The Creek Line House

How to Paint a Basket to Look Like an Antique Find

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Vintage and antique baskets make beautiful additions to your home decor, but if you can’t find the perfect one, you can easily upgrade a thrift store piece. Here’s how to paint a basket to look like an antique find.

How to paint a basket to look like a rustic antique find.

 

Basket decor has been on-trend for quite some time. In fact, I first shared this idea for how to paint a basket to look old and rustic about twelve years ago and I’ve loved the basket wall I created in my entryway ever since. Wicker and rattan decorating ideas have been so consistently popular that I think we can now move this home decoration staple firmly into the “timeless and classic” category. Have you noticed beautiful collections of antique and vintage baskets popping up in photos of beautiful rooms? I have a secret to share with you. Although they look beautifully time-worn, oftentimes, the baskets used are just lucky thrift store finds or even cheap wicker baskets made to look old. If you love the cozy, textural look of antique baskets, today’s easy decor project is for you.

Tools and Materials Needed to Paint Any Basket

You’ll need:

  • A soft, small paintbrush. I like a 1″ brush.
  • Acrylic craft paint in a light tan color
  • Acrylic craft paint in a dark brown color
  • Newspaper to protect your work surface
  • A few sheets of paper towel

This project really is super simple, high-impact, affordable, and quick. That’s probably why I’ve come back to it so many times over the years and have painted countless baskets around our home for storage and wall decor. Once you try it, it’s hard to stop.

Materials needed to paint a basket.

Here’s a detailed view of the first basket I shared many years ago. As you can see, the finish looks beautifully aged, and you might be surprised to find out just how easy it is to achieve this effect.

A detailed view of the finish achieve with painting baskets.

Here, you can see what the basket looks like hanging in the same spot in our front entryway currently, along with a few others.

A basket wall hanging in our entryway featuring hand-painted baskets.

How to Paint a Basket to Look Vintage or Antique

Start out by shopping your home or searching your local thrift shop for the perfect inexpensive basket. I like to look for willow-type wicker baskets as they achieve the more traditional look that I’m going for. The baskets that deliver the most charming and dramatic transformations are the ones that look like they were previously the base for something like a drug store gift basket. They often have some kind of interesting little detail that you can work with to make something really unique and character-filled.

The first step is to dry-brush the entire basket, front and back, with the lighter tan paint color. Squeeze a bit of paint out of the bottle onto a palette or a recycled plastic lid, load your brush, then dab a bit of the paint off on a newspaper or a piece of paper towel before you begin applying it onto the basket.

The basket after the first coat of paint has been applied.

Work in irregular strokes, moving your brush both back and forth as well as up and down. You want to concentrate the paint more in some areas and less in others for a more realistic aging effect.

Next, you’ll move on to applying the darker paint color. There’s no need to wait for the first coat of paint to dry because, with the dry brushing technique, you’ll find that it will be mostly dry just a few seconds after you apply it. Follow the same dry brushing technique as well with the second paint color, layering the dark color on to deepen the effects of aging on the basket.

Applying the second coat of paint to the basket.

Just a quick word of warning about this process: At some point during the painting time, you’ll look at your basket and think you’ve applied too much paint to one section and that you’ve completely ruined it. You will be wrong. Just work the paint into the rattan a bit more, or maybe layer the opposite color over just a bit. Over time, you’ll realize when you stand back that these more painted areas are the parts that actually make the basket look more realistically aged and give it the most character. If your paint application is too uniform and perfect, your basket will look like it’s a cheap, mass-produced decor product from a big box store rather than a charming vintage find. So just go with it. 🙂

The painted basket hung on a wall.

A basket hanging over a wall of framed prints.

 

My Original Basket Wall

Once you’re done painting your first basket and you realize how quick, affordable, and effective this technique is, you’ll want to do more. Here’s a look at my first basket wall from many years ago. As you can see, I’ve been hanging baskets on walls for a really long time and that’s because this is just such a great solution for adding warmth, texture, and personality to your home. It doesn’t take long and it doesn’t cost much at all, but it always looks so lovely in my opinion.

My first basket wall was actually applied with hot glue, which works surprisingly well and peels off cleanly most of the time, but now I usually use proper screws or command hooks most of the time.

