I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram, but the main thing I love (other than Scary Mommy) is that it’s a great place to discover inspiring designers. If you’ve spent any time perusing home decor Instagram accounts, then you’ve no doubt come across Studio McGee. I absolutely adore their design aesthetic. If you want some amazing inspo, go follow them now. You’re welcome.
They also have a shop for all their gorgeous home decor wares. If it was within my budget, I could decorate our entire house from that one site. But, alas, it is not, so I’ve resorted to trying to recreate some of my favorite pieces, like these pretty white washed woven trays:
Read on to see how I recreated this look with a $15 basket, white craft paint, and water.
I was looking for something to fill the space above the toilet in our powder room and thought two of those woven trays would do the trick. That would run me almost $80. Since I usually just buy baskets from the thrift store, it was hard to stomach paying that.
The closest replica I could find were these handwoven bamboo trays from China. They largest ones (42 cm., which is 16.5″) were $15 each. I figured it was worth a shot.
Here’s how they looked when I received them (which, btw, took forever, since they were shipped from China):
To create the white wash, I mixed together a small amount of white craft paint (just a couple squirts) and a bit of water. The ratio was probably about 1/4 paint to 3/4 water. Then I used one of my budget paintbrushes from my last painting project, and just brushed the white wash on the baskets. Here’s a progress shot:
Here’s how it looked after one coat of the white wash had dried:
Definitely needed one more coat. Here’s how it looked after the second coat:
Now that’s what I’m talking about! Time to compare the designer basket and my $15 replica:
Not bad, right? The weave is different, but because I love herringbone, I don’t mind the tighter weave on the replica basket.
And here’s how they look hanging up in our powder room:
One more close up shot. (Sorry for the bad lighting – this bathroom is tiny and has no windows, so it’s really difficult to photograph.)
The next time you find something you love for your home, don’t be disheartened if it’s not in your budget. You may be surprised at how easy it is to recreate on your own!
While you’re here, make sure you check out the Home Tour page to see how our powder room looked before! I’ll give you a hint – mauve jail cell.
Be sure to save this idea to Pinterest by clicking the red “Save” button below!
And, while you’re at it, click here to follow me on Instagram. Maybe I’ll end up hating it less knowing you’re there!
