Wicker Baskets And How To Use Them

If you think that baskets have been around for ever then you are quite right

. At digs in the Middle East Archaeologists have found evidence of basket weaving techniques which have been used not for baskets but for mats dating back as far as 8000 BC, but it is only since 3000 BC that baskets using these techniques were common.

Baskets are made from a stiff fiber with willow being one of the best known. However the plant life of a region determines the material used and this in its turn influences the weaving technique. The thin grasses of the moderate / warm regions and the broad leaved tropical bromeliads, rattans and other members of the palm tree family each require a different method of braiding and twisting to be made into a basket. At first baskets were made to be purely useful objects, but over the centuries basket making has evolved into an art.

We tend to take the humble basket for granted these days and it would be an interesting exercise to see how many things it can be used for in our own homes.

At the front door a tall basket can be used for holding walking sticks, umbrellas, baseball bats, hockey sticks etc all together and tidy. Under a long seat in the hall you can use a basket to hold shoes of all kinds.

Next in the sitting room a large wicker basket can be used to hold a big green plant, beside a chair a magazine basket will prove useful, while on the fireside a large wicker firewood basket holding logs looks good. It doesn't matter whether you have a real fire or not it all adds to the scene and depending on the wood they do smell good!

In the dining room, a sweater weave wicker wildflower basket in the middle of the table can hold fruit or flowers and on the buffet what about two wicker barrel lamps with silk shades? Somewhere around here there should be a large basket dog's bed filled with a big fat cushion.

The baby's room could use one for holding diapers and another one for all the toiletries plus a waste basket and a large sturdy wicker basket can act as a toy box. In the family room there should be another large toy box basket, a waste basket, and a magazine basket at one end of the sofa will complete the scene, along with another larger basket for books and newspapers.

The bedrooms could all do with baskets of one kind or another, with each person knowing what they themselves require.

In the office shallow baskets make good 'in' and 'out' trays and beside the shredder you'll need a large waste basket as well as two or three larger baskets for things like paper for the printer to stop it falling out of it's wrapper.

The bathrooms could all use a basket for storing the small things that get left in bathrooms like hair slides and the odd earring; they'll soon be the first place anyone should look. The laundry could use two baskets one for washing soap, dryer sheets, stain remover etc and the other for bleach and cleaning cloths. And the closets could use long shallow baskets for under the bottom shelves for extra storage.

The kitchen counter cries out for a long elegant planter on the counter for herbs or pots of flowers just to bring the outside in and every kitchen needs a bread basket. Add two basket trays, one for the luxury of breakfast in bed and the other to carry things, and you're done. Aren't baskets useful ?

by: Lesley Rice

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