Cool Stuff: Floral Cut Hurricane and Tea Lights

Loving the lasercut design of these pretty tea lights and hurricane from the U.K.'s Graham & Green. The tea lights are £2.64 (about $4) apiece, while the hurricane is £26.18 ($38).

Take a look right here.

Cool Stuff: Sofa, So Good

I'm still on the hunt for a new sofa for our living room. Not that we have the cash to be buying major pieces of furniture right now, but hey -- that's never stopped me from looking and wanting before.

Almost all of the ones I have my eye on seem to share a few key traits: simple, relatively clean lines (though I am a sucker for a bit of button-tufting and perhaps a slight bohemian-louche vibe); tight backs; single-cushion seats; slim, sexy legs; and yummy gray velvet upholstery. My current faves: Long Snooze Sofa, above, from Ochre (No idea on the price, but I suspect it's steep.)

Jamie Dream Velvet Sofa, £2,075 (about $3,276) from Graham & Greene

Loring Sofa, $999 from Room + Board (I love the price and the look, but unfortunately this model wasn't that comfy when I tried it out in the store.)

Reese Sofa, $1,499 from Room + Board

Andre Sofa, $1,699 from Room + Board

Ditte Sofa, $3,498 from Anthropologie

Lampert Sofa, $2,950 from Jonathan Adler

Nell Sofa, $5,495 from Jayson Home & Garden (This one may just be my favorite -- but, ouch, that price!)

Wilshire Sofa, $2,950 from Williams Sonoma Home (This photo from the WSH website doesn't really do the couch justice; I've seen it in person and it's gorgeous.)

None of these has every single thing I want -- I'm lusting after a really deep sofa to curl up in, for instance, which seems to be hard to come by in a more tailored style. And none even has enough of my wish-list items while also being within the realm of financial possibility for us right now, so the search continues ...

By the way: Anyone out there know anything about having a sofa custom-made, or how much that costs? If so, please let me know!

Object of Lust: Jacquard Hammock

Wish I was here ...

Jacquard hammock with Olympic stand, 399 pounds sterling (about $798) from Graham & Green.

Object of Lust: Walnut and Chrome Desk

Nick and I have been on the hunt for a diminutive desk to tuck into a corner of our dining room.

We'll set up the laptop with that wireless connection Nick has been promising me forever (hint, hint, honey ... ), and it'll be a place for the kids to use the computer under our watchful eye and for me to be able to hang out with the family while I work, rather than always being stuck in my basement office.

Anyway, I've been leaning toward West Elm's petite white lacquer Parsons desk, above ($299). But then this morning, while I was sipping my coffee and just soaking in all the beauty on the U.K.'s Graham & Green site, I spotted this baby:

My pulse instantly quickened as I registered the beautifully grained walnut-veneer top and the uber-glam chrome legs. It's perfect -- so sleek and sophisticated, so not "office-y," so ... unattainable.

At 330 pounds (about $660), it's not obscenely priced for something that I think I'd hang onto forever. But given that shipping within the U.K. runs as much as $520, I shudder to think what international shipping might amount to. I did a little Internet sleuthing and discovered that the manufacturer is also based in the U.K., which unfortunately seems to be the extent of their distribution.

Then, remembering that Williams Sonoma Home has some pieces with a similar vibe, I clicked on over there, where I discovered the similarly swanky Monroe desk, above. Sadly, though, at $2,200, it's even more out of our price range than the desk from Graham & Green.

Does anyone know where I might find the Graham & Green desk -- or something similar -- in the U.S., for less than a king's ransom?

If so, please let me know -- because I am in love.

Cool Stuff: White Metal Furniture

London's Graham & Green always has the best stuff.

But let me back up: Kate over at Girl Meets Glamour was debating dining chairs yesterday, and I clicked through to the G&G site to get a closer look at one of her contenders, an embossed white metal ram's head chair from India (above, 195 pounds -- about $390).

Lo and behold, Graham & Green has an entire collection of these beautiful embossed pieces, which somehow manage to meld lush exoticism with refined glamour.

Check it out:

Coffee Table, 360 pounds ($720)

Chest of Drawers, 835 pounds ($1,670)

Console Table, 352 pounds ($704)

Cupboard, 495 pounds ($990)

You can see the rest of the collection here.

Alas, that cursed pounds-to-dollars conversion rate plus shipping from the UK make these a bit too "spendy" for me -- anyone know a good source for this kind of furniture in the U.S.? (I did a quick search, but came up with zilch.)

If so, please let me know!

Objects of Lust: Found It!

I feel a bit like Monika in Domino magazine ...

Soon after I blogged about the seemingly unattainable lotus ball chandeliers and lamps from London's Graham & Green, I got an email from Jim B. alerting me to a virtually identical chandelier from our very own shopping-mall staple, Z Gallerie.

Z's 16-inch version, which costs $279, is currently out of stock -- but it sounds like more will be arriving soon. (Somehow, knowing that one of these can be had at my local home decor chain makes it a little less swoon-worthy. But it's still a gorgeous light fixture at a reasonable price. Wish they had the black, though!)

Check it out here.

(Thanks for the tip, Jim!)

Cool Stuff: Sticker Clocks

More finds from the UK's Graham & Green: Say what you will about the whole wall-decal fad -- there's no denying that these sticker clocks are totally cute, fun, and functional.


I love the sly humor and visual trickery of the red cuckoo, and adore the fresh green color and sweet motif of the bird graphic. I think I must have one for our kitchen.

The clocks are available for 18 pounds sterling (about $36) each here.

Objects of Lust: Lotus Flower Lights

When my family and I visited London a few months ago, we rented a flat in Notting Hill, a half-block from the legendary Portobello Road Market and right around the corner from a wonderful shop called Graham & Green.

Every day, either on our way out to explore the city or as we made our weary way home, I'd peer in the window and admire the absolute loveliness of these lights. Crafted from hundreds of fragile, iridescent capiz shells, the lights take the form of delicate lotus flowers and are truly breathtaking when lit. (They're even more dramatic in lustrous black.)


I wanted so badly to cart one back to California with me, but the trip alone basically cleared out our bank account. Plus, the whole two-dollars-to-the-pound thing pretty much put the kibosh on any major shopping sprees.

And these beauties do not come cheap: The lamps run 111 to 375 pounds sterling (about $222 to $750), and the chandeliers are 275 to 395 pounds (about $550 to $790), depending on size.


Still, I dream about these lights. If anyone knows of a more affordable stateside source, please let me know!

(Update: I just received an email from Graham & Greene noting that the capiz shell lights are deeply discounted -- but only until Sunday, June 3. The lamps start at 92.50 pounds -- $185 -- and the chandeliers are on sale for 192.50 to 276.50 pounds -- or $385 to $553.)