Kim,

Thanks for the question. We have updated our site to answer this question going forward. The 7 inch height does include the handles. The basket is 4.5 inches tall (outside dimension). We also noticed that the title of this item says "Espresso" however the image is the natural version. We sell both finishes. Houzz seems to have mixed them up. We have already asked them to fix the mix up.

Organize-It