Every Boomer Recognizes This Frog That Lived By The Kitchen Sink

Designing a vintage-inspired kitchenscape often means assembling a menagerie of retro kitchenwares piece by piece. With the right curation, "retro" and "dated" mean wildly different things, yielding widely different results. Here at Tasting Table, we're still swooning over Martha Stewart's '70s kitchen. If you don't want to commit to yellow floral wallpaper or invest in an avocado-green oven, we invite home cooks to consider the ceramic frog sponge holder. These frog figurines were popular in the '70s and '80s, situated beside the kitchen sink to hold sponges or dish scrubber pads in their wide-open mouths. It's admittedly kitschy, but charmingly straddles the intersection of playful fun and practical utility.

A Reddit thread in r/GenX shares a picture of the frog, asking, "Do you remember this as a sponge holder, or as a receptacle for jewelry/keys?" Nostalgic commenters share that their households used these open-mouthed figurines as everything from scrubber-holders to incense burners, ashtrays, and candy dishes. Others recall, "Mom had a green one for years, and then I went to a friend's house and they had a red one. My mind was blown." Elsewhere online, a Facebook post in the group "A Little Slice of Vintage Life" is dedicated to "That cute frog sponge holder from the '70s that sat on the kitchen sink." Over 2,000 comments reminisce about these beloved, friendly fixtures of yore, many of which are printed with their original date ("I still have my frog just like this from the '70s, it's marked 76' on the bottom"). 

So, why did these lovable bobbles fall out of favor? Chalk it up to the shift toward interior minimalism. Modern kitchenscapes often prioritize "clutter-free," streamlined countertops — and, in order to accommodate a full-sized sponge, these frog figurines' 6-inch dimensions aren't exactly inconsequential. They take up a bit of space. But, in the retro kitchens of the past (and, of the present, depending on your personal aesthetic sensibilities), a ceramic frog is no less obstructive than, say, a box television on the countertop. Although, as Tasting Table recently reported, the kitchen TV is back ... so why not the sponge frog? We could all use a shot of playful, fantastical magic in 2026.

The original retro figurines can still be found on Etsy and eBay around the $30 range. Or, for kitschy home cooks on a budget, updated versions of the product can be purchased new. This frog figurine by FAQQI ($16.99 on Amazon) is outfitted with anti-slip reinforcements on the bottom, keeping the frog safe, stable, and secure beside your wet kitchen sink. Customer reviews praise this figurine as a solid dupe for the true vintage pieces they remember from decades ago. Shy on countertop space? This slightly smaller model by Servette Home ($14.99 on Walmart) more closely follows the design elements of the O.G. 1970s sponge frogs, with detailed eyes and a speckled body.