Design Sleuth: Gorgeous Garbage, A Pedal Bin from the UK

Think about how many times a day you use your kitchen trash can. And then imagine if it were a thing of not just utility but beauty. Here at Remodelista, we’re always on the search for a better bin. And so, a few years back, when we were poring over photos of Michelle McKenna’s wondrous London remodel—see The Power of Pastels: A Victorian House Reimagined—one of the details that stopped us in our tracks was her enameled steel pedal bin: a standard metal pail meets ancient Grecian column.

Michelle, a mother of three who runs Space & Grace, a bodywork, floral design, and color consultancy business, is a hard person to track down. When we recently reconnected, our first question was: where did you get that trash can?

Garden Trading specializes in making products that its founder Jon Holloway describes as “well designed and practical but not overly contemporary—classic with clean lines.” That includes other enameled metal wares, such as compost bins, bread boxes, and fire buckets. The company  ships internationally, but be warned that these designs can get dented along the way.

Here are a few more of our favorite trash cans:

• The Last Trash Bin You’ll Ever Buy
• Precision Trash Bins from Germany
• 10 Easy Pieces: Recycling Bins