23 New Uses for Serving Pieces

Pitchers

Green your mantel. Display branches of seasonal flowering shrubs, tall grasses, and even cattails.

Be a sous-chef. Assist the cook by keeping kitchen implements, like wooden spoons, spatulas, and whisks, at the ready.

Gather strength in numbers. A single pitcher looks lonely. “Amass them and they become a collection,” says Angèle Parlange, a design consultant in New Orleans and the author of Creole Thrift: Premium Southern Living Without Spending a Mint (Regan, $30, amazon.com).

Dispense tall foods, like skinny baguettes and breadsticks.

Corral office tools, such as scissors, letter openers, and rulers.

Set the table. Keep silverware or chopsticks in order and within easy reach.