It’s true that most of us have stone countertops that can withstand heat, but I think (preferably) modern trivets still have a place in the kitchen.
Not long ago I put a Pyrex baking dish straight from the oven onto our granite countertop. It was wet. The entire dish, salmon included, exploded. Seriously. Exploded.
Many kitchens, including mine, mix countertops, using a different material for the island than for the rest of the workspaces. The ship-like cherry wood countertops on either side of our stove are scorched from the tea kettle. (Not my doing.) I leave a cork trivet nearby now.
And unless you have have a marble-topped Saarinen tulip table you don’t want to be putting hot dishes on your dining table.
A few weeks ago I did a small roundup of modern rocking chairs to accompany a decor story in the Boston Globe. (Every Monday my lovely colleague Jaci Conroy writes an interior design article for the Globe and I pull together a corresponding group of furnishings & accessories.) I found so many great modern rocking chairs + contemporary rocking chairs that I figured a blog post was in order.
These all have great styling and are a far departure from traditional rockers or overstuffed gliders for the nursery. We have an Eames molded plastic rocker in sky blue on the Cape that we bought for my son, though I think it’s in our room now. Sometimes I use it on our little deck. I didn’t include that iconic example here, but there are other examples (mid-century modern furniture replicas), like the #16, the Swerve which has jaunty cut-outs and a full wooden base.
I love the look of #5, a very spare rocker from NYC shop Matter, and of love the tall mint-upholstered one by Normann Copenhagen. And if only I could place that blush colored Artifort rocker in the model apartment I’m decorating. Probably thought, the one that makes the most sense for my lifestyle is Gus Modern’s GT rocker (#13). It is definitely a contemporary rocking chair in style, but with enough cushion to be comfy.
Shop 30 modern rocking chairs from StyleCarrot partners and other favorite shops.
1 Comback Rocking Chair by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell, $890 at YLiving.
2 Taxed Rocking Chair by Segis, $1,309.99 at AllModern.
As you know, bar carts have become the must-have accent piece in the modern home. Even those who don’t drink want shiny a bar cart set up in an unused corner, styled to perfection with all the best bar accoutrements—decanters, shakers, stirrers, striped paper straws, martini glasses—finished with a killer piece of artwork hanging on the wall above it.
Bars don’t have to be on casters (though all the bar carts in this post are on wheels). You can create a bar in a cleared out section of a bookshelf, on a lacquered tray atop a console table, or repurpose the armoire you no longer need for your TV since you switched to a flatscreen. A tray table—the kind that’s an actual tray set into a butler’s stand—works particularly well as a home bar too.
This entry has been one of the site’s top five posts since I first published it over two years ago; it’s been long overdue for an overhaul. As of November 10, 2014 you’ll find 50 brand new bar carts arrayed here. With the holidays approaching, it seemed an ideal time for a bar carts refresh.
I’ve been thinking about setting up a bar for my husband for like half a dozen years now. At this point, with the boys approaching teendom, we’ll need a bar cabinet with a lock. (I’ll work on a bar cabinet post soon.) Perhaps I could pull one together as a holiday gift. Or his next birthday. We will be entertaining for our son’s bar mitzvah this winter. Can’t have a cocktail party without a pretty home bar, after all.
This selection of 50 bar carts, serving carts, and trolleys, some with removable trays, are all ideal for setting up your home bar. Styles include contemporary, mid-century modern, art deco, and traditional classics in brass, walnut, acrylic, polished nickel, lucite, birch, oak, rattan and more.
