Turn Scrap Pieces Of Cardboard Into A DIY Faux Wood Storage Basket

Looking for an elegant way to keep small items organized in your living space? A simple storage basket might do just the trick. These household staples are great for tidying up your linen closet, organizing your bathroom, or keeping countertops free of clutter. They're also handy for holding books and magazines in your living room, or for sprucing up the visual appeal of your dining room sideboard. Plus, you might not even need to bother buying them, because they're so easy to make at home. All you'll need for the basic structure of your baskets are a few leftover pieces of corrugated cardboard. Although this material might not at first glance seem particularly eye-catching, it's the kind of canvas you can reuse to create a surprisingly stylish décor piece that's suitable for just about any room in your house.

TikTok user diy_withasma has a short tutorial that shows just how easy it can be to turn spare cardboard into a DIY faux wood storage basket. In the video, the homeowner pastes paper strips from leftover magazines on the outside of her cardboard to make the surface look like it has slats, and then paints over them with a mix of brown acrylics. To complete the project, she glues in some fabric lining on the inside, and attaches a few sturdy lengths of braided rope, which become decorative handles. The finished product could boost the aesthetics of your living room or entryway. Alternatively, you could use it to tidy up your cluttered closet.

To get started, cut a piece of cardboard for the base of your basket. Then, gently bend another piece of cardboard around the base, cut it down to match the desired height of the basket, and use hot glue to affix it. Next, make strips of paper from a leftover newspaper or magazine, and glue them down vertically around the sides of the basket. You can also add more paper strips to the tops and bottoms of the sides in a horizontal orientation to give the fixture a hemmed look. Now, you can paint the entire outside of your basket white. Once it's dry, lightly brush on a mixture of brown and coffee-colored acrylic paints. FolkArt Coffee Latte Acrylic Paint, for example, should work great here. Make sure the direction of the brush strokes match the arrangement of the paper strips, so that the basket ends up with a wood grain effect.

Next, cut a piece of cardboard that matches the dimensions of the basket interior's base. Use hot glue to wrap your choice of fabric around this piece. Before you slot it into place, attach the same fabric to the insides of the basket. Finally, glue down arches of braided rope on the sides for the handles. The completed basket could be great for styling floating living room shelves. Alternatively, you could use a pastel paint in place of the brown to turn it into a lovely seasonal decoration.