Spotted in the left hand corner of this Corsican kitchen, a sink so wide and shallow that it can be used as a “wet” work surface, to wash and pare the artichokes or any other vegetable. Shallow sinks fly in the face of usual thinking of “the deeper the better”. For deep sinks make us have to bend over and work in an uncomfortable position, whether it be washing dishes or cleaning lettuce. We prefer shallowish sinks, our ideal being the custom-made one our friend Margot Wellington had made for her East Hampton kitchen, which allows her to pile dirty dishes at one end, and prep food on the other.
Over the past week, we’ve stumbled on some very cool housewares with all the qualities we value: simple, well-designed, enduring, and good value. Our favorite is a charming geometric textile made of pieced Tyvek by Woodnotes that can be used as curtains, partitions, and table decorations.“Flake consists of snow flake like pieces which are joined together simply by slipping the point of a flake through the hole of another flake. You can create a compact or a net like, loose surface. Three-dimensional forms are also possible.” (Woodnotes also makes a variation on the pattern called Flowers.) We love that we can work with the material ourselves, vary the texture and size, fool around, see where it takes us. We’re thinking room divider…or a pleasingly revealing shower curtain.
Cherry, apple blossoms and dogwood will soon be making their appearance, so Spring is a fine time to practice ikebana, the minimalist art of flower arranging that originated in Japan. As with wabi-sabi, although it looks simple, it has complex philosophical, even spiritual underpinnings.
Ikebana” is from the Japanese ikeru (生ける?, “to place, to arrange, life, birth”) and hana (花?, “flower”… It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. One becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also in general. Ikebana can inspire one to identify with beauty in all art forms. This is also the time when one feels closeness to nature which provides relaxation for the mind, body, and soul.–Wikipedia (we wish we knew WHO wrote this)
We thought we’d offer a bit of inspiration: Isamu Noguchi ‘s “Lonely Tower” – Shigaraki stoneware with thin ash glaze made in 1952 – with ikebana by Teshigahara Sofu.
We love this alt-flower arrangement spotted in Remodelista’s post about Sitka & Spruce, a restaurant in Seattle: herbs – here, thyme and rosemary – in a little vase. (A pretty glass would do.) This would be especially great in high summer when herbs are abundant, fragrant and often in flower. We found this nice looking set of three bud vases on Amazon.
Although we’re not crazy about the fussy table setting, we LOVE the flowers put in their vase akimbo, the bunch making it’s own graceful arrangement: the opposite of flower arranging.
Using sliding panels and walls and consummately clever thinking, architect Gary Chang revamped his tiny 344-square-foot Hong Kong apartment to be able to change it into 24 different designs. It totally challenges preconceived notions of what a space can be, which is Chang’s mission. We are especially inspired by his use of sliding walls, which offers fantastic potential in small urban spaces, allowing them to become mutable and expansive. And we wish there were a place to buy the sleek murphy bed-cum-sofa he designed.
We love this quote from Design Milk’s great interview: “Psychologically, one should ‘maintain’ an open mind on how to use the space and avoid, as much as possible, the pre-conceptions on what a ‘home’ should function and look like.”
Charles McFarlane, a Junior at the Rudolf Steiner school, is an avid scholar of 20th Century American social and military history. He recently sent us images he’s collected from his research that he thought would resonate with ‘the improvised life’. In an email he wrote:
“Necessity is often the mother of invention. This is no more apparent than in the situation of war. War is often said to be 90% boredom and 10% sheer terror. During the long stretches of boredom soldiers have often tried to improve their situations, to make their lives more bearable.
…In my study of historical photographs I am constantly on the look out for the odd and strange things in history that make you think “what was that person’s train of thought?” I think you can see that in the photos I sent you.” read more…
Recently, the New York Time’s reported that legendary chef Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago will soon open a restaurant that “if all goes according to plan, could be the most difficult, ephemeral and stressful in culinary history.”
In his new restaurant, Next, the menu will change radically every three months; it will, in essence, become an entirely different restaurant, drawing from a different place and time: the classical French repertoire of Escoffier, Kyoto in springtime, Palermo in 1949. It might even be designed around a single day. (Next’s website is spectacular.)
