Although a real mortar and pestle is a lovely tool to have, you can achieve their rounded flavors and elemental textures with makeshift ones. Take this Walnut Pesto, for example…
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Although a real mortar and pestle is a lovely tool to have, you can achieve their rounded flavors and elemental textures with makeshift ones. Take this Walnut Pesto, for example…
Read MoreFor me, just-right coffee is a necessity that helps me get into my day, especially when on the road. So I compared portable coffee systems: the BRuX vs my trusty makeshift rig. Here’s a full report.
Read MoreYou have only to search MIRROR on Improvised Life to find evidence of an obsession. Not to look at one’s self. But to angle them in such a way as to SEE a bigger view. Take these port-hole mirrors, for example…and Basho’s haiku…
Read MoreAfter the designers at fashion house Balanciaga knocked off Ikea’s iconic big blue 99-cent tote (in leather for $2,145), frequent contributor Susan Dworski jumped into the fray with a chic, cheap black bag that we hacked to perfection.
Read MoreWe’re smitten with HomeMade Modern’s stylish, DIY-able home goods — from beds to planters — and really smart, detailed designs that empower you to improvise.
Read MoreThe bright red bookends we saw at FIT’s library totally transform the common bookend into something both graphic and stylish…and practical. We wondered if we could find them.
Read MoreHere’s our list of things we think are worth giving for the way they expand minds/hearts/creativity, or are just downright useful…
Read MoreA tasting spoon is an essential kitchen tool, allowing you to add flavor experiments directly to the “taste” to see if you like them. Over the years I’ve collected —and given — quite a few tasting spoons. They make great, unexpected gifts. Here’s a roundup:
Read MoreWe saw this knife holder in a friend’s kitchen and thought: seriously clever. It’s simply a tall, narrow box filled with vertically-standing wooden skewers. The skewers hold the knives in place without dulling the blade. Although we tracked down where you can buy one, the formula for making it yourself is simple…
Read MoreEvery so often, a friend calls to ask me what cooking equipment to recommend. LONG story! You’ll find an extensive list of equipment for a basic kitchen in A New Way to Cook, along with 700+ pages of essential techniques and recipes. For now, here are my tried-and-true favorites, from high to low and back.
Read MoreOne image in a photo essay about a Scandinavian house renovation caught our eye: a kid’s room with tissue paper pom poms hanging from the ceiling, like some sort of celestial blooms. They’d be lovely in just about any room. So we hunted them down to discover that they are a common wedding decoration, readily available on…
Read MoreAs soon as we saw Mc&Co’s irregularly shaped mirrors we thought WANT. We’ve been thinking for some time that our very angular Laboratory could use some organic forms to soften it, and have been mulling how we might do that with mirrors. Mc&Co’s mirrors look like portals into other rooms. Swell! Although we’ve written about irregularly…
Read MoreI spend a lot of time trying things and…failing. Hmmm. Is failing even the right word? I spend a lot of times trying things and having them not go as expected.
Read MoreAfter we accidentally sacrified our trusty-ancient-unwieldy speakers trying to counteract the bed vibration that woke us up each morning, we went on the hunt for great sounding wireless speakers. We ended up getting two variations because music is so essential to us. It fuels our work when energy levels are low, helps us chill out, and even…
Read MoreOn Labor Day it was like a cosmic switch was flipped: suddenly we could smell fall and a chill crept into the air. We’re totally down with Thoreau and thinking of ways to spark summer’s lovely feeling even in the dark days of winter.
Read MoreThe other day I was reading a poem written by Su Tung Po in 1097, over a thousand years ago, and realized that it was talking about me, right now in 2015, using such perfectly wrought words, I saw the most ordinary moment differently. Here is a fragment*
Read MoreChilewich, maker of now-iconic, minimalist woven polypropylene floor mats we’ve admired, recently introduced their Dahlia Coasters. Their website shows icy drinks resting on the coaster (one with an ice bucket in the background), calls them “coasters” and claims “these functional designs will enhance and elevate your dining experience“. But at the end of the enticing copy is…
Read MoreWhen VosgeParis posted images of a party at designer Paola Navone’s home in Milan, the wire crates affixed to the wall caught our eye. Are they an artwork, or simply vintage crates made into art, on which she arranges objects to her liking? So we hunted for google images for clues.
Read MoreThe pristine, white sculptural water pitcher featured at A Cup of Jo is so pretty, it briefly made us consider abandoning our tried-and-true DIY ones, below. It holds about 2 1/2 quarts, has a footprint of 10 x 7 x 4 1/2 inches and is available at Amazon for under $30, a bargain. We love our homemade…
Read MoreBombarded by imagery all day at work, Sam Shadid, the renowned mastermind behind ads for Calvin Klein and Banana Republic, prefers an ultra-minimalist home with the feel of a luxe high-design hotel room. It was recently featured in a slideshow in The Times’ T Magazine. Although we find his sensibility crazy-austere, we LOVE a couple of…
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