Thanks! Of course, it's probably that beamed ceiling that's really the thing making my heart go pitter-pat, but since that's out of the question I may start to look into doing something similar (and as Linelle says, more cost-effective) with baskets in my kitchen. After playing around with the display atop my cabinets over the weekend, it feels a bit more unified, but I still have some English pieces displayed that are really starting to read as too "sweet" against the rest of the space. I still love the English cottage look - Cath Kidston and pretty pastels - but it fights the Native American art and earthier, bolder colors. (I'm definitely keeping my Cornishware out on display, though. I think that holds its own.) Those sweet cottage elements worked in my previous home. They don't work in my new place.

This display of large baskets just really caught my eye. I'll start looking around, and will start with Pier 1 and World Market. I know they have nice, large baskets - but even some of them are a bit pricey. Still nothing like the one I linked to on eBay. I can't imagine anyone even considering paying that (and the shipping! Seriously?)!

Here's a large pretty basket from World Market ... $50. It even looks like it has a bit of "patina" to it too. ;-)

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you use your Navajo and Hopi baskets? I would imagine that they are much nicer than anything from Pier One, World Market, or another store like those that stocks mass produced stuff.

One other thing, after your thread on clutter on your counters, notice how the counter in your inspiration photo is devoid of anything on it! I suspect that helps the look with all the baskets on top.

Actually, I do know a bit about African Bolga baskets, and I've used a couple of them in this extremely pitiful mockup of baskets atop my own kitchen cabinets. I'm definitely not going to win any awards for my representations, but they help me to at least begin to envision a look!

Here is how it currently looks (countertops and island have been decluttered a bit since this was taken):

I like the basket look a lot, but to me, it only works when only baskets are used. Throwing in the odd, say, painting, makes it not work for me.

Cyn - My Navajo and Hopi baskets are displayed on top of my china cabinet, and I really like the way they look grouped together there. That said, I might "audition" them above the kitchen cabinets to see how they look. I think I would prefer the look of plain, natural baskets in the kitchen though. The Navajo baskets especially are colorful and of varied design. Also they're undersigned for the look I'd be going for.

Bumblebeez - I agree with you. If I went the baskets route, it would be baskets and baskets only. :-) It would have a much more organic look than it currently does.

Jen, I like the baskets also. Not only a primitive/country look, but seem to be used frequently in French country decor. You might want to check out this site. There is a surcharge on orders under $50, but thought you would get to that fairly quickly since you wouldn't be buying itty bitty baskets.

https://www.luckyclovertrading.com/view-baskets-c-1_494.html

WorldMarket has some that look similar to what you seem interested in, not sure about scale, but...it's worth a try to look.

Find a couple of countertop baskets for your husband's stuff!

The very large shipping charge on the eBay basket is the seller trying to do eBay out of some of the percentage they pay eBay on the sales price (no percentage due eBay on shipping fees).

I had a collection of baskets on top of my kitchen cabinets and recently took them all down. A couple were older ( country antiques) and larger baskets, but the majority were Longaberger baskets. I recently listed them on CL for very reasonable prices and didn't even get a bite. Can't imagine any basket being worth your eBay basket.

Baskets are not nearly as popular as they were 20 years ago. I will probably just get rid of them in a garage sale or donate to my church rummage sale.

Hi -- a basket weaver here. lol! I wish I could see more close-up photos, but just looking at the photo you've posted, those baskets appear to be newer and probably imported from China, etc. (based especially on what I see in the handle shapes and rim construction). Not saying they're bad! *somebody* made them by hand, but they're usually not made with the finest materials or construction techniques.

If you want a collector's quality of similarly sized/shaped baskets, I'd recommend you look into New England Shaker baskets.... usually made of ash and woven on a mold, or white oak baskets from the Appalachias/southeastern states. If you want beautiful handmade willow baskets, I'd suggest you try Katherine Lewis at Dunbar Gardens in Washington state... she'll make custom baskets and from what I see on-line I consider hers to be very reasonably priced! Baskets at Dunbar Gardens

BTW: I'd like to see what the ebay seller claims about that basket they're trying to sell for $360! Not everything you read on ebay items is true -- *especially* where baskets are concerned. :)

LOL! That eBay basket is not being considered by me. DH and I had a good laugh when I told him what they were trying to get for it. For that price I would want a piece of ethnographic art with provenance! ;-)

I love, love it with nothing on top!! You have such a pretty & clean white kitchen with enough depth with the darker handles & barstools. That relates to your fab chesterfield so & wonderful artwork.

