Fill your hanging baskets or simply leave them empty -- it's your choice.
What was once a tool of necessity has become an art form, and now decorative hand-weaved baskets are a decorative touch. For Native Americans, baskets have been both practical work tools and ceremonial objects. Today we use hand-weaved baskets for many tasks, but we also have them in our homes simply because they're beautiful things to look at. In many homes they're filled with flowers, pine cones or just about any object and placed in a cubby or bare corner. Another way to use a weaved basket to create a rustic charm in your home is by hanging them from your ceiling beams.
Instructions
1. Clean your ceiling beam and the ceiling surrounding it to prepare for hanging your baskets. Wipe off the top of the ceiling beam using a damp cloth if the top of the beam is accessible. Consider using a vacuum cleaner and attachments alternatively. Brush over the surrounding ceiling with a broom or a damp cloth to complete. Baskets hanging from the ceiling in display will draw attention to the ceiling, so you'll want to rid the surface of cobwebs, dust and dirt that will detract from the scene.
2. Assess both the baskets and the location to determine how you want to hang your baskets. You can turn the baskets upside down or hang them right-side-up, or display them in various positions, even sideways. Visualize the finished effect in your mind, grouping the baskets by size or color, or scattering them eclectically in a random order. Your imagination is the only limit.
3. Hold a basket against the ceiling beam, turned as you wish it to hang. Ask a helper to hold it in place for you, especially if you want it positioned on its side or right-side-up. While nailing through the bottom of an upside-down basket may prove the easiest way to mount the baskets, it will prove difficult to hold the basket and secure it yourself regardless of which way you hang it.
4. Drive a nail or tack through the basket material, into the ceiling beam behind it. Hammer through the bottom of the basket for an upside-down basket, through the side of the basked for a sideways basket, or through the handle if you're hanging the baskets right-side-up -- or you can drill a hole and insert a hanging hook, turning it clockwise to sink it deep into the wood ceiling beam, and hand the handle on the hook. A nail is a more permanent anchor, while a hook allows you to move and change the baskets as desired.
5. Hang each basket, alternating sizes, colors and positions as desired. Space the baskets along the beam to avoid crowding them together, which detracts from their look. Finish the decorating by filling the baskets with anything you choose, or simply .
Tags: ceiling beam, basket through, damp cloth, hand-weaved baskets, , leave them, empty