But at least I could shop

My apologies about being AWOL for about two weeks. I will spare you the details, but I came down with a severe bronchial infection. It was decidedly not glamorous.

However, there is one good thing about all that bed rest, besides watching a weekend of That Girl...online shopping. I'm one of millions who puts off shopping until the last available moment, which turns out to work in my favor, since retailers start marking things down. Not that I'm cheap, mind you, just exuberant. I like buying lots at a time, in multiples.

As usual, anthropologie has the best home stuff on sale. Here are a few things that I liked:

- Glass Candlesticks (left), about $8/piece. Glass candlesticks are pretty fantastic, because they give you a nice stately tablescape without entirely blocking everyone's view. The light reflects on the glass, which is a pretty effect.

- Lion Workshop Toy, $10. I'm a big advocate of using children's home accessories as legitimate decor. Buy two, use them as accent pillows--works particularly well on "modern" style sofas.

- Fleur de sel lamp, $60 This lamp sort of reminds me of the fantastic Bodo Sperlein collection for Spanish ceramics maker Lladro. The texture is magnificent. Because it's all in white, the overall texture, not necessarily the rosettes, that is noticed. So I wouldn't worry about this being too frou-frou.

Divide and Conquer

As in life, we all might live better with a few boundaries.

Many new construction homes/apartments are of the “loft-inspired” or open floor plan. It’s a no-brainer as to why people like these plans—you get lots of spaciousness, control over where you can arrange your furniture and you don’t have to navigate around doorways when moving in. The issue usually comes up with how to properly define a space when there aren’t any rooms.

I’ve found a solution with the Textile Softwall, available through Design Within Reach (1710 Walnut St.). The Softwall is exactly what it sounds like: a soft wall. It’s made out of environmentally sound materials, portable and soundproof. When standing, the wall’s curvy shape is a more visually interesting alternative to traditional dividers. The Softwall also allows natural light to filter through, no small feat for a partition.

Though it’s a bit pricey for some budgets, I’d say that this was a smart investment for some individuals. You can use it as a general room divider, as a way to section off your home office space, or as an outdoor privacy screen.

Photo from dwr.com

Dining Room Tables Are Very Good Investments

I've spent a few days trying to find an acceptable desk that has enough surface area for projects, but isn't a dreary eyesore that depresses you to the point of inactivity. Today's desk offerings tend to look as alien to the home as a cubicle or giant Xerox machine would.

I think I've said this before in the not-so-distant-past, but I fully believe and encourage everyone to eschew desks in favor of dining room tables. Yes, even if you have a microscopic apartment (you will come off as imaginative and charming when you throw all the rules regarding furniture scale out the window, by the way).

Here is the logic: Barely acceptable desks tend to cost just as much, and are not nearly as useful as a dining room table. A dining room table can accomodate all sorts of projects, tend to be better constructed and serve as a natural gathering point for your guests. And having a dining room table makes you feel like an interesting specimen that entertains constantly. You also have a place to hang a chandelier, which is always a bonus.

The above dining room table/desk is the Newport Dining Table from Usona Home (113 S. 16th). Made of solid walnut with two pedestal bases, the table is both classic and a bit off-beat. I don't have any particularly imaginative ideas regarding seating, but I do like the idea of this sort of bench seating and their complementary chair counterparts.

(photo from usonahome.com)

Make Your Furniture Work Harder, Even When You're Not

Behold the official Leisure Table. Okay, that is not its real name. This is actually the Usame side table by Kartell from minima (118 N. 3rd).

I call it the Leisure Table because it would be perfect for coffee-and-magazine time, which officially occurs between 7 and 10 p.m. just in case you didn't know. Adjust your schedule accordingly.

Meant to be used as a side table, bed tray or accent piece, Usame resists stains while adding much needed color or subtle femininity (Art Deco inspired flowers are etched in to its surface). Magazines fit in to a cut out compartment, and coffee...well that can go anywhere. No coasters necessary.

Giant Clocks for Giant Walls...

The average ceiling height in new construction homes (including condos) is rising. People want the illusion of space that tall walls create, but at the same time, are also frightened at the thought of living with them. Sometimes I think that people only look for high ceilings so they can buy giant christmas trees, but that's another story.

We've talked about using light and paint on big walls in order to get rid of the 'new construction' feeling. But accessories of proper scale are equally important. For example, there is nothing sadder than a massive wall with a normal sized (less than 1' foot diameter) clock. Big wall+Tiny Clock= Depressing apartment.

Twist Home (1134 Pine St) sells a variety of vintage European clock tower faces. They're real vintage, too- all manufactured between 1910-1920's. Though the prices seem high (starting at $2,400), I think you're getting a bargain when you consider the provenance. They'll also work in a smaller apartment, as you can see from the site's photos.

Especially for basement dwellers...

...or anyone else living in an indirectly-lit, ultra dreary apartment.

In July's Vogue, I saw a mirrored/metallic-finished bureau that would infuse a dark space with a bit of light and whimsy. And we all know that whimsy is of utmost importance. Remember, you'll never-ever-ever fool someone in to thinking that your 300 square foot shoebox is really a grand penthouse. That just happens to be a basement apartment. You get my point.

But you can fool someone in to thinking that your apartment is a fun-filled space that reflects a bit of personality. And maybe a little light.

So that's where the whimsical metallic furniture comes in. Matthew Izzo carries quite a selection, though you could always spray paint a boring old piece (it took me roughly 3 cans of gold spray paint for a medium-sized desk with drawers). Moderation is key, as if I had to tell you- limit yourself to one metallic piece per residence. Okay, maybe two. But only if they are in different rooms.

