Industrial Style Laundry Hamper Makeover
Waste not, want not. That’s pretty much my attitude every time I walk into my neighborhood thrift store, which is pretty often.
Which also means I get into trouble a lot. And trouble is usually in the form of a pile of unfinished projects that have incredible transformations…in my head.
Too bad great ideas without execution don’t usually end up as blog posts, huh?

But this one executed exactly how I imagined! Don’t you just love it when that happens?
Today, I’m joining in with four other super talented blogging friends for a series called Trash to Treasure Transformations. Every 2nd Tuesday of the month, we’ll be transforming an item we found from a thrift store or yard sale. A.K.A. stuff we love doing anyway!

My victim to kick off the transformation fun was this guy:

To be fair, this hamper/trash can/pet food container, whatever you see it as really wasn’t all that hideous. It was pretty cute to begin with. But if you’ve followed this blog for longer than a day, you probably already know that I can never leave well enough alone.
This thing was a little rough on top, but it was nothing a coat of paint couldn’t fix.

I gave it two coats of Annie Sloan Coco, but typical me had to take it a step further and get all industrial style with a stencil.
I used these letter stencils I found in the hardware aisle and some black craft paint to trick it out.

I gave the original knob hole a quick spackling patch and sanding.

After the paint was dry, I swiped on one coat of Annie Sloan Dark Wax. I worked in small sections and left just enough of the wax behind to make it look a bit like wood.
I found this really cool pipe looking handle at Hobby Lobby for 50% off the other week while looking for our bathroom cabinet knobs.

Ta da! I’m so happy how it turned out! I had to take advantage of my new shiplap backdrop for a minute with this one.

Our master bathroom desperately needed a hamper, and this one fits right in. We were just tossing dirty clothes right in the floor beside our cabinet before, and it was not a pretty sight.

It works great with our rustic ladder towel rack too.

What do you think? Does it work? Can you believe this thing was only $9? Using the paint and wax I already had and the stencils and handle I bought, it ended up being about $20 total.

Be sure to stop in to check out all of the other thrifty transformations in the series today too! These gals are so creative; you’ll love the magic they can do.

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We’ve always had those horrible fabric-with- spiral-wire hampers. I’ve never thought of trying to make something good-looking to keep dirty laundry in. Now I’ll be on the lookout for something to transform into a pretty laundry bin. I might just end up building one. Great idea! Thanks for sharing:)
Yay! We have the spiral wire hampers too, but I like that I can hide all of the dirty clothes with this one and they don’t come spilling out of the top. Always good to hide our crazy. ๐
I think it turned out fantastic! So, does your family give you that funny look and ask, “So, why are you going to paint it?” I get that all the time! Thanks for the inspiration!
Haha! My family has learned to just go with it now. Or maybe they think it and just don’t say anything anymore because there’s no point in arguing with a crazy DIY girl on a mission. ๐
This turned out so cute! I love the color, and the stencils you chose. Thank you for linking up over at The Creative Corner!
Thanks, Melanie!
Amazing transformation, Lauren! I have yet to try Coco… now I want to. ๐
I really love the stenciled letters and the new industrial handle – and it looks perfect in your bathroom!
Thanks, Jen! I wasn’t as big of a fan of Coco all by itself, but with the dark wax it’s soooo gorgeous.