African Baskets as Wall Art

African Basket Wall Art

Baskets are all the rage recently, and I am definitely a fan too!  I fell in love with these colorful handmade baskets on my first trip to Rwanda.  Rwanda is a tiny country (the size of New Jersey) in East Africa surrounded by Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

If you love these baskets too, they can be purchased by clicking on the photos below.  I made sure to link a company that uses fair trade practices.  It's truly impressive to see artisans hand weave these baskets, and I love supporting companies that give there artisans fair wages so that they can support their families!  It really is a win win to collect these!  

When I first laid eyes on these beauties I immediately knew they had to be displayed on a wall!  All the different colors and designs on them are so gorgeous, and I wanted to just sit and stare at them.  

In arranging the baskets I knew I wanted them out of arms reach from my kids.  I also thought arranging them in an unexpected pattern would be fun too!  So I dreamed up...the wave.  

In order to create "the wave" I laid out the baskets on the floor and created the pattern.  I soon realized in order to create a wave I would need baskets smaller in size as well (thank goodness I picked up some smaller baskets too!).  

Here is the finished product...

I love sitting here and staring at all the baskets, I still can't decide on which basket is my favorite?!  Are you drawn to one in particular?  I'd love to hear!  Also, let me know if you think I should give one away on my instagram feed?!  I "might" have one to spare!  Maybe. Maybe. ;)

Farmhouse Basket Wall Decor

Farmhouse Basket Wall

Am I officially basket lady if I have two basket walls in my home?   Recently I've noticed a new trend to hang those seemingly useless rattan baskets of olden days on the wall.  You know the baskets I'm talking about...the ones that are always at the thrift store and everyone walks by without a second glance?  

To my surprise I found that they actually look pretty!  So...I made it my mission to hit up the thrift stores in my area and to gather those unwanted/unloved baskets to give them new life.  At 99 cents a piece I could afford to try it out...and if I didn't love them, I could just donate them right back.  Turns out, I kind of dig them.  

The key is finding baskets that are fairly shallow so they won't stick out to far from the wall.  Also, if they are a similar shade/color than they look more cohesive hanging in a group.  Lastly, hang the baskets in an interesting way...like surrounding a piece of art, or clustered together, and always in groupings of odd numbers.  When you hang 3, 5, or 7 baskets it is easier to arrange in an interesting way, than if you have 2, 4, or 6.  

Here is some more thrift store basket inspiration:  

inspiration photos from bloglovin.com and simplestylings.com