Friday Favorites 3/22/2013

March 20, 2013

Kaitlin Madden, Managing and Online Editor

It’s official, I bought a house. OK, not a house, exactly, but a one-bedroom condo in Boston—and I’m pretty excited about it (I’m sure this won’t be the last time I talk about it here). As my husband and I prepare to move into the first apartment we will live in as owners, not renters, we’ve decided that it’s time to step up our design game. Out with the Ikea pieces, in with the investment ones. An item that could make the short list for first purchases: Angela Adams’s Tilda rug. I love the combination of the organic, animal-inspired print and neutral tones, and the subtle sheen that’s created by a combination of silk and wool fibers.

Photos courtesy of Angela Adams

Close-up shots of the rug.

Stacy Kunstel, Homes Editor

Buying a sofa is like inviting someone to come live with you. Until it arrives you’re not quite sure if it will work out and then you’re pretty much stuck with it. I’ve been looking for a sofa for almost a year now and love seeing when designers really get it right. I can’t help but think of the Fendi sofas in the Brookline home of Dalia Tamari that we featured in New England Home a few years back. Sleek, sophisticated and perfectly scaled for the space. I think she told be she’d had them for more than twenty years, but they still looked pristine. I think this new Fendi sofa would work for me and my space. I love the sleek chrome and leather strapping. It looks as if it could endure dogs and would be comfy enough for my March Madness television binge that began this week.

Dalia Tamari’s Brookline living room. Photo by Michael Partenio for New England Home

The new Fendi sofa. Photo courtesy of Fendi

Maria LaPiana, Contributing Writer

The Simon Pearce story began in 1971, when the Simon Pearce opened his first glassblowing shop in Kilkenny, Ireland. Ten years later, he moved the business to Quechee, Vermont, where he restored an old mill and wisely tapped into the Ottauquechee River to power the facility and its glass furnaces. Pearce has been making good decisions ever since, growing the company and building a reputation as one of the finest glassmakers (and potters) out there. In fact, we featured the curvaceous Royalton collection of plates in a recent issue of New England Home Connecticut. But it’s the glass that gets me…especially the new “PURE” collection, which may well be my all-time Pearce favorite. Inspired by the undulating ocean, these organic, sexy pieces will steal the show on any spring table.