I thought I’d guide you through how to put up a basket wall today.
I love the way these look – they’re a nice alternative to standard art work and can add layers to walls, especially if you’ve got a big wall space and don’t really know how to fill it.
Another way to fill a big area is by adding wall hooks. I’ve added these into a couple of rooms in my home and been really impressed with how they’ve turned out.
With basket walls, a lot of people are put off because they look quite tricky to put together. Although I loved them, for a long time I had the same opinion. They’re actually fairly simple. I’m going to talk you through where and how to find the right baskets as well as the type you’ll need to finish off the look well. Finally, I’ll guide you on how to put them up.
How to pick out the baskets
I think what put me off about basket walls was picking out the right sized baskets. When I first started thinking about doing one, I bought a giant basket from HomeSense. I still love it but you can fit about five towels in it; it’s much too big for a basket wall.
I find the best place to buy baskets is ETSY. It’s full of vintage finds and I think Fetch & Sow is the best for this.
I’ve mentioned Fetch & Sow on the at 59 Instagram account before, but to sum up, it’s a vintage homeware store which sells bohemian style pre-loved stuff. It’s a perfect place to seek out a good basket.
To make it easier for beginners, Wendy – the owner – puts together sets to buy and takes photos of the finished look herself so you can picture it in your own home. This is really helpful and if you’re putting one together for the first time, I’d recommend taking this route.
If you’d rather make one yourself, I’ll put some of my sizing suggestions below.
Choosing the right sizes
Picking the baskets yourself is a really cool thing to do, too. It gives you the flexibility to choose baskets that stand out to you individually.
One thing I would say, is that it’s probably best not to have each of your baskets completely individual. Not all of them have to be showstoppers, some are there just to bulk out the overall look.
You’ll need 9-10 baskets in total for an average sized wall.
Ideally, pick out one larger sized basket for the centre. This one could be a little more intricate than the rest to add a focal point to your design.
You’ll then need five very similar sized baskets. They should all be a little smaller than the centrepiece but not noticeably. Here, I like to pick out a range of textures and colours. This is also a good opportunity to have two almost identical baskets in place that you can mirror either side of your larger centre basket. On my basket wall, you can see that the baskets at 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock are almost identical. It just gives a little bit of continuity.
Finally, select 3-4 noticeably smaller baskets to fill in the gaps around the edges. A basket wall shouldn’t be in a uniform shape and these little baskets help to add a sense of “planned mess” to the style.
You’ll notice that two of my smaller baskets are actually more intricate placemats. Don’t be afraid to experiment with textures that are similar to the baskets.
Fetch & Sow has recently put on a basket wall made of sun hats which I think is an extremely cool take on the trend.
Constructing the basket wall
You’ve selected your baskets and you’re happy with the overall look, now it’s time to put them up.
If you are planning to put nails in the wall to hang them on, I’d recommend doing that last once you’ve cemented their positions.
I prefer to use command strips myself because the baskets are so light they hold nicely and can be easily moved if you decide to swap them up a little bit as time goes on.
Start by putting your central basket up on the wall and then work around it to get a great finished look. There are no right and wrong ways of constructing it and it largely depends on your wall space.
I have two main tips based on my experience:
- Start with the large one in the centre, the medium ones around the centrepiece and then the smaller ones around the medium ones. If that doesn’t make sense, hopefully the photo above will illustrate it clearly.
- Don’t be afraid to place them quite close together. To give a finished and well-rounded look, the closer the better. The rims shouldn’t touch, but 1-2cm apart should work nicely.
Where to put your basket wall
There’s no right or wrong answer to this, but I wanted to add a couple of suggestions here.
They are statements, so something I would recommend is to let them enjoy their own space. Don’t have some artwork next to them or put them in a small space.
We’ve added ours to our baby’s room because it goes with the boho vibe we’re hoping to emulate in there. Kitchens are also great places for something like this – especially if you’ve gone for quite a wooden, farmhouse style.
I also like the idea of having a smaller version of style in the downstairs bathroom. If you’re not sure on whether this would fit into your home, a low-key room like the downstairs bathroom would work nicely. They’re quite cost-effective as far as art goes, so if it doesn’t work it’s not like you’ve had a huge outlay in the first instance.
My other suggestion would be to put it in your hallway if you have a staircase that is split into two rather than straight up. So, if you’re walking up the first bit of the stairs (before you turn) you could have it on the wall straight in front of you.
They add so much personality to a room and they can really finish off a room that looks otherwise bare.
