Fabulously Functional AND Beautiful

To determine what was both beautiful and useful, I started going through my schedule to determine what items I used most frequently—with the condition that they were pleasing to my eye.

Not surprisingly, the first item that came to mind was my BED. Not only does it avail me of needed rest and comfort, but care and thought have been put into making certain that it looks attractive, as it occupies a huge portion of my sleeping quarters.

Next comes my lovely tea kettle, which I bought not so much because I was in desperate need of one, but because of its shapely orangeness. Yep, it’s not just the boiling of water, and the resulting pot of tea, but the whole ceremony of which the kettle is an integral part.

I am so lucky to have a lovely old Asian cabinet to hold goblets, glasses and sundry items. It’s one of my favourite pieces of furniture—with its reddish tinge and interesting carvings, sounds of tinkling when I open or close the doors, and the display of differing kinds of glasses.

The fourth item that is functionally beautiful is my kitchen island. I love its look, have added hooks so that it can hold and display a myriad number of items. Yet it’s not just for storage; I chop up edibles on it at least thrice daily.

Finally, I’m getting out of the kitchen and moving to my art studio, which has obvious problems of clutter and mayhem. There are, however, individual elements of design at work in this space—and I refer not to the canvases that abound—but the brushes and utensils, all held in beautiful containers.