Rotate your stuff. Then it refreshes your eye & you don't glaze over it because its familiar. Ykwim?? Me, with no vent covers for 6 months because I no longer even notice!!

Looks so much better without all the stuff on top! I do like your inspiration photo but I dont think it will look as good in your kitchen. The dark beams help make the dark baskets on top work. In your kitchen everything is white, so I think the brown baskets will stand out too much. I dont usually like stuff on top of cabinets but in this kitchen, I felt it needed just a bit of color. I have put a grouping of 3 red/white, and blue/white porcelain mason jars on mine in the front and then a single blue white one on the side. I dont think the whole top needs to be filled, it then looks like clutter, imo.

Party_music, I am sure you can tell by looking at pictures, but generally who knows what something is worth and what someone is willing to pay especially when it comes to artisanal or antique pieces?

I am not buying these, and I don't think anybody would buy these to put on kitchen cabinets, but someone buys them. (and no, I don't think it's necessarily a case of more money than brains)

$35,000. Has provenance.

$25,000, has provenance

$15,000, different dealer than the first set, has provenance

$12.500. Provenance, sold at this price.

Love it with nothing on top!!

Love the bare top cabinets! Sometimes less is more.

I like it bare, although if the baskets were big and graphic enough, like the inspiration, that would work too.

I think you should live with it a while and see how you feel. I prefer it without anything on top of the cabinets, but that's ME, not YOU. Also as to the price of the basket, we often see very pricey baskets in antique stores. Price would depend on age, condition and size. So, the price of the basket you shared might not be bad. The shipping, however, is another thing!

I don't have the "stuff" gene so your kitchen looks great to me right now. I know my perception of you is based only on your posts but it seems like you put a lot of pressure on yourself searching for the perfect stuff, buying the stuff, placing stuff in the perfect spot and deciding how to get rid of old stuff. If you enjoy the process, that's great. If not, I would leave the kitchen alone for a while.

palimpsest, I'm not sure why you're calling me out on the question of what someone is willing to pay or what a basket or any 'art' is worth. I know from years of research why some baskets, like in your examples, do command that kind of price. I know the 'cost' of materials -- and many times that means the shear labor involved in collecting and processing the materials! I also know how much TIME it takes to produce certain types of baskets, and I recognize the skill-level required to make them. I was just trying to answer IdaClaire's questions about what she saw in the photo and what type/style of baskets she wanted to seek out. In the example of the $360 basket, I see things in the materials and techniques used that make me seriously question why the seller is setting that price.

In your examples, the nested baskets are Nantuckets. Nantuckets are woven from hand-carved cherry staves and handles, using the finest cane, all on specially made slotted bases and breakaway molds. In your examples, just creating the molds alone was a massive and expensive undertaking and NONE of that is cheap! and the smaller the weavers, the longer it takes to make. To up the price even more, Nantuckets are often embellished with scrimshaw and custom ceramic pieces. I'm often asked why Nantuckets cost so much, and that's the basic answer.

The Native American baskets in your examples show incredible skill in weaving and in incorporating elaborate patterns -- those are coiled, btw. Those materials are most likely things like spruce roots (yes, they actually dig the roots and process them to weave), river cane, yucca leaves, pine needles, etc. They are often dyed with natural dyes -- made by the weaver from things like plant material and bugs. :) They take an *incredible* amount of time to make!

I occasionally see baskets for sale that don't even remotely match the description given by the seller... I generally don't think they are being dishonest! I think they simply don't know.

I love talking about basketry! I hope someone loves listening to or reading what I can convey. And if you'd like to know my personal weaving skill level, I can show photos. lol!

I am not calling you out, at all. I was acknowledging that you must know about baskets even by sight. I was just noting that sometimes the price of something is sort of dismissed as "ridiculous" , when all that means is that ridiculous is more than the person who says that is willing to pay. Is the first basket worth $360? It could be for all I know. The shipping doesn't make sense, except that I do see the point that they may be trying to get more money for it overall. I know a seller who puts items on at $1.00 and then charges $50 for "shipping and handling".

Thanks for the comments!

I can't believe how exhausting it was taking down all that stuff, cleaning it, and rehoming most of it. I also can't believe how nicely our bookshelves in the upstairs library fleshed out once those that were being used to elevate the décor above the cabinets were placed on the shelves where they belong!

DH keeps walking into the kitchen and saying, "We've been robbed!" LOL. It looks so different to both of us. Initially, I felt as though the personality had been stripped away from the kitchen, but this morning it looked fresh and clean and like a larger, more open space.

