Products We Love: Vintage Style Milk Bottles

Ceramic milk bottles from Australian brand Urban Cartel

There’s nothing wrong with being nostalgic. Folks naturally long for times when things seemed simpler and made more sense. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Life has always been hard and fraught with uncertainty or doubt. But when it comes to design, there is no question that vintage is most definitely in. Homeowners and apartment dwellers alike adore decorative pieces that remind them of the past. With that in mind, we will review a product that is as charming as it is useful.

Vintage milk bottles are a sweet reminder of the rustic life most earthlings once enjoyed. Less than a century ago, many of us were working on farms and living off the fat of the land. A major source of income, of course, was provided by milch cows. Dairy farms worked from sunup to sundown to fill the bottles that were often delivered to our front doors. While the milkmen of old have long since hung up their proverbial spurs, milk bottles are more popular than ever!

Where to find them?

Etsy is a great place for vintage finds as many of you already know, see our links below. While they are perfectly capable of keeping your milk fresh, vintage homewares are designed mostly as display pieces. They are meant to sit atop a table or countertop and look pretty.

Adorned with traditional milk dairy logos, vintage homewares can accommodate up to 1 quart of liquid. The sets we reviewed also included an attractive milk bottle carrier designed for display. Whether you consider them quaint or practical, these vintage homewares make the perfect holiday gift for couples of all ages. They remind them of the salad days, when things were uncomplicated and dairy products were delivered. Like many other examples of early glassware, milk bottles had style and demonstrated actual craftsmanship, instead of simply being mass-produced. They had logos and labels emblazoned on them and often contained raised or embossed letters.

In the image above, from left to right:

1-Vintage Milk Bottle and Carrier from Farmhouse Wares

2-Vintage Milk Bottle with Advertising from Etsy seller RebekkaHeartsVintage

3-Replica Bottle from Etsy seller RevisionsDesign