Fry Basket Reinvented

Inspired by the vintage wire baskets at Pottery Barn, and not so inpired by the $24.00 price tag, I decided to recreate the look. (Mind you, 24 bucks for a great decorating object is not that bad to me, however I needed more than one.) Love these. These are the ones from PB and I'd been looking for just the thing to house all my "above the cabinet" items. I'd been struggling with what to do with such items because heaven knows I just can't get rid of the dozens of mason jars from past canned salmons and strawberry jelly and enamelware given to me by friends and family. So there they were, cluttering up together the tops of the cabs and just.looking.plain.messy. Some people tried to cheer me up saying it looked more cottagey that way, but I couldn't give up on my plans for uniformity some how.

Enter the fry basket.

That's right, folks. For a mere $2.82 each, I found 3 fry baskets at a thrift store that got my ticker tickin'.

All I did to pretty them up was to cut two Trader Joe's bags (any paper grocery bag will do, I just like to rub it in that there's one near me :)) to line the baskets and hide all the unmentionables. And here's what we have today.

Not a great picture with the messy countertops, but you get the idea. Now, I get that much more storage and I can still use the enamelware for my daughter's "old-fashioned" birthday party this weekend when she turns 3. I'll make sure to post those pics too.

*If your nearby thrift store doesn't have weird stuff like fry baskets, try a used kitchen equipment warehouse. They sell everything from ice makers to Viking ranges and you just might find some deep fryer baskets there.