Emerging Trend: Glass Beakers

Glass beakers having been popping up everywhere - Kitchens are turning into Science Labs and daring to try something new.

First I bought one at Anthropologie ($7 or $8 - you know, the kind you would find in a high school Chemistry class), then I found a Laboratory Flower Vase made with 5 small beakers at Urban Outfitters ($14 - available online only), and most recently I nabbed a 54oz beaker glass pitcher ($5.95) from CB2 (Crate and Barrel's edgier/modern design website).

I use the classic beakers for holding cooking utensils (and makeup brushes on my bathroom sink!) and it adds a clean modern look to my whimsical mix and matched kitchen.

The flower vase from Urban is currently back-ordered but I plan on filling the different beakers with wild flowers or maybe fresh herbs ...it could even become a spice rack.

The options are endless with the beaker pitcher (pictured above left). It's perfect for infusing tea, water, vodka, etc. You can also use it to mix martinis or margaritas during cocktail hour. I love that it is not just similar in design to a chem lab beaker but it is actually handmade from borosilicate ("beaker") glass so it even feels authentic.

NOTE: For anyone needing to understand the term "borosilicate"...

Wikipedia has your back...

Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion (~5 × 10−6 /°C at 20°C), making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass.

Restaurant Sightings: I have also started to see beaker-inspired wine carafes pop up in LA area restaurants...most recently Father's Office (Culver City), Paul Martin's American Bistro (Manhattan Beach), and The [recently remodeled] Manhattan Beach Brewing Company.