Dunelm has the ultimate dish drying mat for a country cottage kitchen – it proves that frills are here to stay

We're firmly in the era of frill-maxxing, and if you're anything like me, there aren't many things left in my home that haven't fallen victim to the trend. When it comes to the kitchen, however, it's a little harder to find frilly items that are practical too.

When I saw Dunelm had released a frilly drying mat for dishes, I knew it was destined to complete a country kitchen aesthetic. The kitchen trend for frilly-edged decor isn't going anywhere, and for just £8, you can easily incorporate the look while also fixing a genuine kitchen frustration.

Dish drying racks and mats are often metal or silicone, so finding a stylish choice is the perfect way to upgrade your kitchen on a budget.

When it comes to finding a dish rack for your kitchen, many of the options are utilitarian. The same can be said for dish mats, which are usually grey or black and made of silicone.

While practical, these items can cause a visual obstruction in your kitchen and make cluttered dishes look even worse. So when I saw this Dunelm frilly dish mat, I was genuinely impressed by the ingenuity.

It's generated mixed opinions across the Ideal Home team. While we all appreciated the adorable frilly-edged design, there were some concerns about how it would stand up to everyday use, and it would require washing in the machine regularly.

However, I envision this being used for rarer events, such as hosting. On a daily basis, my dishwasher does the brunt work of my washing up, but it's when hosting that I really make the most out of a dish drying mat for glassware that must be hand-washed and larger pieces of crockery.

It's also a great way to hide an unaesthetic metal draining board. I live in a rented flat and have inherited an undermount sink with a silver draining board, so this Dunelm mat would be an affordable way to hide the stark, clinical look.

If you regularly find yourself using folded tea towels to protect your surfaces from dripping crockery or even your sink essentials (mine is a huge pet peeve), then this is a great solution.

By swapping out a makeshift tea towel for this adorable frilly mat, your kitchen will look carefully considered in every corner.

Frills are a kitchen trend that isn't going anywhere. Adding a sense of whimsy to your cooking space makes it feel like a warm and inviting environment that is cohesive with the rest of your home.

Small touches are all you need - this drying mat adds a country aesthetic without impacting the function of the space.

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There is so much potential to create an organised and aesthetically pleasing kitchen sink area. These Joseph Joseph Sink Tech range is my personal favourites for curating a practical washing up zone.