Color-Blocked Utensils
It’s no surprise that, in the era of glamorous cooking shows and celebrity chefs, fashion trends get translated into cookware. Color-blocked apparel was all over the runways and in stores last fall, and you can now find this kind of graphic design in housewares as well. Heather Chontos is a Montana-based artist and owner of Milk Farm Road, a visual consultancy firm and shop. Chontos started painting her own wooden spoons last year while styling a food shoot. She loved the contrast of neon paint with antique wood so much that she started dipping other objects—like baskets, silverware and bottles—in vibrant colors. She eventually came up with her own oil-based formula to make the products safe to use for cooking and eating.
Since then, she has experimented with different colors in her shop and launched a new collection this week, including not only spoons but also linens, ceramics and more paint-dipped flatware. “People love color," she says of the emerging style. "Everything is always so neutral, and the color-blocking trend is a really nice, clean andmodern way of using color without it looking tacky. Maybe because the economy sucks, everyone needs some color to make them happy!” The appeal is already catching on with design-savvy companies: You can find other examples of color-blocking, on everything from cutting boards to glassware, in stores like Anthropologie and Design Within Reach.
Shopping Guide
Color-Blocked Spoons, above, Milk Farm Road
Cutting Boards, Anthropologie
These cutting boards are handmade in Philadelphia by Lostine, using wood grown locally in Pennsylvania.
Design Within Reach
The gilded Midas Collection was created by Front, a collective of four Swedish designers.
Colorful Bamboo Utensils, Core Bamboo
These affordable and eco-friendly utensils are available in seven different colors and are made of organically grown bamboo.
Sleek Flatware, Grounded
Lolo flatware combines stainless steel with black resin for an elegant and modern table setting.