Farm to Table Decor Finds Itself at Home in the Kitchen

by Lorrie Baumann

Kitchens used to be spaces defined by the color of their cubical steel appliances. But over the past few decades, they have evolved from quasi-industrial work spaces for the assembly line production of meals into gathering places for the entire family. As they’ve become living spaces rather than just working spaces, they’ve also become a setting in which the home cook can demonstrate good taste in a multitude of ways and add warmth to the space without turning on the oven.

Now, kitchens can be beautiful, worthy of being seen by anyone invited into the home. Thus, the continuing popularity of the open plan kitchen.

As kitchens have opened out, so have the opportunities for you, as you continue to redefine your store to meet the changing needs of customers with an evolving sense of the role they want their kitchens to play in their lives. You’ve become the place they come to gather the things they need to help them enjoy their time in their kitchens. You don’t just help them feed their families; you also help them feed their souls.

The marketplace has a lot of help for you as you figure out how to do this, and many of the vendors who displayed their products at this summer’s Las Vegas Market have ideas for you to consider.

Ganz, a giftware company established in 1950, is offering a Kitchen Clock that features serving utensils and eating utensils to mark the hours. It retails for about $75. The same company offers a variety of decorative plaques, many inspirational and spiritual, but the line also includes some sassy spark. For instance: “The Woman’s Guide to Love & Lasting Relationships,” which advises that it’s good to find a man who makes you laugh, a man with a good job who can cook, a man who is honest, a man who will pamper with gifts, a man who is awesome in bed and then to make sure that these five men never meet.

Timeless By Design‘s Friendship Recipe plaque calls for “2 Cups of Trust, 2 Cups of Mutual Respect” and other ingredients listed on a faux cork board. The model number for this item is 13501, and the same company offers plaques featuring silverware pieces and is featuring a new Spanish line.

Melrose International has a farmhouse collection that features sculptural pieces made of metal to help home cooks create “farm to fork” ambiance in their own homes. Model 66335 GY/BR is a wire basket in a pig design, and 70728 is a metal basket that holds two mason jars. Model 70047 is a 6-inch tall by 11.5-inch wide container suggesting a pig that would work as either a serving tray or platter, and model 70268 is a two-piece set of metal pig platters that retails for about $39.

P. Graham Dunn celebrates its mission-driven family heritage and small family farmers with its range of inspirational and aspirational wood plaques that are handcrafted in the U.S. The Farmer’s Market box, which hangs on the wall, is model PNL0595 and retails for around $30, while the plaque that reads simply “Farmers Market” is new to the collection.

Designs Combined Inc., which has been importing home décor and seasonal products since 2005, offers a line of signs made from corrugated galvanized in that make a definitive farmhouse kitchen statement. Model HK453 reads “Market,” HK454 reads “Kitchen,” and JE577 reads “Organic.” Model JJ213 is a cute ceramic set of salt and pepper shakers in the form of hatching eggs, and MP403 is a ceramic sugar and creamer set decorated with a cow image in relief.

From RAZ Imports, Inc, model 3857244 is a 10-inch set of pig bookends that would be cute for the cookbook shelf, and 3857236 is a 50-inch tall sign reading “Welcome to the Farmers Market” that the company says is a top seller. Model 3810234 is an 8-1/2-inch-tall set of ceramic dancing chef pigs.

burton + BURTON, known mostly for its balloons and party supplies, has jumped into the farm to table spirit with model 1821138, which is a ceramic oval tray that reads “Farm to Table/Table to Soul” and 9732492, its Decor Milk Jug, which retails for $44.