We’ve Reached Peak Tchotchke

As our external worlds have been shrunken by mandates to spend less time outside, our interior lives—that is, our lives inside four walls—have expanded to fill the void. Interiors are suddenly taking up more real estate in our daily lives and social media feeds (metaphorically, that is), imbuing the smaller details of private spaces with more visibility and therefore more significance. The Reign of the Tchotchke has thus begun, thanks to an unprecedented exposure to the various objets that people choose to surround themselves with.

A tchotchke is typically defined as “a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional,” but in these decidedly atypical times they have taken on additional meaning. There is something special about bearing witness to other people’s something specials–the little things that punctuate a room like exclamation points, fancy or simple, artfully curated or haphazardly placed, new or nostalgic–small clues to the precious secret of how someone else lives.

I’ve been bookmarking tchotchke sightings over the last few months. Below are some of my favorites, organized by category into the ultimate tchotchke shopping guide, for your punctuating pleasure.

The Tchotchke So Nice You Don’t Want to Cover It Up With a Glass (Even If It’s Technically a Coaster)

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Last day posing with my tulips before they meet their sad demise