$30 Thrifted Basket Wall Art

Like most people, when I moved into this house, it took me a while to get some art on the walls. I was still in the middle of a renovation and those details didn't make it to the top of my to-do list. When I did finally get around to it, I rummaged through the stack of wall decor I had moved from my previous house and found these two mirror and wood pieces. I liked the warm wood color against the white walls and they went well with overall color scheme of the room. They also added a bit of symmetry with the ladder on the other side of the TV credenza. I hung them up and was happy to have something to fill that otherwise empty space. 

But the longer I lived with them, the less happy I was with the look. It fell a little flat for me. Everything on the wall was too boxy, the scale was a bit too small, and there was this wide open space above the TV that felt empty. I started seeing these basket wall art installations all over Pinterest and fell in love. The color variation, texture, round shape, and organic, flowing nature of these installations were exactly what I needed to fill this space.

Then, I started looking at where to source the baskets to replicate this look. There are a lot of options, from curated collections (ranging from around $75 to well over $1000), to individual pieces (often priced around $20 - $30 per piece). That was more than I wanted to spend on this project, so I hit my local thrift stores.

I was able to source these 9 baskets from two local thrift stores over the course of two weekends (I had to allow time for new inventory because I cleaned them out each time I visited). The total cost for all 9 pieces was less than $30. And I love the dimension and "collected" look of these thrifted finds. 

To hang them, I started with the large pieces, creating the general flow I wanted the overall installation to have. Then I filled in the rest with the smaller pieces and hung them using small nails. For my composition, I tried to avoid having pieces of the same color and size all grouped together. But, you could definitely create an ombre effect, moving from dark to light as you work across the wall. 

I'm so happy with how it turned out and even happier with the cost. Try this for yourself and get creative with your materials and composition!