18 FEBRUARY 2021
OBSESSIONS
Y PERSONAL TRIVET fixa-
tion didn’t become evident
to me until recently, when
I came into possession of a
new table. In the interest of
keeping it nice for a time—
I can never keep anything nice—I looked
around for a trivet and was startled to notice
that there were at least three options in
my line of vision, and probably more if I
hunted around for a moment. It’s not like
there was a nest of kitchenware gnomes
depositing them on my tabletops and coun-
ters in the dead of night, or I spiraled into a
retail fugue and woke up to a queue of UPS
drivers building a box rampart outside my
front door. (I’m afraid it’s all trivets, ma’am.
I need you to sign here.) Nope: I had appar-
ently been devising a trivet-centric life for
myself over the past decade and a half, and
they formed a center of gravity that began
attracting other trivets to it. May I tell you
about several of my favorites?M
This silicone
sunburst trivet
casts stunning
shadows across
countertops ($11,
amazon.com).OXO EGG RACK TRIVET
If OXO had a health plan,
I’d subscribe to it. This
is the level of faith that
I have in OXO; so when
they call this a rack for
eggs, I believe them. ($12,
surlatable.com)ALESSI AUGH
EXTENSIBLE TRIVET
If I ever started playing
with this marvelous winged
geegaw, I’d worry about
it becoming a permanent
part of my person. ($110,
bloomingdales.com)LE CREUSET DELUXE
ROUND TRIVET
The ur-trivet that started
it all. Crafted of red enam-
eled cast iron, I received
“Trina” as a treasured
wedding present. ($75 ,
lecreuset.com)GREEN VINTAGE TRIVET
After learning about the
loss of my mother, Kathy
Delgado of Vintageweave
Interiors sent me this flea
market find. Its emotional
weight is matched by its
physical heft.GIR KITCHEN MAT
GIR devised curious
multi-beveled silicone
squares that function
as trivets, coasters, pot
holders, and possibly also
as emotional safety blan-
kets. ($20, gir.co)FLEUR-DE-LIS TRIVET
I purchased several fleur-
de-lis trivets as wall decor
while wandering through
a Century 21 department
store one evening. Now,
I stand my pots and tea-
kettle on top of them.