Jen Bowles Design

Anthropologie Inspired Berry Basket Storage

I don't visit Anthropologie very often.  In fact the last time was in November when Ebby and I were in NYC.  I'm still enjoying (in photos) the visual feast that was the Rockefeller Center store. 

There's very little at Anthro that I don't love, but there's also very little at Anthro that's in my budget.  However, the kitchen section is my weakness.  Great colors, fun & functional pieces, and relatively affordable prices.  One of my recent favorites is this Farmer's Market Basket ($14, comes in 4 different colors) :

As much as I loved it, I wasn't about to lug a breakable ceramic basket around Manhattan, no matter how small it is.  Maybe next time.  In the meantime,  I do have a stack of these:
Yep, wooden berry baskets.  Picked up by my dad at the swap pile no less.  You just never know what you're going to find at the dump--luckily I have people on the lookout on my behalf ☺. 

These little baskets have been begging for some crafty attention and this week I finally obliged...

Ooooh, aaaah, behold the transformed polka dot wooden berry basket!

I used the cheapest (thinnest) craft paint ever and didn't gesso, so it took 3 coats.  No big deal, the basket is pretty small.  When the final coat was dry I couldn't resist adding the white polka dots.
I pretty much declared it adorable at this point.  However, my studio table is cluttered enough so this basket needed some function.  It's obviously not food safe, but it is paper safe..Hello, stash of Martha Stewart labels from Staples.
I bought 5 or 6 different kinds.  I just noticed there's a $5 off $20 MS Home Office printable coupon on the Staples website valid in-store thru 3/3~I could've used that when I shopped a few weeks ago...
I do have a whole stack of free storage baskets...maybe I should stock up on a few more Martha office supplies.  Hmmm...

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My {Thrift Store} Desk: Before and After

I bought my current desk at the Salvation Army either two or three years ago. 

What I liked about it:  lots of surface area, great drawer space and fairly dirt cheap at $30.

What I didn't like about it:  the dark color and the faux/laminate wood grain.

It took me until this summer to finally tackle the task of painting my desk.  Apparently I'm easily intimidated by certain projects (see: painting kitchen cabinets...).

With a little help from Bobby Law, my desk was hauled into the garage, finally marked for renovation.

After months of searching, I'd found my Mouse sander and put 'er to work sanding down the desk and {removed} drawers.

Next step: a coat of stinky, stain blocking primer.  I think it was Kilz.  It was definitely latex and I definitely need more of it.  Perhaps the less stinky kind though.

After priming I let the primer cure for a few days.  Sometimes laziness can be to your benefit.  In the meantime I had to decide what color to paint the topcoat.  Rather, which shade of blue to paint the topcoat.  I think I currently have about 7 different shades of blue/turquoise paint in inventory.  I decided on a rather bold and bright choice:  Rapids by Valspar, aka the color of Ebby's walls.

I did two coats and a couple of coats of Minwax water based poly.

Ah, so much better.

My next conundrum was the drawer hardware.  I considered replacing it, spray painting it another color or filling in the holes and using Hobby Lobby grade crystal knobs.  In the end my mom helped me decide that the original pulls with their vintage-y patina would look best.

I totally agree.

With the addition of a few updated desk accessories, I was back in business.

You know, if I had a business.  Or could figure out what kind of business I could be in.    

I'm loving my "new" desk.  My new red leather desk chair {from Office Max, here} and unobstructed view of the Bloom garden give me even more reason to spend time here.

 

Because, you know, it's important to have a colorful, comfortable place to sit while you browse on Pinterest.