Turn an Inexpensive Wire Basket Into a Gorgeous DIY Table

5 Materials
$20
1 Hour
Easy
Anytime I can create a quick, easy and unique piece of furniture, I'm all in! It's amazing what a garden stool (or wire basket), a round pine board, some paint and screws will make. I'm so happy with how this cute little table came out. For now, I'm using it inside my living room as part of my decor (and for my son to use as a standing play table), but I plan to also use it outdoors when my husband and I entertain this summer. It's perfect for added table space to hold napkins, silverware and other entertaining items--or to hold our herb planters and flowers. The uses for this versatile table are endless!
This project was so easy and quick; however, in true "Courtney fashion", I went from a simplistic vision to complicated, then back to simplistic. I started out trying to use Unicorn Spit for my paint medium on my table top, but I didn't like the way it turned out so I started over and resorted to spray paint (my favorite paint medium). I definitely want to try Unicorn Spit on another project in the future so I can't wait to figure it out and share because it's a really cool art medium. As far as your table stand, you can use any wire trash can that has a flat bottom. If you find something at a yard sale or thrift store and it needs a facelift, simply spray it with Rustoleum spray paint. In my case, I found this Chinese garden stackable stool at my local Family Dollar for $15 and I loved the finish so I didn't touch it. STEP 1: Paint table top (no photo) In the chaos of switching paint medium, I totally forgot to snap a shot of me painting my table top. With this step, the sky is the limit! You can stain, glaze, spray, or paint your table top with acrylic paint and a brush. If you decide to spray paint your table top like I did and you want it to remain outdoors, I would suggest sealing it with something like a spray top coat so that the paint stands against the elements. I ultimately moved my table indoors which is why you won't see me sealing mine in this tutorial.
STEP 2: Drill holes Drill four (4) starter holes on the bottom of your wire basket.




STEP 3: Attach table top Next, you'll want to center your basket on the bottom of your finished table top and attach it by drilling screws using your starter holes from the previous step. It was a little cumbersome working from the inside of the wire basket, but I made it work--in hindsight, I would have drilled my starter holes further out instead of so close to the middle of the stool/basket.
I'm in love with this table! The table top really made the pops of gold in the wire basket stand out which made for a classy little table, if I do say so myself.
Finally, marvel at your cute little table! It's perfect for displaying your tiki torches, herb planters, or even holding a Welcome sign by your front door. If you want to keep your table inside, it can be used to display framed photos, trinkets, or as a couch end table.



Suggested materials:
  • Chinese garden stackable stool   (Family Dollar)
  • Round pine table top   (Home Depot)
  • Spray paint   (Home Depot)
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Laurie Laurie on Aug 06, 2016
    Love this idea! Thank you! I've been searching for a small table just to fit my sewing machine and I think this will work with s small rectangle top. What do you think?
  • Sandy Fink Sandy Fink on Jun 16, 2017

    What size table top did you use ?

  • Glo15812008 Glo15812008 on Jun 17, 2017

    I saw rocks you wo get hot then use cplots to dicorate them

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  • Karen Chan Seet Karen Chan Seet on Jul 23, 2018

    I have a small lazy Susan that one day can be used as the "table top". I somehow will nail the base to the basket bottom and have a turntable top!

    • Donna Burrows Donna Burrows on Sep 14, 2018

      Use screws, make pilot holes in the bottom if your Lazy Susan and screw it to the bottom of the basket! What a super idea!

  • Daisy@TX Daisy@TX on Nov 08, 2022

    Love this idea. I bought a table top for $1.00 at Habitat Restore now to head to Family Dollar see if I get lucky with the basket.

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