U is for… Utensils

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group shot of vintage kitchen utensils | H is for Home

We’re taking a look at vintage utensils this week – those useful, kitchen tools from the humble wooden spoon to the wonderfully named kitchemajig.

No kitchen should be without a wooden spoon – preferably a few.

antique wooden dairy bowl and spoon | H is for Home

They come in a wide variety of sizes, have multiple uses, they don’t scratch pots & pans… and also develop a lovely character over years of use.

We keep ours in this lovely, old wooden rack…

antique wooden spoon holder | H is for Home

…another potful next to the stove…

vintage stoneware utensil jar with utensils | H is for Home

…and still more hanging from this ancient iron well hook.

group of utensils hanging from antique iron well hook | H is for Home

It’s useful having them close at hand wherever we happen to be working in the kitchen. There’s always the perfect spoon for a particular job.

This one has such a wonderful patina that it’s now been retired from general use and sits happily on a shelf enjoying its life of leisure… with a pair of child’s antique wooden clogs for company!

vintage wooden spoon with small antique clogs on mantlepiece | H is for Home

Of course kitchen tools don’t stop with the wooden spoon… there are palette knives, ladles, forks, fish slices, whisks etc.

Some utensils are multi-functional, like the aforementioned kitchemajig…

vintage kitchemajig | H is for Home

…others have very specific uses such as the tomato slicer, butter curler and pastry blender.

vintage Prestige tomato slicer | H is for Home

vintage butter curler | H is for Home

vintage pastry blender | H is for Home

Do rolling pins count as utensils?

vintage Pyrex glass rolling pin | H is for Home

We think they probably do – made from wood, pottery, marble, or in the case of this Pyrex example, glass.

The heyday for utensils – well our favourite era at least – was the 1950s & 60s. Names such as Skyline, Prestige & Tala.

Chrome & stainless steel tools mounted on lovely painted wooden handles available in a rainbow of colours.

detail of colourful vintage utensil handles | H is for Home

They’re a great way of adding a vintage touch to an otherwise contemporary kitchen. They look good in sets of the same colour…

set of orange vintage kitchen utensils | H is for Home

…or mixed & matched.

set of vintage multi-coloured kitchen utensils | H is for Home

We picked up this wonderful set recently – boxed and with its original hanging rack. One small problem though, someone was obviously in desperate need of the lipped, oval spoon… and removed it.

set of red vintage skyline utensils | H is for Home

We’re now on a quest for a 50-year-old lipped spoon, in pristine condition, in the right colours – no easy task!

We’ve got boxes full of coffee services short of one cup, storage jars waiting for matching lids and cutlery sets missing the odd knife or teaspoon. It’s all a matter of keeping your eyes open and being patient in your quest.

We’re currently relishing reading through a huge pile of 1950s/60 Ideal Home magazines, they’re full of fantastic ads for furniture, fabrics and housewares, including the odd one for kitchen utensils…

…like these for Tala and Prestige.

vintage Prestige utensils magazine advertisement | H is for Home

By coincidence, just as we were writing this post, we sold this lovely Prestige set with their classic 1950s, diamond-patterned handles.

vintage 1950s Prestige utensil set | H is for Home

If you manage to find one that you love, a kitchen utensil is of those wonderful items that can give you a little bit of pleasure every time you use it – have you got a favourite?