Vintage Firewood Basket

Sold at a neighborhood art show. Dimensions: Length, 21.75 inches; Width, 11.75; Height of basket, 8 inches; Height to top of handle, 16.5 inches; Weight, 3 pounds. If you have a wood-burning fireplace and like antiques, this restored piece might be a nice place for you to keep some kindling and a few logs. It shows its (unknown) age pretty well, I think. $25.

The Story 

I found this item next to some trash cans in an alley a couple of blocks down from my house in the Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. It was pretty grungy. But I thought it still had some hidden beauty and character. Once in a while, rather than remake things I just restore them, and that was the case here. I spent a couple of hours cleaning it up. I started by scrubbing it with medium steel wool and then followed up with fine steel wool. Finally, I used Bar Keepers Friend powdered cleanser with warm water and a non-scratch sponge. I was quickly surprised that the handle, which I thought might be copper, turned out to be brass. And it matched the four feet (which may be modeled after an armadillo’s) and the rivets that hold them on. Both sides of the basket probably still don’t look much like they may have originally, but they look much better than they did when I started.

Related Items: Vintage Brass Bamboo End Table.