Tchochkes

‘Man it’s hot. It’s like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.‘ — Biloxi Blues

I know, it’s hot outside. It’s miserably hot, and the last thing you feel like doing is making your bed in the morning with the whole kit-and-caboodle just to have to take the whole thing off again at night. So what does one do in the summer? Live without bedding? G-d no! Parish the thought!

A bed can be interesting even if it doesn’t have all of the glorious layers that we enjoy in the winter-time. Above is a great example from Martha Stewart. I know, she’s a scary uber-wasp, but she has the most amazing aesthetic sense. I love the striped sheet dust ruffle (covering the box spring) adding interest, color, and pattern to a room. The red blanket on the top of the bed is lightweight and accents the dust ruffle.

Above is a sheet set by Unison Larch (no, Design Public does not ship to Israel - I’m just using this as an example). Notice the flat sheet edged off the bed and the coverlet placed decoratively across? The room is simple (and yes, I’m ignoring the twigs in a vase **shudder**) but the bed is still fabulous. This shows that it can be done.

Another option is to go the simple cover route. The printed cotton bedcover above is from Hafatzim. Yes, I know, their customer service is some of the worst in Israel, but their designs are fab, and this is something you can grab off the shelf without having to talk to the smarmy cows that work there. Or you can go to the souk in Yaffa or Daliat Ha Carmel and get something extremely similar for significantly less money.

The quilt below is also from Hafaztim. I would place this on the bed in the day and take it off at night. This style is really popular right now, so you can find it in more places than just Hafatzim.

Israel doesn’t sell flat sheets typically, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your duvet cover on the bed instead - without the comforter inside.

And sheets don’t have to be just white. The set above is by Sleeping Buddha (no, they don’t ship to Israel either, but I think Golf and Co has something extremely similar.)

So as you can see, there are loads of options out there. Not every bed has to be made like this… (although that wouldn’t be a bad thing.)

Bright, colorful, amazing, vibrant. We have a new Hebrew site which my dear husband has set up. Our first two writers are both interior designers and Sharon wrote about this amazing tile designer in Binyamina.

These tiles are fabulous. They are so cool I want to add on a bathroom just so I could use them. Ok, not completely true. I want to add a bathroom because I have a four year old who pees on the seat occasionally and a two year old who wants to. But these tiles just add to my justification for the desire.

The sink, above, is a great example of what can be done with tiles from Shabazim, of course, just because one can, does not mean one should. It is a bit of overkill…

On the other hand, I could easily live with the flower patterned wall, below. I would do without the borders, but I do think it is extremely pretty and still very liveable. I would also assume it would be an absolute nightmare to lay all of those tiles.

Shira (what a great name) Hiller is the artist. She uses colors as they should be, vibrant and alive.

I could see these tiles being used as a backsplash in a kitchen, in the bathroom of a restaurant, or in a bathroom at home. They could even be placed in a cement walkway for added interest.

Plastic!

A recent comment from one of our readers sent me on a mission to clarify the difference between plastic and fiberglass.  I found some interesting products in each category that I want to share.

We have all seen and have probably sat in this common plastic lounge chair.  It is made out of standard old plastic.  The first product made of the plastic that we know today was Bakelite, invented by Leo Hendrik Bakeland in 1907. I thought this old telephone pictured below was a neat find, I had no idea they were made out of Bakelite!

I grew up with these bakelite utensils at home,  I always loved the plastic handles.

Then we have recycled plastic. There are many products today that utilize this material which is durable and weather resistant. I have seen decking, fences and all kinds of recycled plastic lumber. I liked these colorful adirondack chairs and wish I had a yard so I could buy some.

Moving on to fiberglass.  Fiberglass is in fact made out of fine glass fibers as shown below. 

These are woven glass fibers encasing a fiberglass textile filling.

The material is reinforced by these fibers making it strong and durable, even more so than its predecessor plastic.  Charles and Ray Eames were known for their early work in fiberglass.  Here is the chair that inspired this post!

I love this promotional brochure from 1954 by the Eames’s, what a nice combination of marketing and art. 

Fiberglass is also a popular material for making surfboards, kayaks and boats.  It is lightweight, durable and low maintenance.  Here, the fins have a glass like quality about them.

Surf’s up!

Fiberglass wide mouth bass… I wonder if this guy talks…

I will be leaving for the US on Thursday night, but I’m swamped with things to do before then, so any and all posts will be unexpected.

I return on February 1st. I don’t know how busy I will be in Omaha, but my guess is that I will not be posting until I get back.

Thank you for your patience.

-shira

For those of you who don’t know me personally, I am doing my EMBA in the Kellogg-Recanati program at Tel Aviv University. This week I have an intensive module of Ethics and Leadership and Management and the Legal Environment.

So the posting won’t be as regular as it usually is. Sorry.

Brain fried. Must sleep.

Reader ‘E’ from Tel Aviv writes:

‘right now, if you have any good tips on unique (cheap?) furniture stores / options in TLV, PLEASE let me know. Aren’t there some ratty places down in Florentine? Or is the stuff there terrible? Or, are there any other secret locations that have unusual (i.e. not Ikea!) stuff?‘

Two pictures from Apartment Therapy’s house tour of Elaine’s apartment really stuck out.

Look at the living room to the left. Yes, it is lovely, but look at the back wall behind the TV set. Elaine put what looks like shell drapes up on the wall. I love the unexpected like that in a room.

See the closet in Elaine’s bedroom? The closet is from IKEA and she wallpapered the front to give it more interest (and to make it look like it didn’t come from IKEA). This trick has been on a few sites lately, and I really like it.

And look at the fabric on that amazing chair. She keeps most of the colors in the room fairly neutral to balance the vibrant green on the walls.

BVD is an Israeli design magazine (in Hebrew.)

These two killed me, so I thought they deserved their own post.

Again, I know this has nothing to do with Home, but what a brilliant idea. It’s a sticky spot spaceman. You iron it on around a spot you can’t get out. Bizarre, yet so cute and commonsensical (yes I just made up that word and I’m sticking to it).