They’ve come in handy since forever, and these woven wonders often make us feel nostalgic. “Baskets can remind us of happy times — your mother and grandma probably had some at home,” says Samuel Gosling, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin who studies the meaning of decor. People may also be comforted by their hypnotic weave and earthy elements. Says Gosling, “It’s the same reason we put up pictures of the ocean — we’re drawn to things that remind us of nature.”
To score neatness as satisfying as her crafts supply stash, Los Angeles–based Kelly Mindell of @studiodiy did a coordinated mix of baskets: larger pom-pom ones from Target hide her Cricut stuff, and square kinds from The Little Market hold basics like beads, yarn and modeling clay. “The woven material connects them and my tropical theme!”
Because the one in the home of Canadian blogger Jessica Sara Morris of White Picket Farmhouse is smallish, she DIYed a petite bench from old-growth cedar and tucked a water-hyacinth basket below from Canadian Tire for shoes. An oblong seagrass number from H&M hung on a hook isn’t just a practical place for scarves: “When a basket’s this cute, you show it off!”
“A white sink and white tile can look stark,” says designer Kristina Crestin of HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer. For more warmth in a Boston client’s bathroom, she filled a rattan Target basket with fluffy Turkish towels. It’s ventilated enough to let bath toys dry out when towels are in the wash.
