Ikea Style: Basket Planter!!

(images of Kalasa plant pot from Ikea website!!)

Last weekend Peter and I went across the border to our friendly neighbors in Canada and made our very first trip to...IKEA!!! (our nearest store is in Burlington, ON only a short hour and a half drive from our house) We were just bursting with excitement before we even made it through the door! I couldn't get enough of all their great home decor pieces, the aMazing showroom displays, and their even better prices...totally coulda stayed there allll day!! :) After a lot of looking we narrowed down all the items we loved and decided on just a few things we had to bring back with us. One piece we did end up passing on was a basket planter. It was sUper cute and the perfect thing for our Yucca plant (that we lovingly named Burt!) buut as soon as we saw it I knew we didn't even need to spend the $14.99 because we could make our own!!




During our move I found an old bushel basket in the garage, it's worn and has just the right amount of character and I thought even then it'd be great for plants on our front porch or in our home. I had no idea it was an almost exact match to the Ikea planter and with a little cleaning up and a coat of paint it could be a perfect pair :)

All I did was clean out the dust and a few stray cobwebs..hehe (it was in the garage..don't forget ) and it was ready for its first coat. I chose "Glacier White" by Easy Living, we had just enough leftover from painting our paneled room and since we lOve that shade of white I couldn't think of anything better! I used a three inch painter's brush and got to work! This size was perfect because it was nearly the same width as the slats of the basket so it made the project quick and easy :) I did one coat, inside and out, but the basket texture and wood grain were still visible so I went over it once more and a second coat did the trick!

After letting it dry I sanded the edges for a slightly distressed look and found just the right spot for our new Yucca plant in the corner of our dining room (which they sell at Ikea in various sizes for only $19.99!! ) I lOve the color and life the greenery brings to this side of the room and by the sliding door it will get just the right amount of light it needs. Now in the white planter basket it really stands out and adds some extra charm to our eating area. I'd love to get some more plants and do this project again, maybe in a mix of sizes to complement our new basket planter!!

Hope you enjoyed this simple project, I was soo excited to share the transformation with all of you!! Maybe you've got an old basket lying around that with a brush and a little paint could bring some Ikea style into your home too!


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