Why Martha Stewart Wants You To Thrift These Kitchen Items

We're so enamored of uncovering budget-friendly kitchen finds at secondhand stores that you might call us thrift-oholics. From vintage glass Weck jars to like-new small appliances to gorgeous china that Nana's family didn't want to hang onto, we keep adding to our list of must-search items when we hit the thrift stores. Now, thanks to Martha Stewart, queen of the home, we have a new grail item to look for. Turns out Stewart isn't just a fan of unexpected ingredients; she's also big on unexpected thrift finds ... namely, antique crocks.

Glazed earthenware crocks are, to Martha's keen eyes, the key to enlivening a cookie-cutter rustic kitchen. Making your cooking space look like a farmhouse or a charming rural cottage is a long-running trend that remains popular, and old crocks have innate vintage pizzazz that might be lacking in ones you buy from the store. You can put these crocks to work holding anything from your collection of spatulas, wooden spoons, and BBQ forks to fresh flowers bought from the farmer's market. You can even use them as planters for your windowsill garden or as a darling vessel for ripe apples. Martha Stewart's renowned frenemy Ina Garten believes that kitchen decorations should be functional, and you can put that practice to work with thrifted crocks, which provide both style and substance at a great price and allow you to adorn your kitchen like a celeb chef.

If your kitchen has open shelves or other wide spaces crying out for sizable décor options, you might use this opportunity to arrange an attractive vignette of crocks. For this idea to look its best, you want a variety of large and small items, which might take some dedicated thrifting to accumulate piece by piece. A mix of crocks with lids and those without will add visual interest, as will mixing and matching colors and textures. As long as you aren't using your crocks to hold liquid or consume food, you need not necessarily be turned off by some cracks or chipping, which will not only increase the character of the crock but may also get you a discount.

If you are the type to burn candles in your kitchen to chase out cooking odors, you can also use shorter, squatter crocks as candle holders. Nice ceramic candle holders are expensive out in the wild, while a vintage crock is not only more likely affordable but also more unique. In terms of decoration, we also love a crock in the middle of a dining room table with some (high-quality) faux greenery for an enduring, not terribly expensive centerpiece that will weather the change of seasons with grace and add inviting freshness to your meals. Use caution ... you may find that, once you dive into the crock-thrifting game, you pick up a habit! Your only worry will be where to display all your treasures.