A perhaps under-appreciated multitasker in the kitchen, the wooden spoon performs countless tasks admirably (and often better than its more tech-savvy counterparts). An unexpected use for your low-fi utensils: as artful decor that runs the gamut from humble to rustic to modern, depending on the installation. Here are a few favorites from our archives.
Above: In artist Dunja Von Stoddard’s Hudson Valley kitchen, a collection of vintage spoons from eBay and Etsy adorn the wall next to the sink. Photograph by Justine Hand from Kitchen of the Week: Hudson Valley Farmhouse Kitchen Reborn . Above: Slim wooden spoons displayed in an abstract grid look sleek and elegant at Persephone Bakery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Photograph courtesy of Persephone Bakery . Above: An array of hand-turned wooden spoons line the wall at the Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading Co. showroom in Kingston, New York. Photograph by Eberhart Smith from A New Store from Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading Co. in Kingston, New York . Above: The curved handle of a handmade wooden spoon makes it ideal for dangling from the window latch in designer Valentin Loellmann’s Maastricht home. Photograph by Jonas Loellman from 100 Percent Handmade: Valentin Loellmann’s Historic River House in Maastricht . Above: A sampling of vintage wooden spoons culled from flea markets and barn sales available from online shop Sir/Madam is on display in the founders’ own Queens, New York, home. Photograph courtesy of Sir/Madam from Kitchen Icons: The Wooden Spoon and Other Staples from Sir/Madam . Above: A minimalist iron utensil rail displays only a select few tools in a young restaurateur couple’s Katrin Arens–designed kitchen. Photograph courtesy of Katrin Arens from Kitchen of the Week: The New Italian Country Kitchen by Katrin Arens, Scrap Wood Edition . Above: The satisfyingly compartmentalized pegboard at Cook Space in Brooklyn is home to wooden spoons that do double-duty as kitchen tools and decor. Photograph by Sean Santiago from The Effortlessly Cool Chef’s Apartment: 9 Ideas to Steal from Cook Space in Brooklyn . Above: In Tenoverten founder Nadine Abramcyk’s TriBeCa kitchen, a wall-mounted rack corrals wooden spoons where they’ll be most useful: right over the stove. Photograph by Sarah Elliot from Design Sleuth: Wall-Mounted Wooden Spoon Holder . Above: Wooden utensils are given a place of honor on a brass rail that runs the full length of the kitchen in a family’s weekend home on the North Fork of Long Island. Photograph by Heidi’s Bridge from Building Character: Jersey Ice Cream Co. and the Case of the Charmless Manse . Above: Another pegboard—this one in Falmouth, Massachusetts—displays a wooden spoon among other similarly low-fi utensils. Photograph by Justine Hand from A Shipshape Cape Cod Cottage Inspired by Wes Anderson’s ‘The Life Aquatic .’ More unconventional decor:
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