I think it was this past fall, Pottery Barn sold large dark willow baskets with side handles for a mint! They were beautiful, round, and very large - perfect for storage of just about anything, yet beautiful enough to take center stage in any room.
Similar to the basket with the sansiveria, the baskets were darker in color, but again a great size. I think they retailed for somewhere in the market of $129, and though that's not a terrible price, I was willing to pass them up til' they inevitably hit the sale rack. Thankfully though, I didn't have to wait. Christmas Tree Shops, a chain of discount stores exclusively in the North East, got a shipment of the same baskets, in the same sizes, in the same finish. The largest basket - $29.99. So I snagged it, and used it in the living room of CDLV as a planter.
This summer, I started to make some changes in the living room and the basket got in the way. Seeing as I got such a good deal on the basket, I thought what would it hurt to have it under the pergola. Not a bad idea, especially seeing as how after 3-months in the elements, it looks a lot more tailored to the CDLV design style.
After I finished thanking mother nature for giving me an antique look without an antique price, I thought back to the room the Brooke and Steve did for the Ashton Kutcher showhouse this past winter.
See the old English wicker trunk in the corner? I'm sure you're all starting to see where I'm going with this, right? I loved this room - still do, I think it's the most unique of the showhouse rooms, and really one of the more collected rooms I've seen Brooke post about on her blog:
Velvet & Linen. I love the layers, from the floor to the walls - but I digress. We're talking about the basket! I know that Brooke had that particular basket for sale after the showhouse, and it's no surprise it went quickly! I checked out their
1stdibs store, and found this one:
It had also been sold. But I loved the simple red line around the top of the trunk. So, I went out to the garden with tools in tow ...
So, what do you think? Not a huge transformation - but certainly an addition of character! Amazing what a little paint can do. Now this basket has a place in the house - but I'll show you that sometime real soon, when I'm ready to show you the whole room. For now, I'll let it be in the garden ... maybe mother nature will give it one more sanding before the summers over.