I'm now leaning towards not trying to duplicate the inspiration pic. I think we need to live with the cabinet tops bare for awhile (although "awhile" in my world is a highly subjective term! It could mean weeks and months or it could mean hours. We shall see ...), and take our time deciding what, if anything, to put up there. I rather like the idea of perhaps using one large basket in the "v" where the cabinets on the far left wall meet, and maybe a trio of baskets on the expanse over the fridge. Something along these lines (again with my pitiful mockups!):

I think this might tie in well to the Navajo and Hopi baskets that reside atop my china cabinet, and bring in that organic touch to the kitchen that I still feel would be appropriate:

party_music, I don't want to veer too far off topic here, but I think the mass-produced stuff from overseas is largely to blame. I stopped at Tuesday Morning on my drive home yesterday evening and checked out their offerings. I'm seeing a lot of water hyacinth baskets that are super cheap - in more ways than one. I can't help but think of them as disposable goods - even though human hands wove them, right? When something becomes so ubiquitous and plentiful and inexpensive, it's hard not to see it in that light. Too, I still remember the 70s and 80s when the country look with tons of baskets was so popular. (I remember how dusty everything got.) I lived in Southeast Asia in the early 80s and had a house full of baskets. Cheap and cheerful, at least at the time.

I think for many people, the very word "basket" as related to home décor instantly conjures up a negative image because it reminds them of 70s/80s clutter. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about various types of baskets, but I have tremendous respect for artists today who create works of woven art! I am particularly drawn to contemporary Native American basketry, as it's an art form that has been all but lost among many tribes. I've also become more and more interested in African baskets, appreciating the fair trade opportunities provided in bringing them to market.

There's a world of difference between those kinds of baskets lining the shelves at Tuesday Morning or Target or World Market or Pier 1 (and don't get me wrong - I think they serve a purpose and have their place) and labor-intensive fiber art pieces.

Or ... maybe just a duo or trio of baskets tucked back into that "v" ...

Ida, your clean look above the cabinets looks so fresh and nice. It inspires me to take down most or all of my pitcher collection above our cabinets and leave it bare for a while. It definitely needs cleaning anyway!

Somehow I've been itching to do an overall pared-down look almost everywhere. Yeah, maybe the trio tucked into the 'v' would be ok, but I can see it just bare for a while.

I always liked the clean look before you filled the space. The problem now is the kitchen as it relates to the dining room, which is pretty packed with stuff.

I may need to think about moving the Navajo/Hopi baskets. I can use them elsewhere in the house, but they may be competing a bit with the blue and white Cornishware in the cabinet, as well as with the chandelier. (Mockup below sans baskets, and photo with baskets to compare.)

I didn't think a row of baskets would work until I saw the picture with both DR and kitchen. You have the same colors as in your inspiration picture, which is the flooring, DR table, and most of all, the dark wood picture frames.

Using medium to dark baskets will make the two areas cohesive, IMO. And pretty!

And I'll use the much hated word "pop" here. Darker baskets makes the room POP. lol. I don't think using light colored baskets will work. They just blend in. Darker baskets with the white cabs and green walls will give a beautiful contrast.

Here are some nice baskets on Ebay. Good prices too. If you do a grouping of baskets, I think a group centered on the right side of the stove, and one centered on the left side of the stove would look better than in the corner.

If I had a very special basket, I wouldn't put it on top of the cabinets. I'd showcase it on a table or floor. Remember, cooking residue will end up on whatever you put up there.

I like your living room and dining room and don't think you have too much in there. I think most people are used to a little more decor in those rooms.

Tina - Do you think the baskets on top of the china cabinet should stay? I might try them elsewhere and just see how it looks. I don't want to start taking away the décor little by little though. ;-)

I didn't think a row of baskets would work until I saw the picture with both DR and kitchen. You have the same colors as in your inspiration picture, which is the flooring, DR table, and most of all, the dark wood picture frames.

True, and it's a bit hard to tell in my pics, but my wall color is about the same as that in the inspiration pic as well. Still may be switching gears here slightly, per my last couple of posts. I'm going to have to play around with things more to find what works best to give me the feel I'm wanting. It's a process, but I'm enjoying it!

I like the baskets on top of the china cabinet. If you took them down, would you put something else there? And yes, by all means, play around with things (I call it playing house).

I think I'd leave it bare. But who knows? Playing house is definitely what I do! Just like all the arranging and rearranging of my Barbie house that I did as a little girl. ;-)

Remember, cooking residue will end up on whatever you put up there.

