Five. That is the number of times I've almost bought, but didn't buy an antique wall basket. What is an antique wall basket you ask? I'm going to do my best to describe it for you. An antique wall basket is an antique basket. That hangs on the wall.
I can slow down if you want.
I see them the odd time at antique markets and shows like the Christie Antique Show and Sale I go to every year. This past summer they had a beautiful basket that I almost bought to hold onions in on my brick wall in the kitchen. You may remember that wall in my kitchen as the wall where I store my weapons.
photo by Donna Griffith
This is what the brick wall in my kitchen has looked like for the past couple of years (as seen in the October 2014 issue of Canadian Living magazine). Antique French curtain tie backs holding my collection of rolling pins. I was afraid putting a random basket up on the wall with a pigs head and a bunch of rolling pins would just look mish mashy. I have a huge affinity for mish mashy whether it looks good or not. I'm a misher. And a masher. So I didn't buy the antique wall basket or the 4 antique wall baskets that came before it.
Then the other day when I was at my local dollar store I came across these baskets when I was looking for baskets for an upcoming post on something else entirely. I grabbed one and brought it home and by the time I got here I realized there was no question. I had to go back for 5 more.
If you take a look at the photo above again, just beyond the wood beam you can see into my mudroom which is where my freezer lives. It's also where I store all of the vegetables I grow all summer because it's a good temperature for storage. The only problem is, any time I want a potato or onion or anything I have to go into that mudroom which although may be a perfect temperature for storage, it not the perfect temperature for wandering into while wearing socks and a tee shirt. It's cold.
I would liked to have kept a few potatoes and onions in my kitchen but my cupboards are already full with other very important kitchen stuff like 152 slightly ratty tea towels and a junk drawer filled with rubber bands and pens that don't work.
Hanging these $3 baskets up gave me an entire wall of storage for potatoes, onions, fruit, herbs and ... more potatoes. Because a Russet can't be expected to do the job of a Kennebec. You need both.
Just look at how elated I am. I remember exactly what I was thinking. I was thinking I am SO HAPPY I can quickly grab a red or yellow onion. Or I just tooted.
Can't really remember.
I love mandarin oranges and buy them until they're out of season but I don't really have room on my counters for a big bowl of fruit. Hence ... one basket is dedicated to the things I used to have to keep on the counter; mandarin oranges, bananas, unripe avocados, that sort of thing.
I'd never get rid of the hooks. The hooks I love. They're antique French curtain tiebacks my friend Michelle gave me in a moment of weakness I suspect. I do not want to give them back to her but if she asked I would. (I absolutely would not but I want you to like me and that's the kind of thing a likeable person would say. In truth I'd cut Michelle's throat with a can opener before I ever returned these tiebacks to her.)
Just look at the genuine verdigris on them. In the words of that Seinfeld episode ... they're spectacular.
The baskets aren't full, they have just enough in them for a week or two. That way they aren't out of their optimal storage facility (the mud room) for too long. Plus they're $3 baskets from the Dollar Store, an establishment not always known for their superior quality. Any more than 5 onions or potatoes and they'd likely crash to the ground.
Now's as good a time as any to mention that I completely lied to you in this post. Not in words but in pictures. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well three of those words in this case were" lie" "basil" and "fraud" .
I took the plastic bags off of my basil for the pictures because they just looked like blurry smears. You couldn't even tell what it was. I have two mason jars with some water in the baskets and my herbs sticking out. I find the best way to store any herbs is the give the stems a fresh cut, put them in a jar of water, cover them with a plastic bag and let them sit at room temperature. DON'T keep them in the fridge and with anything that has a high moisture content like basil or even sage leaves, cover them with a plastic bag to hold in some humidity.
The takeaway I hope you get from this post is a) dollar store crap looks less like dollar store crap once you get it out of the dollar store b) you may have storage hiding in plain sight and c) tooting is funny.
And that is the story of how I became a basket case.
danni
Another thing, like the cob oven, that I never knew I needed. I did find space for the oven, but there is nowhere for that.... AAAaaaarrg! :(
Michelle
Hahaha! Funny girl!
Karen
Don't you dare think compliments will get you your tie backs back. Back off lady. They're mine now! Unless you want them back. Do you want them back? ~ karen!
Michelle
Ummmm.....no. But thank you for the kind offer.
They look lovely and clearly have gone to a good home.
Now, hand over Idris, right now!
Jan in Waterdown
Did either of you happen to notice how much he was on the SAG awards the other night? I paid particular attention to see if he was worthy of your attention.
He is.
Petra
Karen! Love this whole idea! Piggy and baskets.. Genius! My kitchen has no counter space and 1(!) drawer so using the little wall I have is perfect. What could I use as hooks since there's obviously no chance you will be passing hour gorgeous hooks on anytime soon ?
Su
Magic baskets indeed ?. Thanks for the tip on storing herbs!!
Elizabeth
If only I had a dollar store that carried nice baskets such as these. I don't think I could achieve the same look, with plastic Dollarama baskets :)
Denise Hosner
Haaaaaaa!
