If you asked me to sum up the adjective “charming” in a single vignette, it would take the form of a well-appointed midcentury family kitchen: Jadeite butter dish on the table, a windowsill pie cooling in a speckled enamel plate; muted pastel coupe glasses lined up and waiting to be filled with an afterwork martini; a full table set with brightly colored Fiestaware.
Recreating such adorableness in real life, however, can be an absolute chore. Antiques can be hit-or-miss; and the thought of endlessly sifting through flea markets, slogging through Etsy, and spending multiple hundreds of dollars to recreate this idyllic past can be simply exhausting and far too time-consuming for the average person.Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to find some delightful alternatives.
When I think of the distinctive circular patterning of hobnail glass, I first picture a vintage perfume bottle, complete with atomizer bulb, perfectly arranged atop an ornate, art deco vanity. Then I think of drinking glasses. The hobnail pattern is named for a finish that looks as if it was made with the thick head of an actual hob, and folks have been sipping from tumblers adorned with the pattern since the mid-1900s.