Storage & Organisation
9 Ways to Use Storage Baskets and Boxes Around Your Home
Easy to access, handy when it comes to tidying, and perfect for adding texture… Try giving these storage stars a whirl
Our homes function best when we mix and match our storage, both to suit the space and the purpose. A closed door can hide a multitude of clutter or coats, and open shelving can be beautifully styled. Yet the humble box or basket within a well-organised space can provide the perfect way to separate items within a bigger cupboard, add practicality to that prettily curated shelfie, or just to look lovely in its own right.
From large hallway baskets for corralling shoes, to a tower of colourful toy-stashing containers, to lined pull-outs for small bathroom bits, see how designers on Houzz have used baskets and boxes stylishly.
From large hallway baskets for corralling shoes, to a tower of colourful toy-stashing containers, to lined pull-outs for small bathroom bits, see how designers on Houzz have used baskets and boxes stylishly.
2. Favour flexible storage
While these big, mismatched woven baskets can’t live outside permanently, they are perfect for storing groups of garden items you might want to keep together, such as blankets for after sundown. You can stash them inside a storage trunk or bench, then easily pull out just the basket you need.
The empty space beneath this stylish outdoor kitchen, made by design and build company GDL London in collaboration with Yoko Kloeden Design, means the baskets can also be tucked out of the way when in use, too.
While these big, mismatched woven baskets can’t live outside permanently, they are perfect for storing groups of garden items you might want to keep together, such as blankets for after sundown. You can stash them inside a storage trunk or bench, then easily pull out just the basket you need.
The empty space beneath this stylish outdoor kitchen, made by design and build company GDL London in collaboration with Yoko Kloeden Design, means the baskets can also be tucked out of the way when in use, too.
3. Mix them up
Matching storage baskets look neat, but there are other ways to coordinate a collection, as shown in this hallway storage set-up by Mowlem & Co.
While a neat row of pull-out baskets sits beneath the bench seat here, things get more casual up top. Rather than being uniform, the baskets are tied together by tone or texture – an approach that can really add character to an otherwise fairly neutral backdrop.
Find local interior designers on Houzz today.
Matching storage baskets look neat, but there are other ways to coordinate a collection, as shown in this hallway storage set-up by Mowlem & Co.
While a neat row of pull-out baskets sits beneath the bench seat here, things get more casual up top. Rather than being uniform, the baskets are tied together by tone or texture – an approach that can really add character to an otherwise fairly neutral backdrop.
Find local interior designers on Houzz today.
4. Optimise airflow
A well-styled pantry is always a popular feature on Houzz and the best ones provide a variety of storage. This smart example by Sustainable Kitchens has open shelving that allows for flexibility, so things can easily be moved about.
The more prominent lower shelves feature pull-out wire baskets, one containing vegetables, which need a cool, dark and, importantly, airy home in order to stay fresh for longer. The baskets aren’t fitted or on tracks, which adds to the traditional look of this cupboard.
A well-styled pantry is always a popular feature on Houzz and the best ones provide a variety of storage. This smart example by Sustainable Kitchens has open shelving that allows for flexibility, so things can easily be moved about.
The more prominent lower shelves feature pull-out wire baskets, one containing vegetables, which need a cool, dark and, importantly, airy home in order to stay fresh for longer. The baskets aren’t fitted or on tracks, which adds to the traditional look of this cupboard.
5. Use vertical space
Storage baskets don’t always need a shelf to live on. In this artist’s house in East Sussex, the owner has chosen a basket with a handle for her vegetables and hung it beneath a shelf instead.
A brass double hook keeps the basket from wobbling around or tipping up. Ensure your handles are compatible with the hook you have in mind and, if possible, test your arrangement before committing to make sure you have the optimum hook to basket handle set-up.
More: What’s Your Storage Style?
Storage baskets don’t always need a shelf to live on. In this artist’s house in East Sussex, the owner has chosen a basket with a handle for her vegetables and hung it beneath a shelf instead.
A brass double hook keeps the basket from wobbling around or tipping up. Ensure your handles are compatible with the hook you have in mind and, if possible, test your arrangement before committing to make sure you have the optimum hook to basket handle set-up.
More: What’s Your Storage Style?
6. Sort your smalls
These laundry baskets are eminently practical as well as looking neat, having had the shelving designed to accommodate them perfectly by First Sense Interiors.
