Kit Kemp's "Design Thread"
At the start of her book “Design Thread,” Kit Kemp writes about Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” saying that it “left us with the valuable notion that, if you do not have a comfortable room and feel at ease with your surroundings, it is much more difficult to be creative.”
That sentiment is the basis of her book on “creating comfortable, functional, and well-designed interiors” - an art she calls “very often misunderstood and underrated.” For anyone who has spent time at one of the elegant and relaxing Firmdale Hotels designed by Kemp, the art of function and relaxation crossed with whimsy and ah-I-never-thought-of-those-things-together is paramount.
Her book is a tour de force of imaginative interiors from antique lamps with shades made from old maps and from “Much Ado” books to sunbursts of egg yolk yellow covering walls with “Sirenes” from the Pierre Frey Jean Lurcal collection.
For fans of The Whitby Hotel - and we count ourselves among them - Kemp lays out her design process for designing it. “New York can feel a bit like a battleground at times, so the feeling within our new hotel needed to be one that would pique the curiosity, delight all the senses in an adventurous and colorful way, and make visiting or staying with us worthwhile in every sense.” The book walks the reader meticulously through the myriad design “problems,” solutions and leaps of imagination for anyone captivated by the Whitby - including every single basket, hanging in an evocative jumble over the bar.
Shaken Not Stirred - Your 7 Home Bar Essentials
The “Honor Bar” at the Whitby Hotel
We love a good bar- the kind that makes you feel you could suavely concoct and shake any drink early Saturday evening and impress your friends. Inspiration for building your home bar doesn’t have to be the joint down the block but rather the lovely “honor bar” at the Whitby Hotel here in New York.
So what are the home bar essentials to shake a cocktail?
What we use the most: cobbler shaker, jigger/mini measuring cup, small citrus squeezer, fine mesh strainer, coupe glass, paring knife, and cutting board.
These are the seven essentials to mix, shake, and serve a drink.
Cobbler Cocktail Shakers
We have this basic cobbler shaker from Cocktail Kingdom at home. It’s not perfectly leakproof but we can vouch that we’ve made plenty of drinks using it and its lasted for a good long while! Made of stainless steel, 2-drink capacity.
Alternative 1: all-in-one shaker. Light-weight budget friendly cobbler shaker with a built-in strainer and a silicone seal for shaking. If you want to save money and little space, you can skip the jiggers below and just get this with the integrated one.
Alternative 2: all-in-one roomy shaker, also with a built-in measuring lid that allows you to make up to four drinks at one time and has a vacuum insulated tumbler which keeps the liquid ice cold but doesn’t freeze your hands. So again you can skip the jigger or measuring cup below.
2. Jigger or Mini Measuring Cup
If you want to get the industry standard and what pro bartenders like, check out this Japanese style jigger that has markings on the inside. You can flip from one side that holds 2 oz at its capacity to the other size that holds 1 oz at its capacity. We have this at home and use when entertaining.
This is so easy to use with its pour spout, transparency and easy-to-read measurement markings. We use this at home frequently.
3. Citrus Squeezer
More expensive than the one below, we’ve been using this citrus squeezer for several years and like the dual-gear mechanism for squeezing extra juice out of all those lemons & limes - can also use for a small orange. So we think it’s worth it!
Alternative: smaller & cheaper citrus press for squeezing lemons and limes.
We like to double-strain our cocktails with this fine mesh strainer to get rid of any extra pulp or ice bits.
5. Coupe Glass
A simple coupe glass makes for a beautiful serve for entertaining. This is a set of four so you’re ready to entertain.
6. Paring Knife
Easy to cut lemons and limes with this paring knife. Japanese stainless steel blade with nonstick coating, comes with a sheath/cover. We love this knife and have always had at least one on hand.
Easy to wash, easy to use cutting board to prep your citrus.
Ready?! Now you’re set with the essential bar tools to make a shaken cocktail!
The Home Edit…edit!
We love Clea and Joanna - their instagram feed a constant source of inspiration, their streaming show is running on a loop here every time we do chores and their book is a complete how-to for using their methods to live a clutter-free, rainbow-involved, streamlined life.
Here’s our edit of… The Home Edit.
New Year, Blue Year!
Pantone named “Classic Blue” aka Pantone 19-4052 as their Color of the Year calling it a “timeless and enduring hued elegant its simplicity” that showcases our “desire for a dependable and stable foundation from which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.”
From sky to sconce – we’re big fans of the color blue – for lamps; for rugs to pull the room together; for an accent wall to a full classic blue library or kitchen. Inspirations for us range from Albertine’s jawdropping celestial ceiling on the Upper East Side, where all manner of French books are carefully crammed in under a hand-painted zodiac – to the famous “Great Wave” of Kanagawa immortalized in a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai.
Want to bring some blue into your life in 2020?
Our favorites right now -
HOME
If you’ve ever seen “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries,” we think this would be Phryne’s choice for the perfect silk-shade lamp - Electric Blue velvet art deco style lampshade.
ACCESSORIES
And for the person who really likes blue and horology - the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Automatic Chronograph Blue Dial means that you’re both classic and blue at all times.
Headed Into The Cocoon...
What we’re loving as the end of summer feels like it might be a little more…isolating…than we thought if the covid variant is on the rise and we are back to staying a little further apart.
It’s still the heat of summer but autumn looms. And the seasons transition from iced tea to hot tea - which means you might need an extra sidetable for the teapot and mug. Love this West Elm side table for all seasons…
West Elm said this is made from naturally fallen cypress trees - each sidetable is solid wood - move it around wherever you want it today.
Terrain has a brand new merino wool herringbone throw the color of a rainy sky.
Pottery Barn out with these throws with a big chunky cable knit to help transition between the seasons.
This chunky throw measuring about 50” by 60” is machine washable, cable knit on one side a polyester sherpa on the other side.
Six Rugs on Sale This Presidents' Day Weekend...
A three-day weekend - especially one this cold in NYC - is a great time to shop. We’ve been looking for just the right rug for the foyer…and the living room…and could upgrade the one in the dining room. So here’s the best of what we’re seeing this weekend that could work for you too.
Overstock.com is having what they call a “blowout” sale this weekend - check out their selection of jute rugs from this 5’ x 5’ in natural to these runners from the 2’ x 12’ to the 2’6” x 14’ depending on your space - all running you under $100 with fast delivery.
From Overstock.com to Wayfair which has loads on sale including this gray area rug which is both practical and a little fanciful from Laurel Foundry Modern Farmhouse - and a great complement to lots of layouts.
Also from Wayfair - this Bungalow Rose take on silvery abstraction in a rug is good for little moodier take on tying a room together. And it looks like you’re walking on clouds.
Pottery Barn is also running a big sale on rugs this weekend - this Persian-style rug in a golden taupe with brick and sage accents could work well in so many rooms. PB touts it as being pure wool with a synthetic latex backing that will help extend the rug’s life.
At West Elm - which is also awash in rug sales this 3-day weekend - this distressed Printed Canopy Rug rocks the frost grey and golden pattern and ties in well with a room already using gold as an accent.
Shag rugs feel superb underfoot in all seasons. West Elm has just put a platinum “glam” shag rug on sale that will warm up the look of any room. Also - doesn’t shed. Try it in the bedroom or the living room.
