Thursday, July 28, 2011

Project + Decor:: Staining an Ordinary Basket

Key Basket
Before
Key Basket
After
Key Basket
On Display

I've been hunting for a shallow basket to put near our front door and found this plain woven wood one on my last Treasure Hunt. It had the right shape but it was really blah and didn't go with our darker living room decor. But since it was plain wood and I had some left over stain from my antique window project this became an easy d-i-y decor piece. And I love how beautifully it turned out with the dark walnut stain.

Supplies::
Wooden basket made of natural unstained/painted wood
Wood stain (I used walnut)
Foam brush

How I did it::
1. Work on a surface that you don't care about getting stain on because it will leak through a lot! I did this on my work bench. I recommend working outside on a scrap piece of wood or thick cardboard. The stain will stain everything it touches.
2. Dip a foam brush very lightly in your stain. Instead of painting on the stain as you normally would a smooth surface, press the foam brush into the woven pieces to cover all of them, don't worry if it's a little thicker in some places than others, keep dabbing all over with the foam brush. It will pick up the excess where it needs to as it runs out of stain on the brush.
3. Let your basket dry for several days. It may still feel a little tacky but rub a clean rag over it to make sure nothing comes off. If not, it is ready for display!

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