Homes & Gardens
Useful & Beautiful: Chic Yet Practical Details For The Home
Oh you pretty things! Practicality need never preclude style. These are the necessary and useful items that have design cred too.
There is no earthly reason why, just because an item is useful, it should follow that it must also be ugly. William Morris’ much-quoted adage – that one should 'have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful' – need not denote a binary choice. One can, after all, have it all – at least, that is, when it comes to home accessories.
Our lives are filled with items that need – even demand – to be plugged in at regular intervals. Between our phones and our laptops, the endless search for a spare lead has become a struggle that has, alas, entered the realms of the real. Not only, though, does it dominate our lives, but it also causes ugly wires to have become a feature of homes and offices. No longer. Lola’s Leads (from £35) are stylish and colourful and do not make us wince at the very sight of them (quite the opposite, in fact).
George Sowden’s collection of kitchen essentials for HAY is a masterclass in simplicity allied with jaunty freshness. Characterised by clean lines and zingy pastels, we especially like the kettles (£105) and the lemon squeezer (£146), everyday items whose use would undoubtedly improve our daily lives.
Osaka
Sweeping up can hardly be classified as amongst the more glamorous of household tasks, occasionally satisfying though it may be. Yet we find that the task is improved greatly if, rather than involving a perfunctory plastic dustpan and brush, you opt instead for the simple yet perfectly formed clean lines of a galvanised steel alternative: the Osaka Dustpan (£12.50). They say, ‘Pressed, trimmed, finished, and assembled largely by hand in a small metal workers’ shop in Osaka — a company who have specialised in the fabrication of simple zinc coated household goods for over a century.’ Our floors have never been so spotless.
Have you ever looked upon your light switches and despaired at their plastic inelegance? No? Well, you might do now that you’ve stumbled across Dowsing & Reynolds’ chic designs. They stock stylish dimmer switches, Miami pink light switches and, our favourite, their antique brass quadruple toggle switch (£49.99). Once you’ve seen them, we’re afraid that’s it: you will be spoiled forever.
The beauty of a really good interior is often in the details. Corston Architecture is a master at these finer points, its hardware sleek and simple yet exceptionally well-made and solid. We like all of it, but especially the Digby Sprung Door Handle (£96), which is weighty and made to last forever.
Playing music loud and dancing about the kitchen is one of the things that keeps us going through the winter months. And since we use our speakers so much, it makes sense that they should be beautiful – just like the music they pipe out. There are, in fact, many stylish speakers for the taking, but we really like the classic yet streamlined Marshall’s Acton III in brown (£259.99), which feels retro and modern all at once.
We cannot deny the curious allure – nor indeed the curiously alluring smell (just us?) – of a DIY warehouse of a Sunday. But for handy folk who are both serious about their craft and have an eye for aesthetics, a beautiful tool roll is a wonderful thing. We think this one from & Sons in waxed cotton canvas (£75) is just right for the job.
The useful yet beautiful formula does not apply only inside the house; it is eminently transportable to the garden too. If you’re in search of a good, simple compost bin in galvanised steel, look no further than Garden Trading’s classic 120L example (£150).
By Nancy Alsop
January 2024
Lola’s Leads
Our lives are filled with items that need – even demand – to be plugged in at regular intervals. Between our phones and our laptops, the endless search for a spare lead has become a struggle that has, alas, entered the realms of the real. Not only, though, does it dominate our lives, but it also causes ugly wires to have become a feature of homes and offices. No longer. Lola’s Leads (from £35) are stylish and colourful and do not make us wince at the very sight of them (quite the opposite, in fact).
HAY Sowden Collection
George Sowden’s collection of kitchen essentials for HAY is a masterclass in simplicity allied with jaunty freshness. Characterised by clean lines and zingy pastels, we especially like the kettles (£105) and the lemon squeezer (£146), everyday items whose use would undoubtedly improve our daily lives.
Osaka
Dustpan
Sweeping up can hardly be classified as amongst the more glamorous of household tasks, occasionally satisfying though it may be. Yet we find that the task is improved greatly if, rather than involving a perfunctory plastic dustpan and brush, you opt instead for the simple yet perfectly formed clean lines of a galvanised steel alternative: the Osaka Dustpan (£12.50). They say, ‘Pressed, trimmed, finished, and assembled largely by hand in a small metal workers’ shop in Osaka — a company who have specialised in the fabrication of simple zinc coated household goods for over a century.’ Our floors have never been so spotless.
Dowsing & Reynolds’ Light Switches
Have you ever looked upon your light switches and despaired at their plastic inelegance? No? Well, you might do now that you’ve stumbled across Dowsing & Reynolds’ chic designs. They stock stylish dimmer switches, Miami pink light switches and, our favourite, their antique brass quadruple toggle switch (£49.99). Once you’ve seen them, we’re afraid that’s it: you will be spoiled forever.
Corston Architecture’s Door Handles
The beauty of a really good interior is often in the details. Corston Architecture is a master at these finer points, its hardware sleek and simple yet exceptionally well-made and solid. We like all of it, but especially the Digby Sprung Door Handle (£96), which is weighty and made to last forever.
Marshall’s Speakers
Playing music loud and dancing about the kitchen is one of the things that keeps us going through the winter months. And since we use our speakers so much, it makes sense that they should be beautiful – just like the music they pipe out. There are, in fact, many stylish speakers for the taking, but we really like the classic yet streamlined Marshall’s Acton III in brown (£259.99), which feels retro and modern all at once.
& Sons Tool Roll
We cannot deny the curious allure – nor indeed the curiously alluring smell (just us?) – of a DIY warehouse of a Sunday. But for handy folk who are both serious about their craft and have an eye for aesthetics, a beautiful tool roll is a wonderful thing. We think this one from & Sons in waxed cotton canvas (£75) is just right for the job.
Garden Trading’s Compost Bin
The useful yet beautiful formula does not apply only inside the house; it is eminently transportable to the garden too. If you’re in search of a good, simple compost bin in galvanised steel, look no further than Garden Trading’s classic 120L example (£150).
By Nancy Alsop
January 2024
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