New Arrival: A Porcelain Octopus Joins Our Dining Room Crew
Work is still underway on the big opening between the kitchen and dining room. I still forget the doorway exists until I wander into that space in the morning, feel the sunlight spill in, and suddenly burst into song and dance. It really does feel like a tiny Disney moment around here. While we finish up door jambs, trim, and a wooden ledge for the half-wall, we wanted to introduce the newest member of our household decor collection.
It’s been a while since I added to my growing brood of white ceramic animals, so I was thrilled when John surprised me with a charming new piece: a porcelain octopus. I’d admired this little creature months ago, but it had been out of stock at the time. Recently John received an availability alert and quietly ordered it as a surprise. He did this right around the time I was secretly finishing a project for him, so the timing felt perfectly mutual and sweet.
We’ve been jokingly referring to the gift as a belated “congratulations on finishing the office stencil and not having claw-hands anymore” present. Part of me is a little envious of the octopus’s many arms — who wouldn’t want eight extra hands to help move projects along faster? Still, I’m happy to welcome our new porcelain pal into the family.
Some important details about my ceramic friend: she was made by a company called Plasticland, though the piece itself is porcelain. I haven’t decided on a permanent spot yet, but she will most likely live on the dining room built-ins with the rest of our ceramic collection, safely out of Clara’s reach. The octopus cost about $19 and arrived with shipping for roughly $27 total — not the cheapest piece I’ve ever purchased, but worth it for a surprise gift and for rounding out the collection. At the widest point she’s about the length of a dollar bill, so she’s modest in size but big in personality. For reasons I can’t quite explain, we named her Henrietta. It simply felt right.
This little addition marks my first octopod, and I love how she complements the existing pieces on the shelves. Mixing shapes and textures across a display of ceramics can add depth and charm to a room, and the octopus brings a whimsical, slightly unexpected element that breaks up the more traditional forms. Displaying smaller statement pieces at varying heights on built-ins or open shelving is a simple way to create visual interest in a dining or living area.
On a lighter note, this week I’ll likely be found dancing in that doorway with a toddler and a dog. I’m not recording the choreography — these are private, delightfully awkward moments reserved for our household — but if you could imagine a goofy, cheerful scene with sunshine streaming through an open pass-through, that’s about right. Our life is a collection of small, joyful snapshots like that: a surprise gift, a finished project, the family gathered in a sunlit doorway.
Finally, because it’s Friday, happy weekend to all octopods, bipeds, and quadrupeds alike. Whether you’re tackling projects, arranging decorations, or simply enjoying a calm morning at home, small moments of delight make a house feel like a home. Henrietta will be settling into her spot soon, and I’m already looking forward to seeing how she plays into the overall look of the dining room built-ins and the rest of our ceramic family.
Psst — as if the octopus surprise wasn’t cute enough, John’s gentle introduction of Burger to Clara (by scent at first) was an equally sweet moment that reminded us how the little interactions make a home feel even more like ours.