A little story about making a house feel like home
I made the room lovely. Then I noticed the laundry basket.
I have never written anything like this before, and I want to say at the start that I am not a writer and I am not in the habit of telling other women how to run their homes.
But four different people asked me about my laundry basket, of all things, when they came round a fortnight ago, and I have now explained it enough times that it seemed easier to write it down properly.
It started when my granddaughter came to stay and pulled a face at the thing in the corner of the bathroom.
Nan, why is your laundry basket the ugliest thing in the house?
She was not wrong. A cracked beige plastic thing, going grey at the rim, that I had been shoving behind the door whenever anyone visited for the best part of ten years.
I did not choose that, not really. Nobody decides to buy something ugly. You buy the cheap plastic one meaning to replace it, and then ten years go by.
How the ordinary things become invisible
A laundry basket earns its place by being useful. You buy one, fill it, empty it and get on with your day. Choosing the color or the way it looks hardly seems worth thinking about.
Until you have made a room feel comfortable, and the same old basket is still sitting in the corner.
I did not want another decorating project. Just something that would do the everyday job and feel a little more at home.
The detail that caught my eye
That is what drew me to the quilted laundry baskets at Susan & Linda.
Animal designs. Colorful artwork. A soft quilted texture that brought to mind the blankets and little fabric pieces I already enjoyed having around the house.
The coastal design was the one that made me pause. A sea turtle, shells and starfish, with soft ocean colors that bring a little of the seaside indoors.
The appeal was quite simple. A laundry basket is something you see nearly every day. It might as well be something you actually like.
Useful does not have to mean uninteresting
The collection includes different animal designs, so you can choose something that suits your home rather than making your home suit the basket.
A favorite animal. A little reminder of the coast. A design with colors that pick up the quilt on the bed or the cushion on your reading chair.
That is the sort of detail I enjoy. Something that feels chosen, even when its job is simply to hold the laundry.
There are fabric carrying handles and a roomy basket shape. Before choosing a size, I would compare the dimensions on the product page with the space where it will sit and the amount of laundry it needs to hold.
A little character in an everyday corner
I can picture one beside a bedroom dresser, near the laundry-room door, or in that bathroom corner where the old basket has been sitting for years.
It need not match every other thing in the room. Sometimes a little character is precisely what makes a home feel comfortable.
The coastal artwork has little details to enjoy, from the turtle to the shells. That is part of the pleasure of browsing: finding the design that feels like yours.
Three things I have learned since
- One. It stands up on its own. This is the thing plastic never quite managed once it cracked. Empty or full, it holds its shape in the corner and does not slump.
- Two. It folds away. When my daughter visits and needs the spare room clear, it folds flat and goes on top of the wardrobe, which the rigid plastic one never could.
- Three. A lovely one gets used. The odd thing is the washing actually goes in it now, because it is not something you want to look away from. The plastic one just collected a pile beside it.
And yes, I thought of my sister
With the holiday season approaching, I found myself thinking about the people who would appreciate something like this.
My sister loves turtles. She also has a very particular idea of what belongs in her home. A gift for her needs a little thought behind it.
A basket with a design that suits her would be something to consider: practical enough to use, personal enough to show why I chose it.
I would check that she has room for it first. A thoughtful gift ought to fit the person's life as well as their taste.
And if someone comes to mind while you browse, that is often a good place to start.
About the price
I want to be straightforward about this, because it was the thing that made me suspicious.
The Coral starts at £34.95. It was £87.50.
My first thought was that it was a lot for a laundry basket, until I worked out I had spent nearly that over the years replacing cracked plastic ones, and hidden every one of them behind a door.
There is no catch that I have found. They are a small boutique selling directly, and they are made to order, so each one is stitched when you order it.
I did what I imagine you are doing now and went and read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some websites, which if I am honest made me trust it rather more. Real people, mixed opinions, mostly very good.
Then I ordered a smaller one for the bathroom as well.What I would tell you if we were friends
If you and I were sat in the garden and you asked me, this is what I would say.
Have a look at the laundry basket in your bathroom. If it is plastic, and cracked, and you hide it when people come, you have simply never been offered a nicer one, and now you have.
If you enjoy animal designs, quilted textures and useful things with personality, I think you will enjoy looking through Susan & Linda's laundry baskets.
Two practical things. The sale is on now, and the most popular designs sell out first, being made to order. And there are dozens to choose from, so there will be one that is properly you.
The plastic one went in the recycling and I have not missed it once.
Margaret
Coral - Handcrafted Laundry Basket
- Decorative animal artwork
- Soft quilted texture
- Fabric carrying handles
- A choice of designs and sizes
- A thoughtful home gift to consider
Autumn sale on now. Made-to-order designs sell out first.