Wire Basket Organizer

This is a fairly easy project turning an old table top into a framed wire basket organizer made with hardware cloth. The same project can be completed using an old picture frame.

I was given this old table base without legs from my neighbor Rodney. He knows I’ll take any left over junk he doesn’t want.  It sat in the garage for a couple of months and then I figured out a new plan for it.

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After removing the screws holding the skirt, I quickly began to remove the skirt from the table base with my favorite pry bar   and a hammer.

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My first thought was to use chicken wire for this organizer, but when I went to the garage to get it, I saw a smallish piece of hardware cloth and decided to use it instead.  If you’ve ever used tin snips to cut hardware cloth, you know that you are left with “tabs” all around the edges. In order to get a cleaner look, I worked my way around the edge with needle nosed pliers bending each tab back and forth until it broke off. This is the first time I’ve cleaned hardware cloth up like this, but I will definitely do it from now on.

It looks a lot less dangerous and intimidating, don’t you think?

To frame in the hardware cloth and raise the new table top organizer off of the wall so that hooks will be useable I chose a piece of a firring strip. I cut miter corners and sanded it to make it look nicer.

I used my staple gun to secure the hardware cloth to the original table base, then framed out the new lumber on top of the hardware cloth. You can see that if I just left it like this, the hardware cloth would be right up against the wall, leaving no room for hooks.

I picked up this paint from Deco Art at Haven Conference, I loved the pretty blue shade as a basecoat.

After doing two light coats on both sides of the new organizer and the hardware cloth, I did a dry brush technique using this silver metallic paint from Deco Art and a cheap chip brush.

I love how the blue and metallic paint make this table base look old.

Using small wire I attached $$ Tree baskets to the hardware cloth—and jute to attach my small chalkboard tags to the baskets. I was originally going to use hooks for a temporary option, but changed my mind.

Like I said earlier, this could easily be made out of a large picture frame instead of a table top. This item sold really early at Glendale 2016. I heard the couple talk about the Mr’s phone, wallet, etc.

I would love for you to pin this project so your friends can see that trash to treasure can really be pretty and useful!

gail