I’ve been collecting the Lenox Spice Village for 5 years and I want to tell you about it! If you’re not familiar, they’re tiny houses that you put spices in. There are also canisters, a recipe holder, butter dish (and more)! Which makes them a functional & beautiful collection for your kitchen! Today I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about the Lenox Spice Village.
the spice village is back- how to order!
After 35 years, Lenox has brought back their Spice Village! Right now it is closed for pre-order. But is expected to re-open to pre-orders in early 2025
There will be a few options for purchasing. First of all, is the full set of 24 houses. That is available for pre-order at $285. Click here to shop. The wild thing is Lenox kept the $285 price- that is what it originally was in 1989!
Another option is to buy a set of 6 spice houses. There are 4 options (set 1, set 2, set 3, and set 4). Each set of 6 is $72.
The last way to buy the spice village new is to buy a single house. Each spice jar is $15 when bought individually.
A picture of the 2nd edition Lenox Spice Village-
A few notes-
- The set does not include a rack to hold the spice jars. Lenox has confirmed that one is being developed that will be available for purchase later
- Currently, no international shipping is included. You must have a credit card and an address in the US to order them.
The new set comes in a mint box with the houses on the front. The box is gorgeous! Each house is wrapped in paper with a cardboard grid between the houses.
The bottom of the 2024 re-release is stamped with a “2nd Edition” stamp. The original is stamped with 1989 and has a 24 karat stamp. The new stamp is a champagne color.
All About Lenox Spice Village
Here is a video where I go over information on the Lenox Spice Village (the original set from 1989) and walk you through my collection. It can also be found on YouTube here.
FAQ about the Lenox Spice Village?
What is the Lenox Spice Village? The Lenox spice village are porcelain houses that are about 3″ tall. The roof of the house is removable so you can store spices in them. They have a rubber gasket that holds the lid/roof on and makes it more or less airtight. Each house has different decorations on it in pastel colors.
Where do you buy them? The Lenox Spice Village is vintage so you can find them is on second hand sites. The second edition is also currently available for pre-order from Lenox here.
How many houses are in the Lenox Spice Village? There are 24 spice houses in the collection, each with a name of a spice hand painted on it. Each house is unique- they are all made of porcelain and then painted a pastel color and intricately decorated. They’re made by Lenox- the most prestigious porcelain maker in America.
There’s even 24k gold details on the bottom of these with Lenox’s trademark. A sticker marks that these are made in Taiwan. The bottom also shows the year the originals were made- 1989. Hopefully the new set will have a 2024 stamp on them!
When did the Lenox Spice Village come out? These were originally made by Lenox starting in 1989. The spice houses were the first of the collection. Because they were so successful, the line was expanded to include other kitchen accessories. Each month a new piece was available for sale. The village line was later discontinued in 1994 when they were no longer as popular.
How much did the Lenox Spice Village originally cost? In 1989 when they first came out, they were sold for $14.50 per spice house. The spice village was sold as a subscription that lasted 24 months. Each month, a new spice jar was mailed out. Shortly after their introduction, the price was raised to $19.50 per month as their popularity increased.
With inflation, that’d be about $50 per spice jar now and $1200 for the whole set!
The canisters were originally $29 each and were also sold on a subscription basis. The canisters sold in the subscription were tea, coffee, sugar, and flour.
Does the Lenox Spice Village contain led? In 1971, the FDA started regulating lead levels in dishes and ceramics. So since these were made in the late 80’s- the odds are low that they contain enough lead to be an issue. I am not concerned about lead.
Because spices are dry, that also lowers the chances that the lead would contaminate the spice since lead leaches when wet.Usually if lead is found on antique dishes, it’s found in the paint. On these, there isn’t any paint where the food is stored.
On TikTok, rumors have spread that the Lenox Spice Village contains lead. Multiple people have tested them and gotten negative results. If you’d like to test your ceramic dishes, I suggest using an at home lead test made for ceramics to verify for yourself.
How do you clean the Lenox Spice Village? The best way to clean the Lenox Spice Village to fill a sink with warm soapy water. Softly clean each part of the ceramic house with a brush. Dry with a cotton towel before putting them away. Because there are so many crevices on the houses, they can get dusty easily.
A quick bath will clean them. Make sure that while they’re in the water, the pieces don’t hit against each other as this may cause chipping. You can see a video of how I wash them below. I bought a used set that was very greasy and dusty and this method worked great.