Having been awarded three Michelin stars for Alinea, and survived tongue cancer (with the threat of losing his sense of taste), Achatz seems to be programming personal and professional challenges for himself. Achatz’s view is that success in such a potentially difficult endeavor depends less on cooking skills than on creating great systems (which he and his team will plot out weeks in advance on an spreadsheet). We were mulling this idea over as we looked at the slideshow of Achatz’s artwork-like dishes when we suddenly focused on the picture of him and his partner standing under bright yellow scaffolding during Next’s renovation.
Our mind began to fly with ideas for things we could construct with scaffolding and it’s endlessly configurable lacquered metal parts.
Spotted in Annaleenas HEM: taping down an electric cord with a charming warning…the opposite of the usual mass of gaffer’s tape. We’re thinking this would encourage people to step OVER the cord rather than stepping on it as gaffer’s tape does. We’re wondering how long it would stay in good shape.
It also makes us think about taping down electrical cord with a multitude of colored tapes in stripes or other designs that are not about hiding what’s going on, but making it a design element. Artist Jim Jambie‘s wonderful floors come to mind… read more…
Remember those potholders you used to make as a kid by weaving stretchy bands of fabric in a grid on a simple loom? Artist/crafter Crispina ffrench took the idea and scaled it UP. She uses a giant loom to weave cotton tee shirts or wool sweaters in the very same way, to make thick, dramatic rugs.
“Potholder Rugs are inch thick floor cushions that massage bare feet with every step. They are durable, warm in the winter and cool in summer and come in a wide array of rich colors and combinations of colors. Each one is hand woven on giant frame looms in Pittsfield MA with care, attention to detail, and environmental love. I make them out of cotton T-shirts or wool sweaters. This one (above) is made of 100% post consumer used wool sweaters like the ones you can buy at the good will…read more…
We are constantly amazed at the useful and stylish stuff that is available on Amazon – WAY beyond books, music and electronics. There are obvious design treasures like the fine bone china pitcher by Jasper Conran (a perfect wedding gift) or a cowhide rug (below) seen in so many chic interiors these days. But what we love most is to see what we can find on the unexpected sectors of the site, like “Scientific and Industrial” where we find all sorts of things that we use in ways they weren’t intended for…
…like oddly-shaped glass laboratory vessels that we uses as flower vases; these Pyrex long-neck flasksthat come in sizes ranging from a tiny 50 ml to 1000 mL and higher: read more…
We love this imperfect round of chalkboard painted on a wall. It made us think “Oh yeah….why not paint chalkboard paint in odd or organic freeform shapes on the wall, instead of the usual rectangle? Or perhaps a long thing strip/stripe across a whole wall….
Living in New York City, we are obsessed with space: how much can we pack into not enough of it and still have it look clean and spare? Having 900 square feet, we imagine living in 450, to challenge our ingenuity. So we were smitten with last week’s New York Times article with slideshow that featured a 200!!! square foot apartment that is both clever and charming. It is the home of Malena Georgieva, a young interior design-smitten emigre from Bulgaria, done on a budget of $1,500.
First great idea: just about all the seats in the apartment swivel, to face either the “dining area” or “living room”. read more…
For years we’ve wondered why extension cords and power strips have to be SO ugly; we’ve secretly been waiting for an alternative that we won’t want have to hide under rugs or behind pictures propped on the floor. So we were thrilled to discover Multi Line, an almost perfect solution.
It’s essentially an extension cord that has plugs placed along the whole length rather than at just one end. It allows you to plug things in where you need them, leaving the vividly-colored cord exposed. Because it’s like a long, slender wire, it can be neatly arranged. It’s a cool looking thing unto itself. read more…
on Amazon.
(below) seen in so many chic interiors these days. But what we love most is to see what we can find on the unexpected sectors of the site, like “Scientific and Industrial” where we find all sorts of things that we use in ways they weren’t intended for…
that come in sizes ranging from a tiny 50 ml to 
and higher: 
.
