Ditto DYI: Upcycled Striped Trash Can

When we redecorated our bath, we spent a lot of time thinking about permanent fixtures: the vanity, the towel shelving and the wire baskets we chose for storage.

Then in the latest round of updates, we hung a new shower curtain from Target.

And we finished hanging art in there for a little mini gallery wall. Poor Chester.

The only things left are getting a new bath rug for in front of the sink, changing out the trash can that matched the old bath concept (it was kind beachy with shore bird art, a feather shower curtain and the driftwood-colored trash can). Oh, and um, tiling the floor. Ha ha.

This post is neither about the bath rug nor anything else to do with the floor.

No, this post is about the trash can. See it tucked away in there in the back of the vanity? It didn’t match the room so I hid it. Unfortunately, that meant that the rest of the space under the sink was rather disorganized because not everything fits in there when the trash can is in there too.

So when the Ditto DIY Challenge came up this time and it was about trash cans, I thought, “Perfect! Now I can finally reclaim the space under the vanity!” I didn’t want to spend any money though so this project was all about using what I got.

Luckily, I got a lot!

First came my favorite Zinsser primer with a small foam roller leftover from all sorts of projects, but mainly my antique radio turned bar makeover.

I rolled that on over the course of a day. I only needed one coat, but getting all the sides painted required rolling all around the center of the trash can, like in the picture above, rolling around the top, then flipping it over and rolling around the bottom. I thought I was pretty smart because rolling each side individually would have taken four flips, not just three!

Once it was primed, then I took the leftover paint from our office makeover, which luckily happens to be navy blue, just like the shower curtain and used that for a base coat.

Once that was dry, I taped off some uneven stripes, which I thought would be fun since the shower curtain’s stripes are all symmetrical and I like things a little eclectic.

Finally, I coated the untaped parts with Rustoleum Gloss Protective Enamel in white.

Surprisingly, it only took one coat to get great coverage. I was pretty pleased because the weather was kind of dicey on the day I painted and I didn’t want to get rained on!

When the paint was dry to the touch, but not fully cured, I pulled off the tape so I’d get nice crisp lines, which mostly worked.

And the best part was, it was free!

Trash can: already owned
Primer: leftover from another project
Blue paint: leftover from another project
White spray paint: leftover from another project

TOTAL:  FREE

So what do you think? It was a nice addition, I thought. Thanks to View Along the Way and all the other party co-hosts for inspiring me to finally tackle one of the last remaining to do items in the bathroom. Now go check out all their posts too!

Linking up to: Ditto DIY: inspired design for the rest of us | Sugar Bee Crafts | If It’s Not Baroque | Work It Wednesday | Making Home Base | Handy Man, Crafty Woman | New Nostalgia | Give Me the Goods Monday | The Shabby Nest | House of Hepworths | DIY Showoff |Uncommon Designs | Liz Marie Blog | Blissfully Ever After | Design, Dining & Diapers | Crafty Scrappy Happy | Craftberry Bush | The Shabby Creek Cottage | Link Party Palooza | The Creative Connection | Serenity Now | Share Your Creativity | Dear Creatives | Simply Create 

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0 thoughts on “Ditto DYI: Upcycled Striped Trash Can

  1. Oh thank you very much! I can't wait for the next challenge! I have so much big stuff to do (like painting our kitchen cabinets and, ahem, getting that tile done) that focusing on little stuff like this is such a huge luxury! Plus it make the whole room look so much more finished.

  2. I saw that shower curtain at Target – LOVE it!! And the trash can you made to match is fabulous!! I love how you can still see the grain/texture below the colour- makes it feel that much more nautical. I would be thrilled if you have the chance to share this at our new Fall DIY Challenge if you haven't already- today we are linking up BLUE projects – old or new! Hop over to The Happy Housie to share yours! Hope to see ya there!

    – Krista

  3. Ah…the power of spray paint! This is totally cute! And I love Chester in his little cap 🙂 Thanks for sharing at our Get Your DIY on Fall Link Party. You helped make week one a success! I hope you'll join us again on Sunday. Our theme is fall wreaths 🙂

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