baskets I have not started to paint yet. They were beautiful baskets but they needed to be much lighter to accomplish what I needed.

     

    A white painted wicker basket beside the twin plain basket

    I LOVE these painted baskets in my original dark-stained 100-year-old built-ins!  They add brightness, lighten the interior and I can store a TON of stuff in them without the interior of the built-in looking messy.

     

    white painted wicker baskets in a dark built-in

    Benefits of using wicker baskets for storage

    Not only does everything look neater, but I can also store way more stuff in these built-ins. I even went and grabbed books I had stored in other areas.

    This was a great book organizing adventure.

    I'm storing a bunch of my old cookbooks in one spot. And maybe a few of my favorite books in the first row (I'm talking about you, my original hardcover Harry Potter books!).

    I have way too many cookbooks but they often inspire some of my recipes.  People cooked a little differently years ago, but we still love some of those traditional foods.  If you look close enough, you can see I've bookmarked a bunch of recipes.

    view of interior of built-in with books, and white painted wicker baskets

    Look at how much those baskets lighten the interior of my built-ins.  Even with the doors closed! I'm sure you also noticed the top row of books. All the covers were so dark. I turned the books around so the page side faced forward. It really did help lighten that first row!

    looking through glass doors of built-in with white wicker baskets

    Wow, those painted white baskets sure made a big difference lightening the interior of that dark stained built-in. I'm still hunting for a bunch more baskets. I have more built-ins to style and I love this look!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Here are a few more posts about my hundred-year-old house!

    Replacing all the knob and tube wiring.
    Refinishing all my original hardwood floors
    How I decorated my 100-year-old living room.


    background of styled shelves with white baskets

    More My 1920's House

    • Picture rail molding
    • Knob and tube wiring
    • Increasing the humidity in a dry house.
    • My old home locks - skeleton keys, mortise locks & doorknobs.
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    1. Carlyn

      September 10, 2021 at 9:00 am

      Now you need to paint that brown table white!

      Reply
    2. contractorfinder

      March 13, 2021 at 12:57 pm

      Hello! How beautiful you did everything! I love! I used to put everything at home in plastic boxes, but now I finally saw your idea and ordered baskets for myself, and now everything in the house has become so beautiful. It's still so important to have a space in your home that you like in which you enjoy living, because why differently?) I love my house and I love to make it beautiful. And tech, I really liked to paint these baskets, it's cool) Thank you for the idea)

      Reply
    3. Mary

      January 28, 2021 at 8:25 am

      Great idea! I removed my shelving and then painted and stenciled the back wall of my dark cabinet to add light and dimension. I’ve also seen the back wall wallpapered. It really changes the look much like your painted baskets!

      Reply
    4. Meegan

      January 08, 2021 at 9:30 am

      I have a similar dilemma with a piece of furniture. Thanks for helping me solve that. Your pieces look amazing!

      Reply
    5. Anita holland

      January 05, 2021 at 1:37 am

      Such a small change that makes such a big difference. It looks great.

      Reply
    6. Kim Purvis

      January 04, 2021 at 6:54 pm

      Great idea! I did something similar with a hutch I couldn't bear to paint. Looks fantastic! Pinned!

      Reply
    7. Deana Landers

      January 04, 2021 at 8:30 am

      That is a beautiful transformation. I had not thought of painting baskets! Wonderful idea.

      Reply
    8. Michelle Leslie

      January 04, 2021 at 7:37 am

      Oh my goodness what a big difference that makes. I have a dark stained cupboard in the dining room that could do with a quick makeover like this. Thanks so much for the idea

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Susan Moncrieff! I love sharing easy recipes, especially those that take less than 30 minutes and have less than 5 ingredients. I'm passionate about gardening and creating flower planters. My home is 100 years old and sometimes you will see it in my posts! It was a true fixer upper and I love it!

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