Farmhouse Vegetable Bin Storage

4 Materials
$20
3 Hours
Easy
Sometimes finding another use for something you've already made can turn out even better than the first go-around.
Walking into “Inspiration Central” (aka, the Salvation Army), something caught my eye. The reason it caught my eye was because that “something” looked vaguely familiar. Something about it I had seen before. THEN IT HIT ME.
I remembered that that something turned out to be the tv tray stand I had found at a yard sale the previous year. (In actuality, I found two…but who’s counting?)


You can see in an earlier post I had turned them into a plant stand (for lack of a better term) and the other, a sign holder (for lack of a better term). They are smaller than what I had seen at Sal’s but I could still make it work. Where there is a will, there’s a way.
So I grabbed the white one, even though I end up painting it black. That probably makes no sense to you but the reason I chose that one is because there's more space between the top and bottom and I needed more space for what I was going to be doing.
The first thing I did was get a 3/4" dowel rod and cut it into two pieces.
I used screws to attach the two dowel rods to the sides of the stand.
This is what I have so far. I took a step back and decided that it needed a sign at the top.
So I traced the top edge onto a piece of particle board and cut it out with the scroll saw.
I had planned on destressing the sign so I first spray painted it with Rustoleum Metallic Oil-Rubbed Bronze. Next, I painted it with my poor-mans-version of chalk paint (Plaster of Paris, water, and latex paint).


*****THEN, AN INTERESTING THING HAPPENED*****
Once the chalk paint dried, it started to crackle. No distressing needed!


For the record, I have a vinyl cutter. I have the Silhouette Cameo 3 and it's still in the box. I didn't seem to have time to sit down and learn how to use it, therefore, I opted to make the sign the only way I know how:
  1. I make a design in Photoshop.
  2. I print it out IN REVERSE on a inkjet printer.
  3. I used a credit card or something with a flat edge to firmly press my design onto the sign. (Instead of a credit card, I use my nylon pan scraper I got with my Pampered Chef pizza stone. If you don't have one, you NEED to get you one...I'm referring to both the stone AND the scraper.)
Anyhoo, I digress.
I came up with a design. (You can download the PDF on my blog.)
After I finished going over the design with a fine-point Sharpie, I sprayed it with Krylon Matte Finish to protect it. Next, I attached the sign with wood glue.
Looking at the photo above, I should note that at some point after I attached the dowel rods, I painted the stand black. I used Folk Art brand chalk paint because I've found it's nearly impossible to make black chalk paint. (Gray, maybe; but never black.) Once it's painted, dried, and distressed, I go over it with Minwax paste finishing wax to protect the finish.


Now I had to find some baskets to use. This sounds a whole lot easier than what it actually was. After scouring the internet for days, I finally found these baskets at Walmart that would work.
I should note that I have a tendency of getting ahead of myself. Earlier, I told you I attached the dowel rods to the stand. I shouldn't have done that just yet. No, first I needed to figure out some method on how to attach the baskets to the dowel rods.


I tried to use O-rings but that didn't work. I finally decided to use split rings. Although I only needed four of these, they came in a package of 20. (Maybe I can find a use for the rest on something else.) The only problem with using these was after attaching the split rings to the baskets, I had to unscrew the dowel rods from the stand so I could slide them on.


That was more of an inconvenience than a problem. It was an easy fix. So, after all is said and done, this is the finished product. You could use it in the kitchen to store potatoes and onions or you could use it in the bathroom to store toilet paper and magazines. The possibilities are endless. How would YOU use it?
Suggested materials:
  • TV tray stand   (Yard sale)
  • 3/4" dowel rod   (Hobby Lobby)
  • 2-wire baskets   (Walmart)
See all materials
Heather McKinney
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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