Goodies from the new IKEA catalog

I really like IKEA. I mean, yeah, it's not heirloom quality but there have been many, many times in my life when "saving up for an investment piece" was really not advice I could take.

And I like the design. Not everything (hate their florals) but many things. I like IKEA green! I like that the children's toys are cheap and conform to EU standards for chemicals.














I also secretly wish an IKEA room planning person would come to my house and show me how to fit a family of sixteen into my living room.

Window dressing

I got this catalogue in the mail. CB2. I've seen the stores around, but never looked into one.

The catalogue, though, entrances me, and this is why - I've become fascinated with the pretend reading matter scattered through the scenes. I don't even know what it's supposed to reflect - is it an aspirational lifestyle to read the New Yorker, the NYT and Twilight? The bathroom has National Geographic (currently laying people off, apparently). There are also the inescapable Large Design Books and, of course, everyone uses a Mac.

There is some ok stuff in the catalogue but it's very IKEA and I'd rather just go straight to the funfair land of slides and macaroni and cheese (most people think of meatballs, but a family member is addicted to the mac).



Added: Those reviews are totally fake! CB2, in my book you are busted. There is no way a pitcher can have that many good reviews because real people are picky and grumpy. Also, take note, real people don't spell well and use poor grammar. Especially in reviews.

Drink me

Okay, I'm mellowing on you, catalogue. (See below.)

Look, it's another 'not-a'! These are not those horrible little plastic cups that are thin and weird and easy to squish.



They're ceramic, natch. Still too small, though.

Boom car

The MoMA store rocks; the MoMA catalogue, on the other hand, does not. But it's not the products inside, it's the way they select them. Too many scarfs and notecards - this ain't the Met.

Anyway.

Love this. It's more a wristlet size and I'm sure the sound quality is awful, I just like the way it looks.

Maybe your reach, not mine

It's sort of a joke for Design Within Reach to send me a catalogue. The name on its own just kills me. I mean, the day I buy a $500 desk lamp is the day I have no furniture in my house except a $500 desk lamp.

However, these scissors are beautiful. Maybe not $100 beautiful, but covetable nonetheless.



On the other hand, this unadorned canvas bag is also $100. There is no way you can convince me a tote bag needs to cost that much. At least stencil a damn bird on it!



But, you know, DWR has realized some of the arcane knowledge of LL Bean:

"Used for its industrial strength and durability, canvas is an ideal material for a tote bag."

Eddie Bauer Junior

I just got an Eddie Bauer catalogue that puzzles me. It's like EB suddenly morphed into Title Nine with a dash of J.Crew-ten-years-ago. Which isn't bad, actually.

I mean, this raincoat is fab.





And I like the turquoise and coral on this cardigan.




And these are sweatpants! That's my ideal, loungewear that you can wear out, or maybe it's real clothes made out of extra-comfy fabrics.


There's still a bunch of weirdly bulky, unflattering stuff, though. And the men's section is exactly the same. (Does this mean the male audience just got younger trophy wives or something?)

Holiday catalogs, part 3

J. Jill...is that supposed to be someone's name? Janie Julia Juniper Jessica Jill? The catalog is sort of intermittently interesting. I like that they experiment, but sometimes it gets really weird. I know I'm not really in their demographic, but still...

However. However! They have great shoes.

This velvet bag is pretty nice. Not very Jill-y, and it's on sale.

Holiday catalogs, part 2

Land of Nod is another (another!) upscale kids' stuff catalog. It's sort of Pottery Barn meets Melissa and Doug. Fun to look at but I doubt I'll buy anything there.

You could make something almost as good with some oilcloth from the fabric store and a pair of scissors, but these mats are nice. You put them under the easel or kid's table or anywhere that could get messy. So, the entire house, really...

Holiday catalogs, part 1

These are some things I like at Title Nine -- it's a sporty catalog and looking at it makes me feel like a couch potato, even though it is all models pretending to be active. But still, there are things I like a lot.

Nice comfort shoes.

This jacket is cute enough to make me break my edict against against fluffy/shiny/ski-ish.

The bag is by a company called Haiku. I've seen them around in real shops, too.

Sparkle

I'm getting all of these catalogs that are really the former tenant's. Some are godawful, some are sort of neat.

I'm kind of in love with the jewelry sold by a company called Sundance, that I've never heard of but is apparently owned by Robert Redford.

Anyway, love these (especially the gold bezel on the ring).


But, um, way overpriced.