If you have storage boxes in mind, talk to your designer about options before any bespoke cabinetry is built, so it can be designed to work with what you’ve chosen.
A duplicate set of baskets like these could be kept in each bedroom for discarded clothes – ready to swap for one of these when full and ready for the washing machine.
These laundry baskets are eminently practical as well as looking neat, having had the shelving designed to accommodate them perfectly by First Sense Interiors.
If you have storage boxes in mind, talk to your designer about options before any bespoke cabinetry is built, so it can be designed to work with what you’ve chosen.
A duplicate set of baskets like these could be kept in each bedroom for discarded clothes – ready to swap for one of these when full and ready for the washing machine.
7. Go large in a hallway
A capacious floor basket is perfect near the front door for the easy stashing of kicked-off shoes and outdoor paraphernalia to avoid items being strewn across other surfaces.
To create the mood for this relaxed hallway, designer Lisette Voute has included a number of natural materials, and the baskets’ rough, woven texture makes them a standout feature. It’s a perfect illustration of how to make the supremely functional look supremely lovely.
A capacious floor basket is perfect near the front door for the easy stashing of kicked-off shoes and outdoor paraphernalia to avoid items being strewn across other surfaces.
To create the mood for this relaxed hallway, designer Lisette Voute has included a number of natural materials, and the baskets’ rough, woven texture makes them a standout feature. It’s a perfect illustration of how to make the supremely functional look supremely lovely.
8. Favour petite but perfectly formed
Little lined baskets like these are perfect for bathroom bits and pieces – make-up, creams, small bottles, tweezers, beard trimmers…
The ones in this scheme by designer Katie Monkhouse make use of the slim area at the end of a bath that’s often in danger of being dead space. This satisfying solution makes use of the whole area, with a slimline set of shelves that run right up to the ceiling filled with baskets that make retrieving items easy.
The baskets feature washable liners that keep smaller items contained, while still allowing tall bottles to poke out at the top and make use of the full shelf height where needed.
Little lined baskets like these are perfect for bathroom bits and pieces – make-up, creams, small bottles, tweezers, beard trimmers…
The ones in this scheme by designer Katie Monkhouse make use of the slim area at the end of a bath that’s often in danger of being dead space. This satisfying solution makes use of the whole area, with a slimline set of shelves that run right up to the ceiling filled with baskets that make retrieving items easy.
The baskets feature washable liners that keep smaller items contained, while still allowing tall bottles to poke out at the top and make use of the full shelf height where needed.
9. Be clear
Do you need to see what you’re storing at a glance? Does the idea of things being “out of sight, out of mind” give rise to a sense of unease? If so, you’re probably a visual organiser and transparent boxes are your friends.
With a set of stackable containers like these, you can easily lay your hand on exactly what you need. If clear plastic doesn’t appeal, try fine mesh pull-outs or go for larger-holed baskets for a more utilitarian or rustic look. Just remember, they will look prettier if you’re able to keep the contents neat and tidy – or even organised by colour, as these Lego boxes are.
Tell us…
Which of these ideas would work in your home? Let us know in the Comments.
Do you need to see what you’re storing at a glance? Does the idea of things being “out of sight, out of mind” give rise to a sense of unease? If so, you’re probably a visual organiser and transparent boxes are your friends.
With a set of stackable containers like these, you can easily lay your hand on exactly what you need. If clear plastic doesn’t appeal, try fine mesh pull-outs or go for larger-holed baskets for a more utilitarian or rustic look. Just remember, they will look prettier if you’re able to keep the contents neat and tidy – or even organised by colour, as these Lego boxes are.
Tell us…
Which of these ideas would work in your home? Let us know in the Comments.
Tying storage baskets into the design of a room with colour can be an effective way of turning them into a good-looking feature, as seen in this tower of kitchen-diner containers.
The bespoke shelves are at the end of a run of kitchen storage and face the lounging area of this open-plan space by Kia Designs. The baskets slotted into the shelves are integral to the scheme. Not only do they link to the blue and orange in the rest of the room, they add texture and warmth, too.
And let’s not forget how practical they are. For those with shared family spaces, an arrangement like this can be a great way to store toys, as they can be tidied away quickly, so they disappear from view when not in use.