P.S: "Gold or Silver?" Normally, I would go with the undertones on this- gold is warm, silver is cold, etc. But some of the silver finishes on the Matthew Izzo pieces appear to be olive-based, so this adds up to a matter of personal style. I'd go with silver if you have a lot of 'modern' boxy type lines, and gold if you have more antiques. For some reason, mixing metallic this way works.

The Urban Home Office.

In the space-impaired urban nest, the home office area is a relative term. A small percentage of us have the luxury of a designated home office, while the rest of us make do with a disorganized corner of our sofas, or other inconvenient spot. One man's home office is another man's laundry room, after all.

Should you invest in a desk? If you actually work from home, have a demanding hobby, or are a student, then yes. A desk can be an excellent motivator for the procrastination-inclined. Having that specific spot to write your memoirs, study brain surgery or categorize your seed collection will inspire more productivity than the overstuffed Barcalounger dangerously close to a television.

Unfortunately, desks present a conundrum. You either get a spacious work surface, or you get clever storage, rarely both. Pick work area and watch those square inches pile up with clutter. Pick storage and you won't have enough surface room to sign checks. For the serious home worker, it's a better choice to select the "surface area" option, with a few alterations for the clutter-inclined. Start with a sensible desk, such as the B1 desk from Usona Home Furnishings (113 S. 16th), with drawers for the bare essentials: pencils and paper. Keep your address books, legal pads, calligraphy sets, commemorative inkwells and other items in a stool that doubles as storage, such as this Storage Cube from Pottery Barn (4230 Main St., Manayunk; Route 73, Marlton; King of Prussia Mall). For those who require back support, use the cubes as an ottoman, or stow under the desk.

A desk, no matter how well-designed, eats up precious square footage for the casual home worker. A dining room table can easily be re-purposed using a few techniques. First, find a place to keep your materials (pens, files, postage), such as a little-used nook in your china cabinet or on a bookshelf. A basket, such as this magazine holder from online retailer Hold Everything, keeps everything together and is sturdy enough to stand on its own.

For serious filers, make your own Portable Desk (in the spirit of hanging CD storage curtains). Buy a length of vinyl from the fabric store, and a cheap, cheery vinyl tablecloth from a discount retailer- think Target. Cut the vinyl in to varying sizes of rectangles and squares, and apply a strong-hold glue to three sides, producing a pocket. Drape over your table when it's time to work. The Portable Desk is very handy for filing bills and those other loose pieces of paper that tend to run away easily, and also works well as an outdoor desk- just spread the tablecloth on the grass, patio or table.

If you don't have a dining room table, pull up a bar stool (if you don't have one, visit Mr. Bar Stool, at 167 N. 2nd St.) to the counter. Make an office nook by hanging cork tiles, found at any office supply store, on the wall, or on to the refrigerator. If you own, consider adding a coat of chalk board paint to your refrigerator, wall, or cabinet for a writeable surface. Keep supplies in the closest drawer or cabinet.

Book Learning

With all the end-of-the-world statistics these days regarding the state of America's rampant illiteracy, you'd think we would all put our books on display in an effort to show that we weren't part of some dreadful statistic.

And then I saw Pottery Barn.

If you notice, there are books displayed behind the unoffensive and neutral sofa, yes. But the books are displayed with the bindings facing IN, which would make finding the book you'd need positively impossible to find. Whatever this fictional Pottery Barn family is doing, it's certainly not tucking in to Nancy Drew novels.

Books can certainly make a nice display, as long as you're not trying to pass them off as something other than what they are: that is, books. And not a neutral backdrop for your sofas. Besides, people will end up hypothesizing that you're really just hiding a massive collection of tawdry titles if you turn the bindings in.

But what if you have nothing but tawdry paperbacks? Well, Philadelphia has more used-book stores than it knows what to do with: Book Trader on N. 2nd is a particularly good choice. Bookhaven (2202 Fairmount Ave) is one of those fabulous old-style bookstores that are practically bursting at the seams with stuff. The AIA bookstore (17th and Samson) is self-explanatory: lots of glossy architecture tomes.

Bookshelves are fine to use, but tread carefully when it comes to the non-traditional. The Chicago Shelves from DWR are modern, but are unobtrusive. Perfect for those with a small collection, or would like to avoid the massive-wall-of-books look. However, the Sapian shelves are a bit reminiscent of sad starting-out days (Ramen noodles anyone?).

Flown the Coop

There's a jewelry store in the Cherry Hill Mall that features these very grand crystal birds in their displays, possibly in the hopes that a large glittering pink parrot would positively compell us to buy a heart-shaped diamond ring. Well, I might have not fit their target demographic, as I left, sans heart-shaped diamond ring. Yet the crystal bird haunted me: Was this objet d'art available for purchase, and if so, where could I incorporate one in my drab daily life?

I immediately thought of the Archer Court salad servers sold by Neiman Marcus-owned Horchow. These overwrought branch-like salad throwers are just begging for a crystal bird of some sort. And behold, Swarovski came to my rescue. They offer not one, but three choices of birds for your very own overwrought utensils and the like. I'd rest my salad servers near the perch, in an unassuming way, in a buffet setting. The site also recommends the birds for your desk too, but unless you had one of those lovely light-filled offices, the birds would seem to be a depressing reminder of your lack of basic freedoms at work.

Swarovski birds are available at the Swarovski retail stores in King of Prussia and Willow Grove.