Beautifully rustic wood and copper with a patina are my go-to decorating colors lately. I guess I’m not alone, as country farmhouse style and anything rustic is all the rage these days. Stores ranging from high-end boutiques like Magnolia Market to discount superstores like Walmart carry some version of this style. I don’t have a Magnolia Market where I live, but I do have…yep, you guessed it, Walmart. I got these amazing wire baskets there and used them for this super cheap and easy farmhouse decor diy project.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Time: 1 hour
Cost: $25
With little storage and cabinetry in our house I’ve been building shelving into every nook and cranny possible. In our kitchen there is a severe lack of room for food storage. In order to make more cabinet space for food, I’ve been wanting to get the utensils and kitchen towels out into easy to grab places. But have you noticed how expensive some of those cool wall organizers for the kitchen are??? And yet, they are so simple – just a couple of shelves or wire baskets on a base. I figured that would be a very easy diy project if I could just find some elements cheap enough. And I did! ….at Walmart.
The baskets I found are about $7 each. I bought three. I already had everything else including the rustic wood base and screws. So I essentially built this organizer for $21. Not bad, when these typically run $60 to $100+. There is even a matching silverware caddy and napkin holder available. It’s a dark metal finish that is slightly distressed and brushed to show a coppery finish coming through. Very pretty!
Other options for finding cheap wire baskets: Check out your local dollar store. The Dollar Tree here had some wire baskets but since they were circular shaped, not long ovals, they didn’t quite work for my space. Also, check out Oriental Trading Company online. They have millions of craft supplies. You might find something to your liking.
Okay, here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Supplies Needed:
- 3 baskets @ $7 each from Walmart. These are the exact baskets I bought.
- Wood board for mounting baskets to.
- 6 screws. 2 for each basket.
- Drill or you might get away with just a screwdriver. Depends on the density of your wood.
- 3M Command Damage-Free Picture Hanging Strips. Get the heavy duty kind – 16lb rating or stronger. (update: I tried the 3M Command Strips but ended up screwing my project to the wall)
Instructions:
- First measure the wall space where you intend to hang this project.
- Cut your board to fit the space, and make sure your baskets will be spaced on the board in a way that you can easily access their contents.
- Arrange the baskets evenly on the board. If you look at my pictures, you’ll see that I started with one basket at the bottom edge, and spaced the baskets evenly, going up the board. I wanted extra board space above the top basket.
- Make a mark on the board where the tops of the baskets will be so you can put them back in that exact place.
- Mark with a dot where you want your screws to be for each basket. I tried drilling actual holes in the basket rim to accommodate the screws, but the angle was too extreme for my drill, and the bit wouldn’t stay in place even after denting the metal rim. So I ended up simply using the screws as a kind of hook, pinching the metal basket against the wood. I can easily lift the baskets off my board now. I would have preferred to have them more securely fixed to the board so they don’t get knocked off accidentally. So if you have the ability to, I recommend pre-drilling holes into the basket rim, then screwing into the holes.
- Screw your screws into the wood.
- Test hang your baskets onto the screws, just to make sure they will fit. Then take them off for the next step.
- Attach your command strips to the back of the wood for hanging on the wall. Read the package directions and follow them or else your wall unit could fall off. Of course, if you prefer, you could simply screw your wooden base directly into the wall studs, and then you’ll never worry about it coming down!
- Hang unit on the wall, attach your baskets, and fill them up with something cool.
- Take pictures and share with us what you’ve made!
How’d it go? Any tips you’d like to share that would make this easier or more interesting? Leave a comment if you’d like!
I just finished this project! Can’t wait to hang it on the wall. My dad gave me an old board and I got the baskets at wal mart. I got 2 packs of the 16 lbs command strips. I may get one more just to make sure it doesn’t fall off the wall. How many command strips did you use? I have 8 on the back now and have room for 2 more. Thanks for the great idea! Can’t wait to utilize this!
Hi Erin, sorry for the late reply! I started out with 4 command strips, but my board was so old and warped that it wouldn’t lie flat on the wall. Because of that it couldn’t get a good attachment to the command strips, and after a few months of it wobbling, I decided to screw it on the wall just to be safe. I think if you have a nice clean, smooth and flat surface on both your wall and board you should be fine, but it really depends on that. Hope that helps! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
How cute! I think I have enough supplies for a couple (at least!) in my dungeon (basement craft room). I want one inside each entrance door (gloves, mail, keys) and one in the bathroom above the sink (washclothes, curling iron, hair brush – whatever!) THANK YOU for this great idea! 🙂
I love this idea so much! And it sounds extremely easy to do. I needed something to put my fruit in and this is the perfect thing!
Hopefully Wal-Mart still carries those baskets!! Do you remember what department you found them in?
Hi Amber! I was just at Wal-Mart today and did not see this line of baskets in the store anymore. They are usually on the kitchen aisle with the dishes and are placed below the dishes displays on the shelves. I hope you can find some at your store! If not, try hobby lobby when it’s 50% off and you can probably get something very comparable. Good luck!