Basket Wall

Does anyone else have a house with a “formal” living room? I imagine anyone whose house was built in the ’90’s does. Open concept and informal living spaces were not the norm back then. We built this house when I was in my 20’s. It was the first house that we were building from scratch. It sounded fancy to have a formal living room. I thought it was something I should have for when company came and we wanted to chat over coffee or tea. A place where children weren’t running around and toys would never be found. I woke up from that dream pretty quickly once my two girls were running around the house with doll babies and match box cars (yes, they loved both), everywhere.

I’m ready to move on and we are transitioning the space into a den/office that is more casual than formal. I had the same Home Interior Party artwork on the focal wall for years and years. It was time to change it up. For now, I didn’t want to spend a lot because once we actually take out the carpet and add built ins, I’m sure we’ll change decor again. I found myself drawn to basket walls posted on Pinterest and thought I’d give it a try.

I am not what I would call a “thrifter”, but I headed to the two stores closest to the homestead to see what I could find. Before heading out though, I measured the space where I was hanging the baskets. I have two wall sconces (again 90’s style and being replaced), so I measured between the two and guesstimated the number of baskets I thought it would take. One tip I will offer is to think about size, shape and color. Do you want all one shape or mix it up? Do you like to stick to one color tone or several shades? With a basket wall, your choices are endless. I just started picking things that caught my eye and went with it. I had a couple baskets at home, bought a few at Goodwill and purchased a couple at HomeGoods & Michael’s. All total, I think I spent $40.

Because there are an infinite number of ways to arrange the baskets, a good tip is to arrange them on the floor first. I am a lover of symmetry and that was the first thing I tried. Unless you have two of every basket, symmetry is pretty difficult. I let go of controlling that urge a little bit and started using my imagination more.

Once I came up with a design, I measured and marked the wall so it would be centered. I used blue painters tape to mark the area. I used tiny finishing nails to hang the baskets because they are so light. The nail holes will also be very easy to patch when I decide to do something else on the wall.

In the end I decided on an asymmetric design which is way out of my comfort zone. It’s been about a month since I hung them and I am still loving it. Hopefully you will find a wall to try this new decor style out!