Tchochkes

I’m ignoring the awful interior design faux pas favorite of the twigs in a vase and focusing on that cheap-looking hanging lamp instead. I am all for ‘cheap and cheerful’ design (G-d knows my house has enough of it.)

But look at that bathroom. The square toilet, the black tiny mosaic tile, the specialty extra large rectangle sink and that designer ultra-thin faucet. The one slice of color with the red something-or-other in a dish by the toilet. Every piece in this room has been picked with the utmost of care. Even the awful twigs in a vase.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking… ‘What about those drab, dull, and boring shell pictures on the wall opposite the mirror?’ You know, I was really hoping you wouldn’t mention that, because I am purposely ignoring them as well.

Back to the lamp. I hate the limp cord attached to the holding cord. Why can’t they just design a cord where the electricity line is inside the holding line so that there doesn’t need to be that extra piece attempting (and failing) to look like a piece of the design? It looks cheap and it’s hung like an afterthought. ‘Oh crap, there’s no reading light by the toilet. Throw this up.’

I would much much rather have a chandelier there instead. Something like this:

Of course, this has the annoying limp electric line with the taut holding line as well, but it was the best example I could find on Lighting. They used to have one that was all black and didn’t have the cord thing, but I couldn’t find it on my search today.

‘Does Israel have glass doors for baths?‘ When you’ve been here as long as Barbara and I have you vaguely remember the conveniences from home and are somewhat unaware of what advances have been made in Israel. Barbara lives in a small flat in the center of Jerusalem with a sit in shower and she’s tired of the curtain.

I’m not a big fan of the curtain myself - they get moldy after a few months and then you throw them out, so all they do is cost money and fill landfills with plastic. Her issue is fear of the black gunk that collects at the bottom of the door if you remember the old sliding glass doors from home. Barbara is also worried that the glass would be difficult to clean.

I haven’t seen the traditional sliding glass doors in Israel (but I know that they have them here), instead I’ve seen the mixture that you see below. A static window for 1/8 of the shower space, and then a door on hinges which swings in and out of the shower space as needed. If you are showering you can close that door in so that none of the water gets out of the bath, which is the point of the door.

Cleaning is very valid point with these doors, as the water in Israel is very hard and filled with stone. If you don’t clean it weekly you will be subjecting yourself to a world of pain once you decide to clean it. When that happens (and it does, don’t deny it - we all have times when we’re simply not in the mood to fully clean the bathroom) I have the miracle cure for the door - vinegar. This stuff cuts through the stone and leaves your surfaces shiny and clean - albeit a tad smelly.

If you’re looking for a glass curtain you can try Dar Glass, or just do a google.co.il search for glass showers.

Ignoring the interesting Israeli-English, Pnina Maron from P.M. Studio has a distinctive style and creates some really nice decorative tile.

I like the charcoal border in basalt stone (left). I’m also loving the freestanding tub - but that’s not hers.

I could see the clover (which looks very much like Fleur de Lys (or is it Lis, I saw both when I was looking it up)) as an accent tile in a neutral kitchen.

Granted, not my style, but nice. And if you have to do neutral, at least this will keep it from being boring.

I have no idea why I like the rose inlay stone. But I do. So it’s here.

The stone border in this bathroom breaks up the neutral with a textured pattern. Again, neutral, but not dull.

I could have taken pictures of nearly every item on Pashtoot’s website. The handles, the hinges, the colors - yum.

I dreamt about this bedroom last night. I would take the blue hutch below and paint the outside the color they have inside, and paint the inside something completely contrasting, like yellow or strawberry red.

I love the bathroom drawers below. This will be in my next home (whenever that is.)

The one bit I don’t understand is the outline for the drawer under the sink - it doesn’t open (it can’t, there’s a sink there) yet it’s outlined. Why? Design balance perhaps?