Oh, I also wanted to respond to this comment, since I've seen others say the same thing about items placed above cabinets. The items that I took down from atop my cabinets last night had a small amount of dust on them, but weren't greasy or grimy in the least. This leads me to believe that cooking residue doesn't necessarily travel as far as people think it does. Would it accumulate on items that had been sitting on top of the cabinets for a very long time? Maybe. But the items in my kitchen had been there just about a week short of a year, and like I said - just a wee bit of dust on 'em. :-)

Also, I would think installation and proper use of fans above the stove would prevent cooking residue on top of cabinets. Isnt that what they are for?

If someone is a genuine collector of a particular item, I can understand wanting to spend a generous amount of money since it does bring a certain joy to ones heart. However, if it's simply for decorating purposes, I don't understand the point, especially if the item/items are placed high up, such as on the cabinet tops, where anything will attract a certain amount of dust. If placed on the counter where it might be useful as well as viewed, I could understand wanting to buy something which is authentic, as well as more costly, but is any visitor going to ask if it's a 'such and such', and do you really care? Just sayin......

RoseAbbey - yes, a good exhaust fan makes a difference I think. We didn't have an exhaust fan over the vintage stove in our previous house, and the pot rack hanging above it stayed nasty pretty much all the time. It feels like an absolute luxury to have one now, and we definitely make good use of it.

Patty, I think it's just a matter of how invested one decides to be in decorative items. You hit the nail on the head about certain items bringing joy to the heart of a collector, while other stuff is "merely décor."

Re agreeing with my DH about investing in quality baskets instead of going for inexpensive pieces, for us it's a matter of taking our time and spending wisely. No, visitors might not have a clue what's on top of our kitchen cabinets, but we collect and decorate for our own satisfaction and enjoyment.

For example, the three large baskets I decorated the niche over the front door with were priced higher than what I could walk into a place like Home Goods and buy. Two are African and one is Pakistani, and every time I see them they bring me delight. They're more special than what I was seeing in the stores, and I'm so glad to have them. Guests would probably just look up there and think, "Oh - big baskets" and not give them another thought, but those big baskets aren't up there for guests. They're to make my heart do that little happy dance whenever my eyes go up to that niche. :-)

I think this is an interesting comparison. Two rooms, with a lot of similar features, including the overhead log beams. Both have baskets above the white cabinets.

#1

#2

The baskets in #1 look infinitely better to my eye than #2. Could be because the willy-nilly angles of the baskets in #2 just seem to be trying to darn hard and cheapen the look. #1 looks so much nicer, although I'd probably have to up-end the two baskets that are turned on their sides. The baskets in #1 just look more expensive IMO. Those in #2 look like cheaper space fillers.

I get that Jen, decorating really *is* about pleasing yourself, but other than the few vintage peices i've acquired from Mom or Grandma, bought items no matter how pricey, don't make my heart sing as loudly. lol But I also understand the joy of a collection, and finding that special one, or even several. I have a real fettish for vintage Chanel 'things', and only want the real deal, even though I know I could go to the 'blue box store', and buy something beautiful, shiny, and NEW! But it still ain't my vintage Chanel. I bit the bullet when on my girls trip and bought my very first vintage Chanel earrings! Am sure it will never grow into a collection, but wearing them for the first time really made my heart sing! While I love my home and everything in it, I can't remember the last time I felt *that* sort of rush! Your baskets, my earrings...pure joy. ;)

I have that feeling for rugs. I am still looking for the perfect hand knotted wool/silk rug for my dining room. Sure I have seen many beautiful machine made rugs but my love is for handmade rugs. I have a few rugs that I have had for years, I still love them. I am sure most guests I have dont know the difference between expensive and inexpensive rugs, but I dont care about that. I love them and that is all that matters. I dont decorate for others, I decorate for myself.

Ebay ending in 20 mins!

Thanks for the link, rgrs! Last night I tried my Bolga basket in the corner where the cabinets meet and started putting two of three larger Navajo baskets on the cabinet tops above the fridge. I actually like these baskets up there and am surprised that the Navajo pieces are large enough to make a big impact. I didn't get to finish the arrangement, though, because as I was coming down off the ladder I moved wrong and strained my calf muscle badly. So now I'm out of commission, still sitting around with an ice pack, and my little redecoration project is on hold. Bummer.

Edit: Now I see you DID try it!

I love the idea of your baskets above the cabinets as it will give them a chance to be spaced out and make a larger visual impact than I believe they do grouped above the china cabinet.

Hope you feel better soon!

Oh, no! So sorry :-(. Looking forward to your recovery and continued basket arranging :-).

I'm looking on Craig's List -- found this strange basket... square basket

This one looks interesting. Moki