The Lenox Spice Village Allows Blogger Ashley Wilson to Showcase Her Love of Pastels

Text by Bethany Adams

Ashley Wilson’s introduction to The Lenox Spice Village was all thanks to her blog, At Home with Ashley. When one of Ashley’s readers came across the cottage-shaped collectibles while thrifting, she thought they would be perfect for the interior designer and color enthusiast. According to Ashley, she was right. “My color scheme is all pastels,” Ashley says, adding that the house motif spoke to her—and that she started buying them immediately.

Luckily for Ashley, that was in November of 2019, just before the line of kitchenware, which was originally produced between 1989 and 1993, was rediscovered on social media and launched into a second golden age. “I feel like I was in on it really early, and I built up my collection before it got expensive,” she says.

While the entire line features delicate detailing in an array of soft pastels, the star of the show is still the original entry in the line. “I have all 24 of the spice houses,” Ashley says. In addition to the name of the spice they hold, each 3-inch cottage also features a rendering of the corresponding flower on the exterior, and the architectural styles range from Colonial to Queen Anne.

After the village was met with enthusiasm in ’89, Lenox expanded the collection to include everything from sugar canisters and planters to teapots, trivets, and even clocks. “When they were originally made, all the Lenox pieces came with a certificate of authenticity,” Ashley says, “and I think it just made them more exciting to collect.”

While the recent rise in popularity has made pieces a little more costly and challenging to find, Ashley hasn’t given up on her treasure hunt, and she’s currently looking for a condiment set to add to her display. “When Lenox put [the line] out, it was kind of the height of collecting,” she says, noting that it’s been exciting to see the initial enthusiasm revived more than 30 years later. “I just think it’s fun that old things can live again.”