I never knew that I could become famous for a wall of wicker baskets, but it’s true. A picture I posted of my basket wall in our home office is my most viewed Instagram photo at just under 20k impressions and tons of shares and engagement. I’ve worked waaaay harded on other things I’ve posted to IG, but this one won. The people have spoken. They love wicker!
As it turns out, I’ve developed a little hobby helping friends collect and assemble baskets for their own wall arrangements! I want to share today some ideas on how to source the cheapest baskets, and how to arrange them into a flowy, dancing collection!
So, first things first – where do we find baskets?
Insert: your local thrift store. That’s right! I can pretty much guarantee that you can find what you need by visiting a few of your local shops. You’ll probably find a pretty sweet deal, too!
Here are a few tips for basket sourcing:
- Choose shallow baskets. I only use baskets that are about 4 inches deep or less.
- Don’t rule out baskets that have handles! I would say 75% of the baskets I’ve used once looked like an Easter basket with a big handle across the middle. They may have even had little bows superglued on them. Don’t worry about any of that! Just spend a minute studying the way the basket has been woven, and make a couple strategic snips. You should be able to easily tug out the handle, and what’s left is a perfect, chef’s kiss basket ready for your wall.
- Use Jute placemats or wicker paper plate holders! It’s all about the collection, and different depths and dimensions will look great when they’re all together!
- Remember, you could always paint your baskets so that they’ll all match. But chances are, you’ll like the variety you get and will keep it as-is!
Next up is the arrangement! I like to spend a few minutes arranging the baskets on the ground in order to get the right “feel” before hanging them on the wall. If you have odd-shaped baskets, angle them. If you have similar sizes, place them on opposite sides in order to balance the arrangement.
Try to keep similar spacing throughout your collection of baskets. I aim for about 2ish inches in between each basket so they’re not too spaced out across the wall. Unless you’re dealing with large baskets, it could leave your wall feeling a bit “gappy.”
If you’re feeling brave, sprinkle in some greenery! This is my personal favorite! I source some lightweight, wire-free greenery “swags” at Hobby Lobby or a local craft store, and snip them up into small pieces. Depending on your situation, you could probably tape these up, but I just use a regular stapler. It barely leaves a mark, and you really don’t even see the staples when it’s all said and done! Plus, the greenery can help to fill in any gappy spaces in your arrangement.
That’s it! I hope you’re feeling the inspiration to try out one of these walls! They’re super simple to put together (and might I add, I’ve never spent more than $20 on any wall!)
Let me know if you try it by tagging me @sarahjoy.tv on Instagram! I’d love to share it!
