I was feeling the “do something” bug the other day, so I revamped an old hamper. It was really pretty easy, Daphne loved the new princess “toy chest,” it cost next to nothing and came out really cute!

So I have had this hand-me-down hamper for years, and it wasn’t even being used as a hamper anymore- it had more become a surface for Micah to put his stuff on in our bedroom. Even when there were dirty clothes in there, they would be forgotten about once “the pile” was started- so I was over it.

It sat by our font door for 2 days waiting to be taken down to the local thrift store, but I kept wondering if there was something I could do with it that would end up being useful for our home… then it hit me. I had been keeping Daphne’s stuffed animals in a basket in her room, and I sorta wanted to get a basket for blankets in the living room- so I did a switcheroo- taking her toy basket to the living room where it fits beautifully and now houses the pile of blankets, and I gave the hamper new life- making it little girl’s room ready!

Here’s the hamper pre-makeover. It’s not bad really- nice neutrals but some water staining on the top- plus it looks like it is trying blend into the carpet- heater- wall in the house doesn’t it?

Step 1- I unscrewed the hinges and remove the top.

Step 2- I found a piece of sand paper, took the whole project outside and sanded the top rim so I could start painting.

Step 3- I painted the whole thing white! It took two coats of acrylic paint (I did NOT water the paint down at all.) This was actually a little more time consuming than I had imagined- mostly because of the wicker- you really have to get in there to keep the coverage even.

Step 4- I painted the top, and the feet pink. I used acrylic paint (not watering it down) again. The white provided a nice base coat and really helped the pink to pop right? After the paint dried I did a top coat of glossy mod podge- not on the wicker- just on the top rim and feet!

Side Note- I really like using acrylic paint because it is water based and non-toxic. It’s also very versatile and can be used in lots of projects! I keep a good supply of acrylic paint at home because it’s such a mellow, easy paint to use.

Step 5- I covered the top cushion with this adorable princess fabric. I had already made a couple of pillows for Daphne’s room with this fabric and had enough left over to do this project, and there’s even a little more to make one last pillow- maybe that’ll happen this weekend.

I didn’t take off the old cover- yeah it was stained, but it didn’t smell weird or anything, plus it was a time saver to just cover what was there. I literally (as you can see) sewed directly into the old fabric and was able to tightly cover the whole thing.

 

Step 6- I reattached the original hardware and made sure it lined up just right- and it did!

All done!

I worked on this little project off and on over one afternoon/evening and one morning. It was fun to revive this piece of furniture and now it has a new purpose. Daphne loves it and it’s no longer just taking up space.

I love doing, making and playing, especially when the result is this fun!