Farmstand chic: awash in fruit and vegetable motifs

IN interior designer Jonny Carmack's "fruit room" in his Danbury, Connecticut home, colorful faux produce bedecks every inch: the cherry-shaped ceiling fixture, a strawberry side table, and a bunch of other juicy gems in decorative forms.

Carmack sees this trend, where fresh fruits and vegetables are showing up in imagery throughout the home, as "a cause for conversation and celebration." Design experts say it also reflects a cultural embrace of sustainability and an upbeat connection to nature.

Rachel Hardage Barrett, Country Living magazine's editor-in-chief, says it "speaks to the pastoral lifestyle everyone's craving these days. This gravitation toward produce motifs intersects with spikes in interest around gardening, wellness and antiques."

Nostalgia is in play, too. Barrett sees a revival in interest around cabbageware and lettuce ware: common motifs in the 18th and 19th centuries, they enjoyed a revival with the Palm Beach crowd in the '60s, with fans like Jacqueline Kennedy, Bunny Mellon and Frank Sinatra. Now, they've found a new audience, tying into the " 'grandmillennial' design movement that champions beloved heirlooms," Barrett says. Target's recent cabbageware-inspired collection "garnered more than 15 million TikTok posts."

Social media helps drive the trend. In 2023, TikTokers went wild over a lemon-shaped ceramic stool at HomeGoods; the piece sold out.

This winter's interior design, décor and lifestyle shows in Paris and Frankfurt felt more like vibrant produce markets than trade fairs. Booths at Maison et Objet and Ambiente were full of planters festooned with 3D grapes and watermelons; mirrors encircled in peapods or pineapples; tomato-covered cups, glasses and tableware.

Los Angeles-based design editor Courtney Porter, present at February's Ambiente fair in Frankfurt, enjoyed seeing the playful directions that designers were taking the trend. "Colors were supersaturated; shapes were exaggerated and cartoonish," she said.

She liked the tie-in to healthy living: "There's an emphasis on sustainable materials and youthfulness with this trend. People are nostalgic for natural abundance."

Carmack says the Fruit Room has been his most popular design project "because of the cartoon references like Dr. Seuss and Animal Crossing" which "make people happy." Fruits in the Animal Crossing video games serve as trade tokens, village builders and currency. He imparts personality to his favorite fruits: flirty and fun cherries with cuter and sweeter strawberries.

Whitney says she's been drawn to food décor her whole life, collecting fun pieces from discount retailers and thrift stores. Her moving from New York to Los Angeles led to an estate sale, resulting in her first Murano-style glass produce (a bell pepper, a peach and a pear); a small ceramic soup tureen shaped like a head of cauliflower; and a matching plate that looked like its root and greens.

The trend spans decorating aesthetics, says Barrett. Those with more retro styles can embrace "a little kitsch." Others with a more sophisticated look can "opt for fruit motifs in the form of wallcovering or fabric."

Eat or decorate with it: there are many ways to show your love for a favorite veg or fruit.