Functioning well and looking fabulous are both important traits when it comes to home decor, particularly in the dining room.
You want and need your salt and pepper mills to operate smoothly and efficiently, of course. However, we know that you also want them to look great, too. After all, they’re going to share space with your good dishes and your sterling silver when you’re serving guests, right? But even when it’s just you and the family, you want attractive salt and pepper mills that you enjoy displaying. Having these essential kitchen tools look great and operate expertly is a key component of any smoothly running kitchen.
In this blog, we’re offering an array of stylish ways for you to display your salt and pepper mills, ways that elevate their look and might even earn you a compliment or two from family and friends!
1) Choose Mills That Match Your Home Style
Let’s say your home is designed in Swedish modern. A salt and pepper mill with a vintage look would stand out for all the wrong reasons! The mills should be part of the same design theme as the rest of your home. That shows that you put a lot of thought into the smallest detail – even kitchen tools – just like a design pro would. Here are some ideas for dining rooms in a variety of design themes.
- Modern kitchens: Hunt for mills that have a stainless steel finish, or perhaps plain, acrylic canisters.
- Country kitchens: This decor looks good with wooden mills. Vintage designs look great when you display salt and pepper mills on a big wooden table – maybe a 19th century oak one, for example.
- High end luxury kitchens: This style of decor works with glossy, lacquered mills, or ones made of less common woods, such as walnut.
Another tip: neutral shades like black or white usually work with most home decor. If your mills are unique in style, you can leave them out as statement items.
2) Display on a Wooden or Acrylic Tray
Displaying your salt and pepper mills on a tray that’s designed in a theme that matches your decor is a great way to highlight their look. When the tray’s design is in keeping with that of the mills, they can look like a work of art! Here are some suggestions for colour and design combos.
- Light wooden trays. This style of tray offers a light, almost Scandinavian warmth when you display salt and pepper mills on top.
- Darker wood trays. These work beautifully with with classic mills. This style of tray offers contrast and depth to rustic and industrial mills.
- Acrylic trays. These trays highlight a sleek and smooth look when you display salt and pepper mills. Ideal for a minimalist, modern home decor look.
In addition to displaying your salt and pepper mills, consider placing a small bottle of olive oil alongside them. This creates a complete look for kitchen essentials, and you’ll have them on hand whenever you need them.
3) Create a Centerpiece on the Dining Table
To display your salt and pepper mills in a unique way, try placing them in the centre of the dining room table, either on a tray or by themselves. This creates a look that pulls the focus of your decor to the table, and makes your mills the room’s “anchor” in a special way. You don’t have to use a tray underneath them; a bowl works well too, as long as it isn’t deep. This looks lovely, but has the added bonus of letting others easily access salt and pepper when they want to add them to their meals.
You may also want to add a holder of colourful napkins, as well as a small vase filled with an aromatic spice like rosemary or oregano. Soon your dining room will both look and smell wonderful!
4) Coordinate with Other Table Accessories
Consider linens, flatware and dishes that are in keeping with the design of your salt and pepper mills. For example: if your mills have brass touches, gold hued flatware looks particularly appealing. Choose tablecloths and napkins in similar colours and designs. Make sure each place setting is tied in together in design terms, and think of the display of the salt and pepper mill as the final, fabulous touch.
5) Use Open Shelving for Visual Appeal
Kitchens and dining rooms that have open shelves offer a great opportunity for displaying your salt and pepper mills. Place your mills alongside other kitchen essentials, like small dishes and olive oil and vinegar bottles. Keep these items clean and tidy, so the display always looks organized and appealing.
6) Pair with Matching Accessories
Choose spice mills – like a garlic press or small jars for spices – with your salt and pepper mills. Doing this creates a uniform aesthetic that ties into your home decor. Another kitchen essential essential that works well when displaying your salt and pepper mill is a recipe book with an attractive cover. Even a clear, acrylic recipe book stand can look terrific with these items.
The goal here is a flow of matching colours and fabrics – a wooden spatula in the same hue as your wooden pepper mill, for example. Keeping these tools handy, and making sure they’re connected in colour scheme and design, means you’ll have an efficient kitchen that looks like it was designed by a pro! If there is just one word to bear in mind when choosing and displaying your salt and pepper mills and other kitchen tools, that word is continuity.
7) Style by Season
A simple way to freshen up your kitchen and dining room decor is by changing the display of salt and pepper mills, and other tools too, if your budget allows. For example: in summer, an ice cream scoop might be the perfect tool to purchase in a design that suits your home decor. In winter, a large ladle with a wooden handle is perfect in a rustic, cozy cottage kitchen. The possibilities are endless, and it doesn’t take a big investment of cash to add a little dash of new flair to your display of your salt and pepper mills and other tools.
8) Utilize Wall-Mounted or Hanging Storage
Making good use of wall space is a great way to increase your storage options. Let’s say your home is designed in a modern, minimalist way. Hanging a metal or wire sieve along with two or three metal spoons and spatulas frees up room in a crowded cupboard or drawer. If your kitchen is filled with antiques, hanging copper and wooden kitchen tools carries over the design theme and lends a continuity to your cooking space’s look. And using wall space for storage means you’ll have tidy, clear counter space when the time comes to get cooking.
Other options you might want to hang include small shelves for spices and other items, like small jars and bottles that now stay within easy reach.
9) Include in a Coffee or Breakfast Nook
Even a small, square kitchen can have a corner dedicated to breakfast and/or coffee. If you enjoy having coffee at a small table in a quiet corner, even the smallest room can be designed to accommodate this. A table for two with a shelf above it is ideal for sipping on a quiet morning cup. Keep jars of your favourite coffee blends on this small shelf, along with your grinder and, perhaps, a jar filled with your favourite breakfast cereal. Granola, perhaps? This is the ideal design for those with a small apartment in which you have to make the most of every square foot. And even a tiny table can accommodate a tray on which you can display your salt and pepper mills!
10) Embrace Simplicity
In style terms, often less is more. Keep all the elements of your home decor style uppermost in your mind when you’re purchasing items to display with your salt and pepper mills. Think of all these things side by side, and only then decide if the design elements work well together. If your home is filled with antiques, displaying salt and pepper mills on a wooden or vintage tray will work beautifully. Are you a modernist with a flair for minimalism? Check out acrylic, clear salt and pepper mills and a tray that reflects their modernity.
Whether you display your salt and pepper mills alone or with other items, they should work beautifully with not only the dining room’s decor, but your entire home’s theme.
Final Thoughts: Functional and Beautiful
Of course salt and pepper mills are essential kitchen tools. But if chosen well, they can also be things of beauty! Displaying your salt and pepper mills on a tray allows you to show them off like works in a gastronomic gallery! Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top, but our point is this: don’t limit your salt and pepper mills to function. Let them stand out for their beauty, too.
