Like many modernists on a budget I am dreaming of four Bertoia stools for my kitchen island but given the price tag, I’ve found new favorites to consider–those under $200. That was the general search criteria but the kitchen also has some decorative factors to consider: butter-cream walls, stainless-steel appliances, white island base and honey-colored wood in the floors, cabinets, and butcher block. That palette is pretty neutral but in picking these counter stools, the question is: What is the best element to pick up on and how much we want to buck the style of this traditional kitchen.
This is the kitchen the counter stools will reside in and above is one of the styles in the running. From West Elm, its the most modern of the group but the feminine lines soften the look. The stainless steel and darker wood would also blend nicely with the kitchens materials.
Scoop Back Counter Stool, $149; WestElm.com
Though the kitchen has enough wood for one room, this stool in a darker brown could create a nice contrast with the floors and cabinets honey tones. It has a Danish modern quality about it that would give the kitchen a subtle edge.
Madison stool, $199; Crate and Barrel (just went off-line, available in select stores)
No wood involved, aluminum chairs will tap into the look of the kitchens one modern feature: the appliances. Rather than trying to match with the island, I like that this option reaches out to the look of the kitchen as a whole.
Delta Counter Stool, $139; CrateandBarrel.com.
I’d love your help in narrowing the choices down but get your say in soon, I’m sick of standing.
With 2,900 exhibitors and hundreds of thousands of products displayed at the New York International Gift Fair, the trends can’t help but reveal themselves. If last season’s trend doesn’t make an appearance again, it means nobody was buying it. When the same look keeps turning up, it was a best seller. And when hundreds of manufacturers start exploring the same motif, together they are carving out a trend.
Hats have left the fashion category and are posing as home decor. These antique helmets from Bobo Intriguing Objects are purely decorative but I also saw top hats being used as champagne buckets and bowler caps electrified for pendant lamps.
At the last two markets, the bold running colors of Ikat seemed to cover every piece of upholstery available at the Gift Show. But at this market, this plate was all I found left of the trend. Here, Home James has freshened the over-played textile technique by applying the motif to a new medium, dishware.
Cutesy octopuses and seashells are still everywhere. However, I thought this take from Eloquent Ink brought the tried- and-true trend to a refreshing sophistication.
I admit these Thomas Paul plates are still charming; I would just love to see his graphic shapes and colors around something other than another dove.
Amazing enough there were a lot of gun designs at the show. If I’d only seen one, I might let it slide, but this glass piece in combination with the other manufacturers’ sculptural weaponry really disturbed me.
Though I’m not crazy about the look of these lamps, the flat pack design caught my eye. I hate packing peanuts and the Styrofoam that comes with product shipments, so I adore that this product from Wabnitz requires very little packaging and energy to ship.