Old Washbins Have SOO Many Uses

by Jasmin

Odds and ends, Mittens and scarves, recycling paper and plastics, white and darks for laundry, beer and coolers for a patio party. The list is endless, the fun part is designing them to match your own decor!

washbins vintage storage cooler repurpose uses, chalkboard paint, diy, outdoor furniture, painting, repurposing upcycling

Here is the final look. We were going for a shabby fun vintage look with optimal storage and organization. graphics courtesy of the Graphics Fairy :)

Quite simple really. Find your tubs and bench, pick a colour to match your decor and paint away! I opted to cut lids from some left over scraps of plywood and attach them with hinges.

A lovely day to sit by the pool and do some painting! You can see one of the lids here getting primed with an exterior primer. Just in case we decide to leave it outside for the summer.

I cut down 2 strips of scrap wood and coated them about 5 times with a chalkboard paint - sanding with a 220 grit in between coats to really make sure the adhesion was there and it was set for a lot of wiping in the future.

The fingers. i chose 2 fingers from the Graphics Fairy website and following her tutorial on image transfer, I added them to the lids. After that I hinged them to the tub and added a little knob to open them.

I also drilled a tiny hole in the front of the bin and added a knob there to hang my little chalkboard signs off of. You can see I also added a little extra design element to the bottom of the bin using a glue gun and then sealed it with a clear silicone. Since we were putting a basket underneath, I felt that the colour and texture should be pulled into the main pieces as well. Just a smidge,

We tested their use for my Hubbys surprise 40th. We lined the bins with plastic bags and added water, ice and salt to keep everything extra cold. I'm sure we could have just added the water and ice to the bins directly, however given their age - I don't want anything else potentially adding to their rusty demise. So, lined bins for this use is my recommendation!