Bring An Added Layer Of Elegance Into The Kitchen With These Types Of Fruit Bowls

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Many of us are moving away from minimalist kitchens toward personalized touches rich with color, texture, and pattern. Of course, kitchens are notoriously short on space — it's tough to add too much decor when you've got to prioritize storage space and cooking surfaces. That's why we love kitchen decor that's also actually useful. One of the best — and tastiest — examples of this is fruit. Setting out a bowl of fruit obviously provides the whole family with instant access to healthy snacks, but it also makes your kitchen pop with color. To really lean into the aesthetic potenial of fruit, we turned to an expert for tips on playing up the actual bowl part, too. What kind of bowls make the biggest impact?

"I love a pedestal bowl or a shallow bowl," says lifestyle expert, cookbook author, and award-winning fashion designer Peter Som. "Something that lifts the fruit up and makes it feel a bit more intentional and sculptural." Keep two things in mind when choosing a fruit bowl: You want to keep that colorful fruit actually visible, and you want the bowl itself to offer design value from its shape, color, pattern, or material. "A pedestal bowl adds instant elegance and a sense of occasion, while a shallow bowl lets the fruit spread out naturally," Som explains. "It feels abundant, not overcrowded." He also suggests that the extra space in the bowl helps fruit that softens as it ripens, like peaches, to avoid knocking into each other and bruising.

Because you want to show off your vibrant fruit — and you don't want it all squishing together — Som says it's best to avoid bowls that are too deep. "They tend to hide the fruit and can make everything look a little heavy and forgotten." When choosing your shallow bowl or pedestal bowl — which raises the whole display up an inch or two — you of course want something that fits the overall motif of your kitchen. But Som also recommends eschewing certain materials altogether, whatever you select. "I tend to steer clear of anything overly shiny like metal or plastic," he says. "Ceramic, wood, or marble always feel timeless and elevate even the simplest bunch of lemons or pears."

You don't have to splurge to find fruit bowls that look luxurious, by the way. Look to some of the unexpected places to find affordable kitchen decor, like flea markets and Etsy, and you'll find unique statement pieces on a budget. Don't be afraid to play with color and pattern — one of the biggest mistakes to avoid with decorating your kitchen is thinking you have to stick to one palette. Instead, go with a theme, like modern, retro, or farmhouse. Both shallow and with a pedestal, this black marble fruit bowl with a wooden base from Amazon is artfully striking, this Swadeshi Blessings scalloped bowl is shallow and textured with grandma's-kitchen charm, and this shallow acacia wood pedestal bowl captures midcentury appeal. No matter your tastes, there's an elegant shallow or pedestaled fruit bowl for you.