ADDED COLOR

A ceramic trivet from the Australian retailer, Country Road. Pretty yellow.

PIG FEAT

 

The plus sign-shaped slot on this piggy bank caught my attention. The matte white and abstracted form are quite fine, too.

FLASHY

 

 

Bicycle handlebar grips were the inspiration for these LED torches (flashlights) designed by the British designer Alexander Taylor. And Yves Klein blue (and a variety of other vibrant hues) will stand out nicely in a sea of generic tools.

 

WELL ROUNDED

 

Dwell Studio bills this Pinwheel rug as kids’ stuff, but grown-up me wouldn’t one bit mind having its graphic cheeriness underfoot.

RED FLAIR

 

This hand-crafted steel floor lamp by the French manufacturer Jielde is worthy of a slot on any design enthusiast’s bucket list. It’s on mine, in any case.

CLEAN COAL

If Steve Jobs had gone into the air purification business, he may have come up the Chikuno Cube, an air purifier made from something called “activated bamboo charcoal powder and clay minerals.”

ABOUT FACE

A case for hanging on to your house phone would be Jasper Morrison’s design for the Swiss brand Punkt, which is comprised of a cradle that holds the phone in face-up position, allowing for dialing without picking up the phone. Oh, and yes, it’s beautiful.

SHOPPING LINES

Carting along a reusable shopping bag for the inevitable impulse purchase can be a bulky, unsightly proposition. For $10, this stylish carryall from J.Crew, which can be stuffed into its accompanying pocket-size pouch, may just be the answer.

DAMAGE CONTROL

Any artistic practice that calls itself Snarkitecture can’t be expected to have a wholesome worldview, and the Brooklyn-based team behind the name is particularly drawn to imperfections. Broken Ornament, made from gypsum cement, may raise a few eyebrows around the Christmas tree, but there’s no denying its wabi-sabi allure.

AID AND ABET

 

This would be just the first aid box to induce an urgent shopping trip for gauze and bandages.