Monday, October 24, 2011

Ten Enchanting Things I Don't Need But Totally Want Anyway


1. My husband cannot for the life of him figure out why I continue to hang on to old issues of certain magazines -- World of Interiors, Domino, Dominique Browning's House and Garden, etc. Now I can tell him, "Because I knew someday this would be invented" (with a note of triumph in my voice).


(The Adjustable Storage Stool by NJU Studio, $200. HERE.)


2. I love making soups and stews but the fumes from the onions make my eyes water and my lids swell in the most alarming manner. I've been using my son's swim goggles as makeshift protectors, but this pair is sooo much more stylish. Very "I'm a 1920's heroine with a racy past and a yellow Hispano-Suiza motorcar", no?
(Retro goggles, $24. HERE.)



3. I have a downstairs powder room that's a study in black and white and needs a shot of color. This guest towel would brighten things up marvelously and has the added benefit of being densely colored enough to hide all the schmutz from a nine-year-old's hands.
(Pink carpet hand towel, £40. HERE.)


4. This ingenius bookrest lamp will save your page when you're done reading and turn itself into a symbol of warmth and domesticity at the same time. Is there a more poetic way to say there's no place like home? The lump in my throat makes me think no.
(Bookrest Lamp by Suck UK, $80.00. HERE.)


5. Because it's beautiful to look at. Because it's a great hostess gift. Because it's fun -- you brew yourself a pot of it and then pour it directly into the bath. Because it has lavender and all sorts of lovely therapeutic herbs in it to make a long, tiring day go away.
(Organic Lavender Bath Tea, $12. HERE.)


6. It's no secret that I am besotted with the 18th and 19th centuries, and this reproduction English coat rack brings all my fantasies of being a Victorian lady explorer into sharp reality. It's just the thing for hanging up my family's collection of cloaks, capes, shawls, heavy woolens and Ulster coats.

(English Tavern Wall Coat Rack, $68.99. HERE.)


7. I don't know what it is about this scarf, but I'm smitten. Is it the enchanting color palette? The arresting photograph? The fact that it so effortlessly embraces modern and vintage at the same time? The fact that it's by one of my favorite designers?
(Paul Smith Silk Rabbit Scarf, $160.07. HERE.)



8. Years ago, the World of Interiors did a feature on moquette, the upholstery fabric used by the British Transport System and I fell in love with its colorful eccentricity. It's almost impossible to find, though (I've looked).
(vintage London tube train)

This wash bag from the London Transport Museum uses a pattern developed for double decker buses between 1939 and 1942 -- I find it very "Don't you know there's a war on?" And those jewel tones -- it's like tumbling into a Farrow and Ball fan deck.

(RT Moquette Wash Bag, £59.99. HERE.)


9. I have long coveted the "Heathcliff" pillow designed by Sam Taylor-Wood for The Rug Company, but at $895, it's not looking likely.
(Rug Company "Heathcliff" pillow. HERE.)

This cushion, on the other hand, is smaller but strikingly similar (if you don't mind the riders) and is a euphoria-inducing $82.00.
("Over The Hedge" needlepoint pillow. HERE.)


10. No explanation necessary. Husbands and boyfriends, you have been warned.
("Forgotten" man bag. HERE.)

("Wrong" man shopper. HERE.)

18 comments:

Hausfrau said...

Lovely items, all (the "man bags" are cracking me up). The Adjustable Storage Stool? Sheer genius! Maybe I'll try the same logic on my husband...

Beautiful Things - Cathy said...

Great post!

I'm smiling at the inclusion of the fabric used by the British Transport system. I use the tube & buses every day in London and that fabric doesn't seem so lovely when it's covered in fag burns, chewing gum, empty fast food wrappers and other even more unmentionable things. I'm definitely going to have another look though and try to see beneath the rubbish. x

Sarah Greenman said...

Awesome list. I love the goggles!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

My heart is thumping like a bunny.
I love them all!
That scarf!
That hand towel!
Heathcliff!!

My magazine stool would be like a lifeguard stand, though!!

pve design said...

I have a list of things that I "need" but do not really want. My want list is always full of frivolity....which makes me smile from ear to ear.
Love your 10 enchanting things.
pve

Notes From ABroad said...

The lavender tea will make me so happy.

Kate @ Savour Fare said...

And now I covet them, too. Have you seen the work of Ceramicist Molly Hatch? She creates ceramics using inspiration from old textiles. I think you'd love it. I have a teacup and a tumbler by her and I love them, and she has a very affordable mug collection available at Anthropologie right now.

A.U.G. said...

Those goggles are superbly exceptional. I love your creativity...

Emily said...

That book rest is the sweetest. It really warms the cockles of my heart! Oh Lisa, give us ten more!

Jamie Herzlinger said...

Magazine holder is genius! I've got stacks of them that I just can't part with. So different and easy to organize!

Jamie Herzlinger

The Buzz Blog @ Diane James Home said...

Perhaps this is a start of a great Christmas gift list? I keep reminding myself that this is the only time in the year that I can receive something I really want, not something I really need. You've inspired me to start my own wish list! XOXO Cynthia

24 Corners said...

Oh, an image of you chopping onions in your new nifty goggles (or Luca's for that matter) would be priceless!!
The list made me very happy...I love the coatrack, although I have no absolutely idea where I'd put it, and the bunny scarf should be framed, it's so darling!
Hoping some of these treats are able to make their way into the 'Arms'!
xo J~

Acanthus and Acorn said...

Lisa,
I love your shopping lists! I'll take a #3,#4 and #6. Better throw in a #10 for my husband.
xo,~R

Unknown said...

The list could stem from my own mind, minus the umber expensive needlepoint pillow. I never mind the horses!
I need the husband shopper badly!
And then I'll sink into the lavender bath!
xoxo

Hels said...

I think that unless the desired objects cost a total fortune and you would put your family in the work house..... buy them!

For example, coloured guest towels look terrific, cost sod all and cover your ordinary ugly handtowels. Go for it, sister!

P. M. Doolan said...

I love them all, but especially the lamp/bookrest, and the adjustable magazine holder/stool tops them all.

mikky said...

that lamp is great!

:)
mikky
www.todaloos.com

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