View this post on Instagram
Is Lenox Spice Village Worth Anything? Yes. The Lenox Spice Village got extremely popular during 2020. Since then, the interest has only grown. Used sets of the spice houses are worth anywhere from $700-$1500 on resale sites. Selling a set with the original house-shaped rack is worth the most. The additional canisters and accessories are also worth a lot now.
Can you get the Lenox Spice Village in the UK? Yes. Lenox produced a smaller amount of the Lenox Village collection under the name Brooks and Bentley. However, because of the limited number, it’s harder to find them. Some shippers from the US will send them over to the UK though.
list of 24 spices in the village
Below is a list of the 24 spices in the village. I’ve included a picture too so you can see that each individual house is a different style and color. They each have a unique dollhouse aesthetic. I’ve also added a link for each spice house, so if you click on it, you’ll see what’s currently available on eBay for each house.
If you’d like a free download of the Lenox Spice Village checklist (there’s two versions- the Spice Village and the larger collection) so you can print it out and keep track of what you find, enter your information below. It’ll sign you up for my weekly newsletter and you’ll immediately get a link to the free download. If you’re already subscribed, go here to download.
original Lenox Spice Village ad
Here’s a look at the original 1989 ad for the Lenox Spice Village! You can see that it was available as a subscription where a new spice house was sent out every month for $19.50 over two years. As a bonus for subscribing, the spice rack was sent for free. Each piece is hand painted with a delicate floral design and the bottom has the Lenox stamp in 24 karat gold.
Here’s an original 1989 ad promoting them. So fun!
I’ve also found the 1990 commercial for the Lenox Village collection!
Where to Buy Them
Since the Lenox Spice Village is no longer made, these need to be purchased secondhand. There are a handful of great options where you can find them online:
While I haven’t bought the spice villages at all of these places, the site I’d most recommend searching is eBay. Since they have the lowest prices, they’re the ones I’ve had the most success with.
But I also want to share with you a few tips for how to get the lowest prices on eBay!
Tips for Buying Lenox Village Spice Houses on eBay
Tip #1- Go For eBay Over Etsy
Personally, I started off buying them one by one on Etsy. Since Etsy is more curated and sellers do their best to have beautiful photos, their prices are typically higher than eBay’s. You can get individual houses for $30-$100 each on eBay.
Tip #2- Buy the Whole Set At Once
Second, I would highly recommend buying the entire set all at once. Typically, you can find them on eBay from $700-$1500 for the set. Note, when I first started looking at these in 2019 you could get the whole set for $100! But still, buying the whole set is a lot cheaper than buying it house by house.
Tip #3- Sort Price Lowest to Highest
Another little tip if you’re buying the spice village houses is to sort prices from low to high. That way you can find the cheapest prices first. I use the search term “Lenox spice village” and that works really great.
Tip #4- Inquire About Shipping
Lastly, while you’re searching look to see if there are multiple houses you want from the same seller. If you do, message them and see how much it would be to combine shipping for all of them together. This is exactly what I say-
“Hi! I’d like to buy 3 of your Lenox village spice containers. Is there a way to buy all three and combine shipping?”
I’ve always has the seller say yes and then send me an invoice through eBay with all of the spice houses I wanted and reduced shipping since they can ship them together.
**update**- I first wrote this blog post a few years ago. Since then, the prices have gone up on these as the popularity has risen. Now, you can get each house for around $35 at the best price and $700 for the full set.
Tips for Displaying Lenox Spice Villages
Next, I want to share some ideas for how to display your little spice village! Since they’re very much made to be shown to the world, they deserve to be put on display. Above, I installed affordable floating shelves that perfectly hold 8 Lenox Village Spice houses on each shelf.
I’ve also hung them on the original house-shaped spice rack that I painted white. The beauty of this option is it perfectly holds all 24 spice houses in a compact and cute way.
VINTAGE LENOX CHINA VILLAGE COLLECTION
Additionally, Lenox also made other items in the Village Collection like rice and coffee canisters, a teapot, plates and more after making the spice rack and spice houses. I’ll share below more about the additional pieces. You can watch this video to see the entire dreamy collection!
And here is a checklist of the larger Lenox Village collection. There’s more items than these, but these are the main items to keep an eye out for.
You can really see the 80s/90s influence in the extended collection and I’m into it! The full collection is huge, but I wanted to show you the different pieces in case you become obsessed with collecting more beyond the spice houses like I did-
Sets on Stands-
These all come on a porcelain stand, gold handle, and two houses with holes in the top.
