I’m a Style Editor, and This Is My New Favorite (Unexpected!) Place to Shop for Pretty, Affordable Decor

Over the past few years of designing my space, I’ve gravitated toward lighter, natural-looking materials, like cane and rattan. Essentially, I’m a sucker for anything woven, and there’s one particular decor item that relentlessly undermines my shopping willpower: baskets. Whether it’s a tall, lidded basket, funky thrift store basket, or low-slung flower basket, I will not hesitate to buy it if I see it.

Each basket within my (constantly growing) collection — dispersed throughout my bedroom, living room, and kitchen — doubles down on both storage and styling opportunities, without dominating much space. They also instantly introduce a homey, cozy touch to my apartment, making it feel more English country home than New York City rental. In fact, that’s why I especially loved the rise of the cottagecore interior trend, because it heavily popularized baskets as decor across the board (and further validated my fixation).

Because you can obviously never have too many woven accents, my basket-buying habits have shown no signs of stopping — and Instagram’s algorithm has recently caught on. Last week, I got a targeted ad for the most beautiful willow container. Once I clicked on it, though, I was surprised to land on the Michaels website. I’d never thought of the craft supply store as a home decor hub, but a quick online browse through their spring landing page proved me wrong. I found a variety of functional baskets galore, plus cottagecore-inspired wall art, shelving, and more — all currently on sale. Michaels actually had so many hidden gems that I rounded up six stylish, under-$20 favorites below, perfect for upping your own home’s contemporary cottage charm or as a low-cost decor refresh.