Tea towels

Photograph by Karl Juengel/Studio D.  

5 of 5
Graphic linens might not make handwashing dishes a blast, but they do turn a humble housekeeping staple into pop art.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT:
  1. This line drawing of a cup tower has the easy charm of a back-of-a-napkin sketch. ($18, Jam Tart, ThreePotatoFourShop.com)
  2. London's Albert Bridge gets inverted, but does not fall down. ($17, SnowdenFlood.com)
  3. South African illustrator Heather Moore screenprints a jumble of spoons onto durable hopsack. ($11, SkinnyLaminx.Etsy.com)
  4. Teresa Green's delicately rendered birdcage image sings with style. ($30; at Hable Construction, 877-HABLE 04)
  5. Echoes of The Partridge Family's opening credits animate this blue-feathered flock. ($20, Wayne Pate, GoodShapeDesign.com)
  6. Designers at Atelier LZC fashioned this folkloric pattern of roosters and nesting dolls after traveling throughout Eastern Europe. ($22, RoseandRadish.com)
  7. Unity Peg's witty cloth underscores scullery's true goal: an empty kitchen sink. ($20, GreenerGrassDesign.com)