I blame the cottage.

Oh, I had seen these rustic dough bowls used before but always in an über crafty/country/dried flowers with roosters and other things that are pretty but weren’t quite my style.  But, once I saw one at the cottage, I decided that I could incorporate one or 20 into our home. I scoured the internets and shops for a large bowl but everything was over $100 and I am patient when it comes to searching for something that costs three digits.

Back in the fall I was shopping with my friends Caroline and Michelle at a Pottery Barn Outlet and I stumbled upon not one, but two dough bowls.  Pottery Barn carries some Found Objects that are the real thing, not factory made, like these bowls.  Each had a tag saying they were from Hungary and a date in the 1800’s, and since I am organized, I’ve already lost both tags.  They were on sale for $49 so I bought them both having no idea where I would put them. I just knew they were a steal and that they were something I’ve wanted for awhile.

Here they are together next to a soup spoon.

You can use a dough bowl {also called a trencher} to hold almost anything and they come in zillions of shapes and sizes.

One of mine currently sits within my glass coffee table.

The other one looks dwarfed but I assure you it’s massive and he’s all cozied up with some dried leaves.

Lovely.

Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage incorporated her dough bowl into a beautiful Winter table scape.

Nell Hill’s Blog

Mary Carol says fall is her favorite time of year to show off dough bowls.  It is stunning.

Here’s the same bowl incorporated into a summer table scape.

Pottery Barn

Here’s an inspiring video about filling a dough bowl to make a centerpiece.

Dough bowls  are available on ebay. {search both “dough bowls” and “wooden trenchers”}

Dough bowls are available on etsy. And I’m sure you can find them locally if you are patient.  And hey, you know how much I love a spur of the moment linky.  If you have a dough bowl in your home and have a photo of it in a post or want to write about it, link up and show us how you use it.