There’s a Woven Basket for Everything
Baskets run rampant in my home—I have a tobacco basket above my bed, a winnowing basket over my dry sink, and a su ciuliri I picked up in Sardinia (much like a gnocchi basket) resting among other miscellaneous woven favorites.
As DIY and handmade pieces eclipse the pristine, manufactured object as a beacon of taste, baskets have reentered the conversation: Formerly Condé Nast’s executive director of fashion partnerships, Erin Pollard has built something of a basket empire since her corporate departure—her studio, Underwater Weaving, now sells rattan trail baskets alongside Manolos at Moda Operandi; the 2025 Macarthur “Genius Grant” went to basket artist Jeremy Frey, who was also featured in our pages in May; and full basket displays adorn many a home tour (this Westchester home, and here a Connecticut home that really takes the craft to heart). As an enthusiast myself, I went hunting for baskets worthy of storing, hanging, and simply admiring. Below, my 18 favorites.
For Storing
Baskets have a distinct ability to ground an interior with their handmade look and natural material, all while stowing true personal chaos. As I write this, I have a wicker hamper holding my dirty laundry, a Bolga basket from northern Ghana managing a trove of scarves, hats, and a few runaway socks, and a seagrass basket corralling my unwieldy throw blanket collection.
I’ll always recommend a handle where you’re using a basket for storage (you’ll inevitably need to move it around). Designs like Bolgas, with their leather straps, and Shaker splint baskets, with their ash handles, get the job done. But sans handles work too, like East Fork’s splint basket (made in Dresden, Ohio, “the capital of American basketmaking”). These smaller iterations can function as utensil crocks, wine carriers, or catch-alls.
For Hanging
My gnocchi basket is my favorite bedroom decor item, and it cost me 13 euros. That’s the gift of the hanging basket: It takes up significant square footage for less than the cost of a 36x48" print, let alone getting one properly framed. My preferred form here is the large, flat, loosely woven sieving or winnowing basket, originally made for sorting grain or drying. These are objects built for pure function whose aesthetic value lives entirely in their provenance. The ones worth buying, in my opinion, carry the evidence of actual use, so I lean on 1stDibs and Etsy here, or I reach for local craftsmen, like Gullah Sweetgrass, a South Carolina–based mother-daughter duo making woven pieces informed by West African craft.
For Decorating
If you’re approaching a basket collection from a strictly decorative perspective—these don’t need to hold anything or cover any space—the world is your oyster. The shallow Ethiopian gambella canoe basket makes a particularly good dining or coffee table centerpiece, especially as a counterpoint to glass or glossy surfaces that need grounding. Baba Tree’s waving Pakurigo baskets are the perfect side table statement and the right Ikebana basket can add height wherever needed. Precious pieces like Native American coiled baskets look beautiful peering down from a curated shelf while Underwater Weaving’s Stair Tote brings upstate farmhouse chic to the scenery.
