Don't forget flair.

These days you don't have to settle for an ordinary common shaped basket (unless that's what you want). Baskets come shaped as footballs, dog bones and cookie jars. And they're shaped as sleighs, wagons and bicycles.

I have a roomy rattan basket shaped as a heart (with a top handle). And in my dining room I have a red hot pepper and an apple. I once saw a colorful rope weave set designed as a fork and spoon. But alas, the fork and spoon got away from me and another basket lover grabbed it first. It would have looked good on my dining room wall.

Oval fireside and flower baskets are also fanciful since they have sort of an angled shape. Think flat bottom, two open ends and two slightly raised sides that are deeper in the middle and shallower on the ends with a fixed top handle. So on this basket you could lay a bunch of flower clippings from the garden on their side with the blooms facing outward. Or simply lay a spare log for use in the fireplace later. (Of course, don't keep your flammable basket too close to the actual fireplace.)

And there are also pedestal baskets. For instance, a pedestal basket might look like a round tray setting on an attached cylindrical shaped vertical pedestal (think upside down top hat with a wide flared brim). And some baskets have attached wicker feet that elevate them.

If you're into wire baskets, these often come in ordinary and novelty shapes such as that of water pitchers, tea pots or apples.

And vines are neat too. I recently saw a "pumpkin" vine basket made from vines.