Cheese and Garlic 1993
Oil and Vinegar 1993
Salt and Pepper 1991
Canisters-
The canisters are styled like the spice houses, but much bigger. They also have a rubber stopper to keep the food fresh.
Candy Shoppe 1992
Coffee 1990
Cookies 1992
Flour 1990
Nut Shoppe. 1992. Side note each item in the Lenox Village collection came with a certificate of originality. This shows the status of the item and helps build trust between the consumer and the company. You know each of these items in the village collection were made well because 30 years after being produced, they still look new!
Pasta 1992
Rice 1992
Sugar 1990
Sweets 1992
Tea 1990
other items
I know this post is getting so long, but evidently Lenox really got into making these! I’m guessing because the original spice houses were good sellers. Here’s more of the collection-
Butter Dish 1994
Cafe Mugs 1992 (available in eight colors- pink, orange, yellow, green, mint, blue, light purple, and purple)
Candlesticks 1997
Clock 1994
Condiment Set with Spoons 1993
Lazy Susan 2006
Lamp for Candles 2005
Napkin Holder 1991 (it says “Dry Goods” on the front)
Napkin Rings 1995
Planters 1993- these came in yellow, purple, pink and blue. They were sold in sets of two so sometimes you see them sold that way on eBay too.
Recipe Box 1994
Spoon Rest 1997
Sugar and Creamer 1991
Tea Pot 1991
Trivet 1992 (there where four designs- Green Grocer, Confectionary, Country Store- my favorite, and Cafe)
Utensils 1992- note, unlike the canisters this doesn’t come with a lid so the utensils can easily be grabbed from the container.
dishware
Lenox also made Village dishware with cute little houses on it. To be honest, it’s not my favorite- I think it looks too 80’s. But I did want to mention that it’s available if you like it. It is sweet. Maybe one day I’ll change my tune and collect some 😉
Cake Plate 1993
original print catalog
A few years ago a reader sent me a listing on Facebook Marketplace of the most beautiful collection of the Lenox Village I’ve ever seen. Evidently, a sweet couple bought everything in the set and saved it in new, mint condition as an investment. They had their son-in-law sell it. I bought a few things (the recipe box, clock, sweets canister, and mugs) from them.
As part of the listing, he had a picture of all the original catalog. I wanted to cry! What a beautiful collection! I’ve been looking everywhere for these pictures. Like the one on front shows the cafe mugs and ornaments came out together at Christmas time. How fun! So I asked him to take pictures of it and I’d pay him extra.
He sent me some ok photos (why aren’t they straight?! Why aren’t there more!?), but I thought you’d enjoy them. And yes, beggars can’t be choosers, I just wanted to preserve them in digital form because it’s not often to find this pristine of a collection!
Isn’t that fun to see how Lenox originally styled things?! And what came together. I also love that some of the catalog was written on with when it was bought and for how much. I just love old things!
how I started my collection
I first heard about the Lenox spice villages through one of my readers. Back in November 2019, she messaged me about them and said she thought I’d really love them. And boy was she right!
I ended up going on Etsy to check them out and I instantly fell in love. Aka, I ordered a bunch of them right on the spot.
View this post on Instagram
And honestly, I’m not sure I remember being so excited about receiving a package!
I would say they’re the perfect mix of cuteness, nostalgia and, let’s face it, pure joy. They absolutely check all the boxes of the looks I’m into right now- Cottage-core, Grand Millennial, and Coastal Grandmother.
I’ve continued slowly building my collection ov. The pictures in this post are from how I’ve displayed the items through my house.
my collection in a magazine
I was thrilled when The Cottage Journal magazine reached out about publishing my Lenox Village collection in their spring 2023 issue. As a collector, there’s no better feeling than having your pride and joy in print! I thought I’d share the 4 page spread with you.
It features pictures from my Lenox Spice Village Collection with an interview.
It’s fun that my expertise on the collection is celebrated in the magazine feature! Plus it shows some good display ideas from my kitchen.
conclusion
I hope this in-depth look at the Lenox Spice Village was helpful. I’ve loved collecting it and would love to assist anyone wanting to collect these as well. Please let me know if you have questions in the comments.
And if you like the Lenox Spice Village here are some new items you can buy that are inspired by the collection! Click on the pictures to shop.
I have the entire set of 24, but now thinking I need the tea set! I love tea! 😍
Yes, the tea set is soo fabulous! Please get it 😂😍