The thing worth knowing before you buy any small box is that the lid matters more than the box. A lid that doesn't sit flush or pops off when you tilt the box is a lid you'll stop using within a month, and then you've just got an open tray collecting dust and loose receipts. Check the lid first, every time.
Small storage earns its place in the rooms where little things actually live: bathroom shelves for cotton pads and hair ties, bedside tables for chargers and reading glasses, hallway consoles for keys and dog leads, kitchen drawers for twist ties and spare batteries. It suits any home where the big furniture is sorted but the small stuff still drifts into piles, which is most homes, rented or owned. Winter is when these boxes prove themselves, because everything migrates indoors, gloves and hand cream and extra scarves, and you need somewhere for it that isn't the arm of the sofa. Where it doesn't work is anywhere you need to see contents at a glance, a kitchen spice drawer you dig through daily, or anywhere damp, since cardboard and some woven fibers don't love a bathroom with no extractor fan. Wicker and rattan look lovely on a shelf but they shed little fibers over time and don't wipe clean, so they're a bad match for anything that might spill, sticky hands, makeup, pet treats.
If you own one piece of small storage and nothing else, make it something in a solid, wipeable material rather than fabric or woven cane, a lidded box in powder coated metal or a dense resin, or a simple stackable plastic one if budget is the priority, because it will end up holding something you didn't plan for and you want to be able to clean it out without worry. Fabric bins are nice for soft things, scarves, spare cushions, kids' soft toys, but they're a second or third box, not your first, since they sag over time and can't take anything with a sharp edge or a leak. Go for a size slightly bigger than you think you need, because small storage has a way of filling up faster than the big stuff ever does, and a box that's already packed on day one isn't doing its job.
Would I actually reach for this one on a Tuesday, or am I just buying it because it looks tidy on a shelf?