Joslynne
Love the idea cause I love baskets, too…but where to put them?? Right now my onions and potatoes are in a basket on the counter and my bananas are in another on the table…would really love to do the wall thing!
Thanks for the ideas and, as always, the great posts!
P.S. wanted to say thanks for sharing about Cuddles, but sounded repetitive on the Cuddles post, so I'll say it here!
Marna
LOL! I love baskets. I love the wall, and the baskets don't look like they are from the dollar store. I like your explanation of how the contents don't fall out! You are so funny! :)
Marilyn
Looks great! And the baskets too !
Grammy
A few things:
I loved the display of rolling pins, but those baskets (the idea and the execution) are just so, so wonderful.
I want that sweater. It is such a good picture with you giggling and looking so fabulous against the wall, but I can't get past how much I love that sweater. My hair is the same color, but mine is natural because I'm old. I should have that sweater. I won't be able to sleep tonight thinking about it.
All of us need to know where the rolling pins went.
If I was Michelle you would have had to cut my throat to get those antique curtain pulls because I am certainly not anything like that nice.
I envy your potatoes.
Karen
Hi Grammy. The sweater is Joe Fresh, but it doesn't look like they have the Oatmeal colour anymore. https://www.joefresh.com/us/Categories/Women/Sweaters/Cable-Knit-Cowl-Neck-Sweater/p/WF5R330084_010 Just khaki, navy or black/gray. :/ ~ karen!
Ann Brookens
And they're on sale from $49 to $14.94!!!!
Denise Hosner
J C Penny carries Joe Fresh, at least in Florida...
Grammy
Thank you, Karen, for the info. I went there and looked around and, even though it's on clearance right now, the other colors don't float my boat. So I'll keep looking around for one like yours and I hope that's not creepy for you, but we are the same size and coloring even if I am 112 years older than you are. If I can't find just the right one, I suppose I'll have to order up some yarn and make one. I will, however, look around Joe Fresh some more because I didn't know about them before.
Laura Bee
Handy & they look lovely. My bf hates baskets. This would drive him bonkers hahaha!
I have a fantasy they there's brick under the vinyl siding on our house. That would mean the crappy back porch the last owners slapped on could at least look nice on one wall. I've not found one bit of brick yet. The kitchen/family room is an addition too - 40s or 50s I think. More fantasy brick walls...hidden...in our next house maybe.
Karen Eggleston
Where are all the rolling pins?
Karen
The two most used are in a drawer that's easy to access and the others are in a less easy to access cupboard. ~ karen!
Elaine
Looks great, Karen! It kind of makes me miss my first house; bought in 1966. We covered one wall with faux brick (it was quite real and nice looking). For some reason (and much to my delight), my husband didn't complain about nail holes at all ... so I went to town and hung my collection of baskets and a few other rustic looking accessories and loved it. There's just something about a brick wall - real or faux that seems to add character to a room!
PS: I love your pig head and keep popping in the Kitchen Witch admiring her other "heads". Great store!
Gillian
I LOVE baskets. Don't know why. I just do. I see them and want them but, never buy them because....why?!? Now I know!!
Thanks!!
....I think. LoL
Mindy
Now to find a dollar store that carries empty wall space......
Ann Brookens
Mindy! Perfect response!
Nancy Blue Moon
They look kinda nice for $3.00 baskets...great idea...I thought you were a basket case when I met ya...
Denise Hosner
But where are the weapons now? In your bedside table?
Ruth
Exactly I was pondering the whole time...
Mark
Very clever! And it looks quite sharp.
But most of all, I love that pig head! Tell us about it, please!
Karen
I got it from a local store called The Kitchen Witch Mark, but I believe reader Tiger's Mom found one on line. So if you see one of her comments, reply and ask her about it. ~ karen!
Tigersmom
Alas, no! I only wish I had found one on line. I'm thinking of renewing my search, tho.
Martina
Found one at Amazon.ca in cast iron and another, closer to Karen's pig at an American site
http://www.antiquefarmhouse.com/pig-head-mount.html
Hope that helps‼️???
Denise Leavens
Grand. Simply GRAND!
The French tiebacks, the perfect color of the $3 baskets with said tie backs, the tip about storing herbs in jars with water, etc., not to mention how nice you want us to think you are (when really, the nice one here is Michelle and we all know it) and all the storage you now have hanging from your lovely brick wall is all just grand.
Big, large scale, grand...style, baby, STYLE! You even toot with style, my dear. (Actually what I think happened here is you tooted, it made you throw back your head in laughter, you hit your head on the bricks and that set you off, laughing harder...you get the picture.) The sight of you in the tight grip of hilarious laughter, just before gasping for air, has got me going off in a fit, a FIT, of giggles. Now I'm tooting!
Jani
You are so funny!! Thanks for the laughs!
Barb
Looks great!! I do love me some dollar store bargains! But dumb question here. What keeps the baskets from flipping over from the weight of the contents?
Karen
I"m gonna be honest with you Barb. I have no idea. It just worked out. Which as we all know, rarely happens. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the tie backs are a far ways out from the wall, and the back of the baskets rests on the wall. Or they're magic baskets. ~ karen!
Nancy
I vote for magic baskets!!!