Special-Occasion Use

Decanting ice water, lemonade, or iced tea.

New, Everyday Use

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

Also Try

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

Gathering 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, www.amazon.com).

Dispensing tall foods, like skinny baguettes and breadsticks.

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

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