How to paint any basket to look like an antique find

 Do you hang baskets on your wall as decor? Have you ever tried using paint to upgrade a basket for this purpose?
Author at  | Website |  + posts

Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    Sounds super simple! Thanks for sharing. I am going to put at least one basket on the wall in my bathroom – though the deep ones that you can decorate & use as additional storage. I don’t see myself putting baskets on the wall simply for decoration.

    Reply

  3. Elle says

    Hey Courtney love the cool new baskets , it’s a great look, never thought of aging baskets, definitely on my list of to- do’s I think this trend is for keeps. Xo Elle from sweetpeaschicnshabbies.blogspot. com

    Reply

  4. Pamela Gordon says

    I hung baskets on the wall from when we were married in 1977 until about 4 years ago. It guess the trend is returning Courtney. I like how you aged your new baskets. And I like the organic, natural look of baskets too. Enjoy the day! Pam

    Reply

  5. Victoria M. says

    I like how you aged your baskets with paint. I have aged some in the past with stain, but the paint seems a little less messy and the end result looks great.

    I’m chuckling about baskets on the wall being a trend. I’ve been hanging them on my walls for years 🙂

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      Me too Victoria. Back in the day when my husband and I were just starting our life together, I used Vietnamese hats and other assorted baskets and woven trays, for my wall decor. Now I’m a photographer and my walls are pretty well hung with my landscapes in frames that I either paint myself or have bought at antique/thrift stores. Not too many baskets on the walls these days, but plenty around to hols “stuff”! I love them!

      Reply

  6. Calista says

    Hi! Your basket wall arrangement is really cute! Question….did you say you hung them with hot glue? When you are ready to take them down, how do you safely remove the glue without damaging the wall paint?

    Reply

    • Anne says

      Don’t hot glue things to walls people! Use those command hooks. For everything, they come in all shapes and sizes. Do hot glue a loop of something to the item to hang on says command hook….

      Reply

  12. Sherry Clarke says

    You had me at baskets! I am a basket lover and I’m sure I probably will need an intervention soon. You know, I don’t have any hanging on my walls though. What’s wrong with me??? Thanks for the aging tips!

    Reply

  13. Elise says

    I love this! Definitely something to think about before spending $30+ on an ‘aged’ basket from the department store! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  14. Anonymous says

    Baskets are so extremely light that I have used straight pins to hang them, hiding the heads in the weaving.

    Reply

  15. ANNE says

    love them hung on the wall like that. Looks awesome!!

    Hey I really love your glasses – boy do they ever suit you!

    Meant to tell you that a long time ago…

    Reply

  16. Anonymous says

    Baskets on walls is very Napa / Wine Country to me. I have some beautiful expensive baskets on my wall and think they look lovely. Your idea is great!

    Reply

  19. Kelly @ Make It Sparkly Mama says

    This cracks me up! You are the only other person I have ever met (online or real life) that hot glues stuff to their walls! LOL! My friends think I am crazy ~ love the baskets! So happy to have found your blog, its keeping me busy while I fought this awful cold.

    Reply

  21. Anonymous says

    I’ve been hanging baskets on my wall for years. I only collect a certain kind, trendy or not. I LIKE IT SO I DO IT. I’ve decided trends get way too pricey.

    Reply

  22. charyl greenia says

    I started hanging baskets on my dining room wall in 98 when we purchased a new home. I picked them up at yard sales, cleaned them and on the wall they went. I wish I had a picture but don’t.I tried for different baskets and found some nice ones. Several found themselves holding dried flowers and such. No one ever came to the house without raving about that wall. Wish i had thought to age them like this cause some really got bleached in the cleaning process. I too am curious about hot glue and removal time.

    Reply

    • Courtenay says

      The hot glue just pops right off when you’re ready to pull whatever it was holding down. I just use a butter knife to give it a little nudge. Love it! The only problem is that if you use only a little glue, it will sometimes come off on its own on really hot days. True story! It was raining baskets!

      Reply

  23. Gael says

    I don’t see this as a trend. I’ve seen baskets on walls since I was a kid during the 70’s, and I hung them on the walls in the 80’s. It seems timeless to me.

    Reply

  24. Clearissa says

    I would definitely use baskets on a wall. I love the textured look. I have spray painted many baskets but never used this technique. Thank you for sharing. Good Info.

