The Finishing Touches

Bunny Table Lamp

A small resin rabbit sits on the nightstand under a linen shade, absolutely serious about his job. Guests notice him. Guests smile. Nobody calls it kitsch.

"The quietly whimsical lamp doing all the heavy lifting on my nightstand. Resin bunny, linen shade, warm little glow — cute without tipping into kitsch."

Arched Full-Length Floor Mirror with Gold Frame

"The mirror that doubles the room. A tall arch in a slim gold frame that leans against the wall and borrows light from the window opposite it. Full-length enough for the honest outfit check, handsome enough that it counts as furniture."

Dark Green Insect Area Rug — 8′ × 10′

"For the room that deserves a conversation piece underfoot. A deep green ground scattered with moths, dragonflies and beetles, drawn like something out of a naturalist's field journal. Washable, low pile, and it anchors a green wall and a mustard sofa as though the whole scheme arrived together."

Celestial Desktop Timekeepers

Before clocks, there was the sun and there were the stars. Two brass dials on walnut blocks, borrowed from a navigator's desk. They sit on the shelf now, still keeping the old hours, and every guest reaches for one.

"Two brass instruments that tell time the old way: a ring sundial and a nocturnal for reading the hours by the stars, each hung from a slim brass hook on a walnut block. They look like something borrowed from a ship captain's desk, and they turn a bookshelf or a desk corner into the part of the room people ask about."

William Morris Bird Motif Flat Candle

Oxfordshire, 1883. William Morris watches thrushes raid the strawberry beds at Kelmscott and turns the theft into a pattern. Now the birds stand on your mantel in a slim brass base, four flames on top, still stealing the show.

"A candle that doubles as a little piece of art. Morris's Strawberry Thief birds wrap a flat slab of wax with four wicks in a row, standing in a slim brass base. Light it on a mantel or a bookshelf and the pattern glows from the top down."

Birds on Log Vase

Three small birds have found the log on the side table and decided to stay. One in a red cap, two in orange, all of them perfectly still. Add dahlias and they look like they've come for the flowers.

"A cream ceramic vase shaped like a birch log, with three little glazed birds clinging to the bark. It looks sweet even empty, and with a fistful of dahlias it's the whole centerpiece. The kind of piece guests pick up to see who made it."