wicker chest redo | home office diy

I just refinished this wicker and bamboo chest for the home office redesign and I wanted to share it with you. This was a beautiful piece – it’s very heavy and has a great shape and structure to it. My sister can’t remember where she got it and was even considering getting rid of it when she moved a few years ago. I’m glad she didn’t! I think it will be a nice addition to the home office – or any room – plus it will be great for storage. We’re planning on putting it in the center of the room so it will be a big focal point. I spray painted it with black and red paint for a two-tone effect. I really like how it came out but it took a little extra fussing with to get the finish the right color. Here’s how it all went down.

materials:

3 cans of spray paint – I used 2 cans of Rust-oleum Hammered black and 1 can of Rust-oleum Satin burnt red {both say good for all surfaces}; painter’s tape and a drop cloth

project steps:

1. Cover any hardware or areas you don’t want painted with the painters tape. Also, you have to decide if you want to finish the inside. I decided to only finish the edges where the wicker folds in. Easy.

2. With the chest on the drop cloth and in a well ventilated area, spray on a coat of the base color. I chose black to be the undercoat. I had to do a two coats of the black to get a full coverage. Let that coats dry and spray any areas that may need it where it doesn’t look even.

3. Next, spray the chest with the second color. Ours came out WAY TOO RED! So back to the black spray paint. This is a little more tricky because we want it to be a subtle two-tone effect. For that process, I go a little slower and lighter handed with the spray paint. Do this until you get the results you want. But remember, it’s only paint and if an area doesn’t look good, you can always go over it again. And again, if needed. I didn’t use any more red but I just kept spraying the black until I got the color I wanted.

4. The hardware had a dark brown finish and it didn’t contrast enough with the new black and red paint. So, I took sandpaper and sanded the edges of the hardware so the finish was worn away a bit. It revealed a more silver color which stood out a little better against the black & red.

And that’s it! I’m anxious to see it in the room but that will come later when we show the whole room reveal. Keep checking back for more projects for the home office – we have a lot of fun stuff coming up that I’m really excited about.

Do you have a piece in your home that you’ve thought about throwing away? Maybe it just needs a coat of paint to make it new again. And fyi – this project only cost $18! Enjoy!