Polygala's Profile

I've had higher end cabinets--Poggenpohl, Siematic, Downsview, and Boffi--and now, as a grad student, Ikea for the past year and a half that I installed myself. Only Americans seem to be hung up on the idea of wood--really plywood--carcases and solid wood doors. As a designer at Siematic told me years ago, unless you're expecting your kitchen to flood, there's no difference. I went with Ikea when I was doing my latest kitchen remodel because the carcases and door hardware reminded me so much of Poggenpohl's and, well, they're cheap and stylish. If only I could afford a Dornbracht faucet for my Ikea apron sink on my graduate student stipend....

I don't doubt that Jak put the karate chops in the pillows. He looks like a troublemaker.

@3dogma LOL My boy Angus--who usually has the best house manners--lifted his leg on a friend's birch bark-covered umbrella stand. I shudder to think of a stump in the house for that reason.

Here's a link to an interview with Tom Dixon about the "pernicious" practice of copying designers' work:

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/18/tom-dixon-at-global-design-forum/

@ginnielizz A DIY project with a bleach bottle! That must have been a very hasty glance.

Please. No more chevrons. No more bare bulbs. Ever.

I made my own round table for a small breakfast nook in my kitchen. I married the base of an accent table--painted gloss white--to a top that I routed out of MDF and painted with multiple coats of white gloss oil enamel. The result was superb: inexpensive and sturdier/better looking/better wearing than either the Docksta or the Odyssey table from CB2.

I usually paint them the same color as the walls, too, but I've also seen them--on some design website--painted black to match the window trim, which I thought was amazing looking.

My question is: Who dusts around all those knickknacks? Looks like a full time job.

Maybe cityfolk don't know that canning jars should be returned or expect them to be returned, but I grew up on a farm and that was always the expectation. Times change, I suppose, as as have the demographics of those who can, but returning jars is a simple way of reducing waste. It's a charming custom that, with all of the talk of sustainability, deserves to be revived. It's also a great excuse to see your friend again.

PS Canning jars aren't akin to gift bags. The former are things of utilitarian beauty, and their contents are made with love, care, and hard work. The latter are hideous bits of nonsense that say, I didn't care enough to actually wrap this present.