cottage decorating

Of course we love to decorate with vintage items filled with charm and history…..but how often do we actually take the time to research the original uses and history of these simple utilitarian objects from the past that bring us so much joy? We just love this article from BetterBaking.com by Leon Neal. Here is a portion that we found especially interesting.

 

In the South and in the territories where the most adventuresome settlers sought new opportunities, the use of locally available materials for houses (log houses, etc.) and for basic household utensils (carved wooden bowls and slatted wooden buckets and barrels) continued into the 1800s and 1900s.  In the very rural and isolated Appalachian Mountains the pioneer lifestyle, language, and attitudes persisted even longer.  These people were primarily subsistence farmers, hunters, trappers, and often harvested trees to sell for money (saw mill work).  These people existed on very little money and grew most of their own food and so bread was a very important element of their diet (biscuits and cornbread).  The common situation in the mountains even upon until World War II was that there were biscuits at every meal, the wife made biscuits three times a day and a typical treat for a visitor was a friend fruit pie make using biscuit dough and dried fruit and fried (some call these a turnover).  Because of this constant process the biscuits were usually made in a hand carved wooden bowl and the bowl stayed with flour in it at all times except every week or so the bowl would be washed.

In my grandmother’s time and later for some of my mountain relatives the family dough bowl was a critical part of the family food preparation, highly used and highly treasured by the best cooks.  It was not uncommon for a future husband to carve a wooden dough bowl for his bride as a wedding present.  It was also common for a young female to desire a carved wooden dough bowl for her hope chest so that when she married, she would have a very desirable kitchen tool (Other hope chest items were things like handmade quilts and other family heirlooms).  A mother’s dough bowl was usually one of the items in an estate that was most sought after typically left to the oldest daughter and there have been more than a few siblings who have stopped talking because of a mutual desire for the same dough bowl.

Now that we’ve shared a little snipit of the history of the dough bowl, how about a few inspiration photos of ways to display these historic treasures?

How about keeping our dough bowl close to home and using it in your kitchen to store and display fruits, vegetables and baked goods?Display collections……..We love how these displays will take your decor from winter to spring by just adding a few flowers!Display and store your vintage linens.Aren’t these spring/summer centerpieces gorgeous? and just because winter isn’t quite over yet a few cold weather ideas to add instant warmth to your space!

If you just HAVE to have a dough bowl to add to your decor, come in and see us at the store. We carry antique and reproduction dough bowls in many shapes and sizes. You never know what we will have!