309: They say home isn't a place

Part II of IV.

Home goods tend to make more sense to us than fashion gifts…especially above a certain age. The end-of-year holidays open directly onto full-blown nesting season, when our instincts are telling us—whatever you do, stay inside! There’s a charm to indulging one another’s cycling agoraphobia.

In the second of Magasin’s four-part gifting series, we share the interior objects and accessories that embody the framework laid out earlier this week: items that expand our understanding and appreciation of craft and material.

Discover our selects below the fold.

I Make Books Custom Folio

I’ve spent the last year and change following the work of Piotr Jarosz, a London-based bookbinder who goes by the moniker i_make_books, during which I’ve come to appreciate the exactitude it takes to put a handmade hardcover together. Piotr has also designed portfolios and photo albums for clients, two formats that you can imagine a recipient making their own (for gathering Polaroids or storing loose trinkets). Piotr is accepting limited single-order projects, so email him at info@imakebooks.co.uk to secure your spot. For more readily available gifting in this vein, Puebco makes hollow “stash boxes” designed to mimic concrete manuals and engineering textbooks…a sly ruse to hide items in plain sight. And Heaven Mayhem has its own pseudo-book outfitted for jewelry storage.

Teget Sofa Cover, Grey and Black

Even your really good friends probably don’t expect you to give them a couch (pricing aside, there’s a lot of logistics involved there). Teget’s Sofa Cover, however, is a not-insignificant home upgrade you can easily wrap up in a box. The moody, blockish design will complement a range of spaces, and it can casually be draped over any-old-thing. Pragmatically, it’s the gift of freedom from stains, pet hair, and domestic design monotony, which any sofa cover might achieve. But this isn’t that. One look at Teget’s sofa cover is enough to convince you it’s worth redecorating an entire apartment around.

Christofle Silver-Plated Espresso Spoons With Chest

The large-format Christofle cutlery egg, an instantly recognizable fixture of an old-world-meets-new millennial home, is an impressive if unnecessary (at $2,050) token of appreciation. Instead, the $475 teaspoon edition in miniaturized form satisfies all of the same design-y urges and might actually enjoy some well-deserved table time, staged by the fresh-brewed Parlor coffee in a brunch spread. eBay presents some even more attainable vintage options—two sets of teaspoons sans egg carrier for $195 apiece, and a 24-piece big egg for $688.

Glasvin x Raj Parr Wine Glass, 2-Pack

Characterized by a short stem and crisply thin glass, the Raj Parr is (almost) the only wine glass we drink from at the house anymore. Designed by the revered sommelier Rajat Parr, a name your parents’ generation will respond to and quite a lovely guy, per some mutual natural wine friends (who all approve of the stemware). Through informal comparison tests, it’s undeniable that the shape of the bowl really does make wine smell more like itself, and the truncated base is just more comfortable.

Ferm Living Oyster Table Lamp

Versions of the same sleek mid-century light fixtures now glow from every brownstone in Brooklyn, so for those looking to stay ahead of the trend (or for those lacking a certain ceiling height), Ferm Living’s Oyster Table Lamp will mark a nice departure. With a distinctly Richard Serra-like feel, it easily doubles as a light vessel and an attractive small-scale sculpture. And it will make an impact on any room without being too obtrusive—the mark of a great design-related gift.

Jean Dubost Laguiole Light Horn Steak Knives, Set of 6

There’s a suggestion present in gifting a set of steak knives: that one day soon you’ll be invited over for steak and martinis. This 6-piece set (never 4!) from Jean Dubost Laguiole will make an elegant offering to current or future hosts. It comes in a “handsome” beachwood carrying box, which will up the ante on presentation, storage and, let’s be honest, safety.

Pair of 1940s Plaster Neoclassical Panels

If the thought of giving up this incredible find to a friend is too much, there’s always the option to split the set and start the trend of a “friendship relief.” By that logic, this great deal gets even better (compare to this panel at $3,000 and this one at $1,950). Frankly, I wouldn’t even be listing this here if our diverging household tastes didn’t veto the set as a personal purchase. My loss is your gain!

Beni x Frama Runner Rug

Like couches or other structural furniture, rugs aren’t a particularly intuitive choice for gift giving. A runner, however, is useful, adaptable, and easy to move. Even without obvious necessity, they can become an integral part of a room (hallway, bathroom, whatever…) once it’s laid. This narrow area rug from Beni x Frama toes the line between rustic and sleek and comes in three easy-to-integrate pigmented shades.

Chanel Desk Set by Maison Desny

There’s an extraordinarily rare, once-in-a-lifetime artifact sitting at Sorbara’s right now—a 1930s silver-plated brass pen tray and tape dispenser designed by Maison Desny for Chanel. Sourced by Spiralhaus, popping up at the Williamsburg vintage store this weekend, the set makes a fittingly once-in-a-lifetime gift at $2,800. Thankfully, other items in the edit are available for less course-altering prices.

Marmalade Grove Satsuma Mandarins

When in doubt, send them some citrus. Seriously! Fragrance and color will brighten the room, while tart sweetness and vitamin C battle the winter depression. Those of us on the East Coast are looking ahead towards a bleak, fruitless winter—why not abate the drought? I like these Satsuma Mandarins as an alternative to sweets or flowers—similar sentiment, more original idea.

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With contributions from Christina Holevas

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