~ French Linen Basket Makeover : How to with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Basket Makeover Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - French Linen

Another way to store things in the kitchen is by using baskets. 

This is a very old solution that still works in today's kitchens as well. 

When choosing storage options for the kitchen, baskets are always tops on the list for many people. And for good reason, they not only add a nice hidden storage solution, but they can also bring in a touch of warmth, color and/or texture.  Somewhere along the line, I had a "collection" of sorts of these very inexpensive baskets. There were mostly out of sight, but they were also exactly the right size for a shelf area where we needed quick access to things like keys and they are in easy sight so something needed to be done to them, just to pretty them up a bit. 

So out came the ASCP again!  I've had the French Linen Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for a while, but never found the right place to use it for any accessories or furniture. However, when I tried it with the new colors in the kitchen, it was a perfect complement.

You can see from the before and after that a little bit of paint makes a big difference.


Because my cabinets are still mostly a warm wood color, I left the handles in a natural wood, and restained them to be the same as the cabinet color.

 Here are the steps to get this look: Skip steps 1 & 2 if your basket is clean and ready to paint.

1. Clean your basket if you need to with a simple warm soapy water solution, being careful not to over wet the basket or you will need to let it dry again completely. Mine were clean, so there was no need for this step.

2. If your basket is very dark and you are going very light, you may need a primer so that the basket color or stain will not keep bleeding through your paint. These baskets were light in color and I am  painting them gray, so this step was not needed.

3. For this project I painted the baskets with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. For that reason, there was no need to prime the surface. It did however take a couple of light coats to get the right coverage.

Paint the entire basket inside and out with a brush, or you can use a spray paint.

4. Let your basket dry completely. 

5. Optional Antiquing Step:

I used a Glaze of watered down Burnt Umber. (For making a glaze, you can use water to thin your paint for a quick project like this. Usually I use a Glazing Medium so that it doesn't dry before I am done working with it.)

If you would like your basket to have an "aged" look you can make a simple glaze using a watered down acrylic brown paint, or gray for a white basket will work as well.

Choices for paint colors for the brown would be raw umber or burnt umber, with the burnt having more red in it.  And on a white or off white basket, you can use a medium to dark gray for a different kind of aged look.

6. Dry Brushing:

The basket above was "dry brushed" with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.  You can use any white paint. If it is too white, add a bit of beige, or gray to it. Add a small amount at a time, it can change white more than you might want. Do not dilute the paint. 

To Dry Brush:

Start with a dry, flat brush, or a small sponge brush, load a small amount of white paint on the bottom part of the bristles.Wipe off the excess paint on a dry paper towel so that the paint is evenly distributed on the bottom of the brush. You don't want any clumps of paint in one area on the tip of the brush or you will get an uneven brushing or clumping in spots. This is the "dry brush" part, meaning that the brush starts dry and  has a small amount paint on it. 

Keep the brush a bit horizontal across the surface of the basket, only touching the highest areas at first, and not getting any paint into the recessed areas. Don't try to do it all in one coat if the color is still showing more than you wish. With the next layers you can decide how much white you want to show, and how much of the gray, by doing as many or as few layers as you want.  It is much better to go over whatever item you are painting with more coats of dry brushing to get exactly the look you want than it is to go too heavy with the first coat.

Remember is is easier to add paint and dry brushing if you want more than it is to remove it once the paint is on there.

One more little project done on a very long list of little things to do to get the kitchen done!

See Y'All Soon~