    Reply

  25. Danielle says

    I have a large round one, I love the way it looks on my wall..I had it in the kitchen hanging then it was put on top of the fridge ( not by me) after I read this post I remembered it had gotten tossed somewhere and went on a frantic hunt looking for it only to discover it up in the garage rafters. It is now hanging on my wall in the entrance way and it really warms up the space beautifully! 🙂 thanks for reminding me of this concept also love your idea of putting three in a row and also the twine wrapped one. I don’t think this will ever go out of style, either.

    Reply

  27. Cotton says

    The hot glue may have popped right off of the wall, but I don’t believe you got it off of the basket that easily.Then again, I didn’t think it would come off the wall so easily either.

    Reply

    • Courtenay says

      This basket had kind of a shiny-ish finish on it originally, so that probably helped. Either way, my basket wall is still alive and well, so I think it’s fair to say that this project was a success! 🙂

      Reply

  28. Nicole says

    I love the look of baskets on the wall, but haven’t hung any in the past 9 years. I have several. I do believe I will do the aged look, I love it, nice job!

    Reply

  29. sherry says

    do you have any suggestions I am making a porch fall deco I want to put out my bushel basket the porch gets wet, can I protect it in any way?

    Reply

    • Courtenay says

      Hi Sherry! I love those bushel baskets in the Fall! My first thought would be to try some of that fabric waterproofing spray and see if that would help, but that would be completely experimental as I’ve never tried it myself. If you put it on one of those plant stands so that the basket doesn’t end up sitting in water, I think that would probably help a lot too so it could at least dry out really well any time that it gets wet. I hope this helps! Happy decorating!

      Reply

  30. Leah says

    I love baskets in all different shapes and textures. This tutorial seems to have gone down very well – thank you for posting.

    The only thing I would say to disagree is that, if anything, does it matter is its a trend or not? I actually don’t like the idea of everyone having the same type of décor as myself. It ‘s like going out and other women are wearing the same dress as you. I am very much of the mind set that if you like it then do it! It’s great if someone comes into your house and sees personality/unique ideas and one off projects. If the general décor and overall feel isn’t dated then no one project will make it so. Standing out from the crowd should be trendy haha.

    Reply

    • Courtenay says

      Well, these particular walls are in pretty rough shape anyway because they’re very old. We know we’ll be re-drywalling them or doing something else like shiplap eventually, so I don’t mind if I damage them a little and need to touch up the paint. That being said, about 95% of the time, there is no damage and the hot glue pops right off completely cleanly! I’ve done this for quite a few things around the house and it almost always leaves no damage!

      Reply

  33. TRacey says

    I have always hung my baskets on my walls or from the beams on my ceilings, have a border kind of thing around the top of my kitchen walls now!

    Reply

  34. Vicki says

    I live in a manufactured home with the “beam” down the middle where the two halves of the house are connected, but not a pretty wood beam, it is just textured and painted white like the walls. I have loved baskets for years and been collecting them from various sources, mostly garage sales and thrift stores. Not long after we moved in over 15 years ago, I got the idea to put hooks in the beam and hang my basket collection. I have 22 baskets in various shapes, sizes and colors hanging about 1-1/2 feet apart and I love the look. The funny thing is that the two most memorable compliments I have gotten on them have come from boys who were coming to pick my daughter up for a date. I decided maybe they were afraid to look us in the eye so they were looking up at the ceiling, lol???? I think baskets are classic and a great way to add texture and warmth to a room!

    Reply

  35. Angela Ogden says

    It’s not really a new trend. It’s an old trend that come back around. My mom used to use baskets on the wall for decor back int he 70s. It was an inexpensive way to decorate. What’s new is the colors of the baskets looking aged. Either way its fun and gives texture to your decor. I rarely get rid of a basket, as the can always be used somewhere. I have a large wicker trunk i want to do this color change to. It’ an old 90’s orangey stained thing. I wonder if you can use stain over chalk paint as an option. I may try it on an smaller piece to see.

    Reply

  38. Mandy Williams says

    Just found this on Pinterest, although I’ve followed you for a while. I can’t wait to try this! I certainly have plenty of baskets & can’t make myself get rid of them :-). I’m off to check out your twine bowl…

    Reply

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