Category: Shopping Trip

Shopping Trip: Scouting at IKEA

Today we took a family outing to IKEA. (That cafeteria and the frozen yogurt are good motivators for the boys.) We’re about to close on a two-bedroom condo in Delray Beach, Florida, (yes, we are very excited!), and since our furnishings budget is pretty minimal, we figured we’d best check out IKEA. As you know, touching and feeling their stuff is imperative; it’s so hit or miss. I was very disciplined, following the arrowed path, stopping in every department to photograph and take notes as to which sofa might be comfortable , which dining table seemed durable, and which chair wouldn’t wobble. Happily, I think I came away with a few possibilities. I’ll of course be perusing West Elm and CB2 as well, but IKEA can’t be beat in terms of cost. However—and this is a BIG however— I am not going to buy anything we won’t be happy with. Should be quite the challenge.

Here are a bunch of Instagram photos I took today. They’re not necessarily representative of pieces we’re considering for the condo. (Look for “Scheming” posts in coming months.) They’re just slices of what caught my eye.

 

 

 

Shopping Trip: Patch NYC x Target

I had planned on getting to the Watertown Target by 9:15 Sunday morning, right after Hebrew school drop off. My husband had other plans that involved packing groceries for Jewish families in need and delivering them to their doorstep, so needless to say, my trip was postponed. By the time we got to a Target—the South Bay Plaza one—it was 12:15. And, I had a serious time limit becauase my sons were eager to watch the Patriots season opener.

There were two areas, designated with both “The Shops” and “Patch NYC” signs: one with some bedding and the second with the rest of the goodies. Not picked over, but not bursting with merchandise. I convinced a twenty-something girl to put the last candelabra back on the shelf so I could snap a photo. The stuff is cute, though I didn’t buy anything. The colors are earthier than my palette at home, but certainly seasonal. The guy re-organizing the shelves said it was stocked full that morning; people definitely came specifically to buy Patch. Yesterday afternoon I finally swung by the Watertown Target (this time on the way to karate), and pretty much the same deal, but less of it.

On a side note, I checked out the Kirna Zabete collection and it was surprisingly chic. I bought a pair of stretch faux leather leggings and almost bought an adorable heart-print blouse, but decided I couldn’t do polyester or whatever it was (in the real world it would have been silk). There was a cute and swingy faux leather skirt, and a great tweed shift with faux leather panels. Fabric was soft and the cut was pretty good. A win over some of the other collabs in terms of quality.

 

If you’re in Boston, stop by Patch NYC this weekend for their celebration in conjunction with South End Open Studios. Saturday & Sunday noon to 6. The Courtyard at 46 Waltham Street, Boston.

Shopping Trip: Moko

Last week I traveled to Helsinki, Finland for the first time, on a blogger press trip hosted by Visit Finland and World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, where I represented Design Milk, and took plenty of photos for StyleCarrot readers too. We rode bikes through the city, which is undergoing major urban renewal, foraged for edible herbs in the park, visited the future food market, and viewed an exhibition of student artwork from Aalto University in an otherwise mostly empty waterfront warehouse. We also went behind-the-scenes at the Marimekko corporate offices, where the fabrics are printed. And of course, shopped the outlet store. We had lunch on one of the days at a charming home decor shop called Moko, which has a cafe and coffee bar. It reminded me a bit of ABC Carpet & Home, on a much more modest and smaller scale, but cute.

Site Spotlight: Room 68

Nick Siemaska, Eric Portnoy, and Brent Refsland in their shop, Room 68.
Photo: Laura Barisonzi for Boston Magazine

Design shop Room 68 is Boston’s answer to Matter (heaven, on the edge of Soho). Owned by three bespectacled design hipsters in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (an outlying area of Boston), the gallery-like shop opened this past fall. I cringe to say I haven’t actually been (it may be Boston, but it’s a 25 minute drive from my Back Bay sofa). The guys have garnered plenty of press (no surprise, as we get hot and bothered by new design outlets), including write-ups in Boston Magazine, Boston Globe, and Apartment Therapy.

I am familiar with a number of the Boston-area designers whose work if for sale, including furniture maker Jacob Kulin, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with, accessories designer/architect Susana DeVoe of Make.Good Studio, who I met last year at the SoWa Open Market, Debra Folz, a New England Home 5 Under 40 winner, who I met at the party, and Nervous System, a design team with degrees from MIT and Harvard.

Textile designer Cary Hewitt is a new find . . . her reversible rugs look delicious. I love the wood vases from Seth Rolland, and  Pelrine + Durrell Design’s Lobster Trap Table is an excellent contemporary interpretation of a vernacular monstrosity.Many of the designers are local, but not all. Room 68 recently launched its online shopping site. Below are the above mentioned items, and more, complete with links both to buy and to the designers’ own sites.

 

S H O P P I N G

Lobster Trap Table by Pelrine + Durrell Design, $1,500 (Boston)
Comfort/Conform Pillows by Make.Good Studio, $150 each (Boston)
Reaction Cups designed by Nervous System, $60
Lotus and Jasmine Wood Vases by Seth Rolland, $115 (Seattle)
Balancing Blocks designed by Fort Standard, $80.
Turned Leg End Table by Pelrine + Durrell Design, $700 (Boston)
Procession Reversible Rug by Cary Hewitt, $750 (Boston)
Concrete Idea by Kaza Designs, $15
X-Stitch Stool by Debra Folz, $1,600 (Boston)
Twist A Twill Blanket by Tina Ratzer, $140 (Copenhagen)
Spool by Jeb Jones, $450 (upstate New York)
Blossoms on Cherry Reversible Rug by Cary Hewitt, $650 (Boston)
Single Leg Coffee Table by Jacob Kulin, $3,500 (Boston)
Beam Bench by Jacob Kulin, $2,000 (Boston)

Room 68 • 68 South Street • Jamaica Plain • Boston

Photo: Apartment Therapy Boston

Shopping Trip: Nesting on Main

Back in October, when most of you weren’t stressing about holiday hoopla, I was running (and writing) myself silly pinpointing the perfect holiday gifts to feature in print magazines. This year’s “Boston Globe Magazine Holiday Shopping Guide” took me to Concord, MA that lovely little New England town where literary legends Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne once lived. And let’s not forget Thoreau and Walden Pond.

It being a gorgeous, upscale hamlet, there is actually some excellent boutiques in town. Viola Lovely is one of my favorites for shoes; Tess & Carlos for pricey clothing. I discovered Hatch, a clean-lined white shop with modern home and baby  accessories. Another find was Nesting on Main, an aerie full of artfully arranged antiques and vintage trinkets. I took tons of photographs that I thought you’d enjoy.