Most of us have warm memories of cooking and baking, the kitchen is often our very favorite room in the house. Do you ever smell a pie baking, or a chicken roasting, and are right back in your Mom's kitchen? The kitchen really speaks to our hearts in so many ways; usually cozy, and warm, and filled with delicious smells.
Because of a renewed interest in cooking and entertaining at home, culinary antiques are becoming some of the most sought-after antiques collectors are searching for right now. They are some of the most popular antiques flying off the shelves at FrenchGardenHouse Antiques, and it's easy to see why!
Not only will they still be useful, they are so decorative, that even if they never serve another meal, they just look gorgeous displayed in any room.
French Country culinary antiques appeal to younger collectors in particular, who love how the 19th century cooking antiques compliment their farmhouse style kitchens.
TIPS FOR COLLECTING CULINARY ANTIQUES:
There are French Country culinary antiques for the casual collector and the serious connoisseur. Whether they come from the "below stairs" kitchen of an elegant chateau or a quaint country village bistro, culinary antiques are the perfect complement to your grand pursuits of dining, cooking and entertaining.
DISCOVER YOUR PASSION.
There are many different types of French Country kitchen antiques, and collectors generally fall into three categories: 1. Collectors who collect only one thing, striving to find better and better, or more rare pieces.
2. Collectors who collect a series of objects, such as everything made of copper.
BE FORGIVING.
As these were useful antiques, and collected for sentimental or decorative reasons, country culinary antiques don’t have to be pristine. Nothing evokes the Provençal countryside more than things that have lost some of their paint and polish. A little chip here and there, a crack, these show that country kitchen antiques have been used, you can virtually taste the heritage of these older pieces. Many collectors actually prefer pieces with well-worn patina and wear.
DISPLAY LIKE ART.
Using French Country antiques in your home and kitchen creates a link from today to a culture when every item was created with care, by artisans who cared about each detail. Eye-catching, culinary antiques connect the dots of that past to the present.
French pottery from the Provence, and Alsace region makes every kitchen speak French, fluently. You can use these old treasures to brighten up your kitchen, but they look just as stunning displayed as a piece of art amid a collection of antique books {cooking or not} or holding a handful of flowers or herbs from your garden as a centerpiece.
USE AND ENJOY.
A collection of antique kitchen or tableware is meant to be enjoyed, used and shared. They are precious, but were made to be hardworking and sturdy. They are not relics of the past, please don't be afraid to use them!
31 comments
I so totally agree, it is incredible, and the absolute best thing about blogging because we ‘meet’ so many fabulous, kind spirited people, we learn a vast amount too, but it is the new friendships that I value the most. Xx
Grandma made tomato gravy for rice for lunch every day. She started early, to brown roux, and cooked the rice so it would be completely dry by the time Grandpa was in for lunch after morning chores.
Genevieve, I love that memory! Isn’t it so funny how little things like a special spoon not only make us feel special, but create such heart warming memories, too? Thank you for sharing that.
Thank you Donna! What a special memory, and how fortunate you all were to have your grandmother so close by. And CREPES!!
Susan, it’s the wonder of the blog world and internet, isn’t it? I cherish the friendships we forge around the world….xo Lidy
Mary, how special that you have your grandmother’s farm table! And a wooden potato masher, aren’t these old utensils so wonderful!?
Lidy, I am learning from you! And that just makes me smile and makes me appreciate the power of the Internet and blogging. So here I am in France learning from you in the States, isn’t that perfect! I have still never seen an onion chopping board for sale here but I am on the lookout, it is on my wish list when Brocante season starts again just a few weeks from now and vintage chopping boards, along with all the usual things like ironstone etc!
When I was growing up, my mom’s mother lived 3 doors down from us. Every Sunday morning she would make the most delicious crepes with her cast iron crepe pan. My sister, brother and myself would walk down and enjoy a wonderful breakfast with her and my cousin Ronnie who lived with her.
Lidy, I love your posts which are so informative and inspiring.
A rectangular blue and white platter that was in the larder in Edinburgh, Scotland.
I treasure using my grandmother’s old farm table. Oh if it could only talk. And I must add
here wooden potato masher. Most who visit don’t have any idea what it is.