Maybe You Need a Little Red Lamp

We love Scandinavian furniture.

The other night, I watched a documentary on Alvar Aalto and ate chicken soup for dinner. I was sick all week. The type of sick where you're too achy to read a book or even watch anything. Your only option is to just lie there, congested and clammy. Eventually, I started coming out of my sickly haze and decided to watch this documentary that had been on my list for years now.

It’s called Aalto and it follows the work and life of Alvar Aalto, a Finnish architect, and his wife, Aino Aalto, who was also an architect. They both helped pioneer modern Scandinavian design and were two of the founders of Artek, a furniture brand founded in 1935. You’re probably familiar with a lot of their work, from buildings to furniture to lighting. Alvar and Aino also had a complicated love story, but we’re not getting into that today.

My flowers and Aalto vase on film. <3

The first Aalto piece I bought was a beautiful glass vase. I gifted it to my partner Aaron back in 2020, who, at the time, was living alone. I’ve been fascinated by Scandinavian design for as long as I can remember and all the furniture that came out of there during that time. The fact that it’s forever iconic says everything.

P.S. A warm thank you to Teak New York for sending me a few things to furnish my home. I’ve been enjoying these pieces for several months now and I love talking about furniture, so this was a fun one for me. Get comfy and enjoy!

Let me start this by saying that going to Copenhagen is on the *very* top of my travel wish list for this year. I’ve never been anywhere in Scandinavia. People always say I’ll love it — and I know I will! Everything is beautiful and intentional because that’s just the standard of living.

We all deserve a space that feels cozy yet functional, though, regardless of where we live. When it comes to my own space, I’ve always enjoyed mixing vintage furniture, colorful statement pieces, and simpler Scandinavian furniture. And the way you bring pieces together and gravitate toward certain colors is what ultimately makes a home yours.

Some pieces I’ve been enjoying

Teak is a home store in Greenpoint (and online) that, if you haven’t been to it yet, you need to add to your list. They have a wonderful curation of 75+ brands from Nordic countries, such as Artek, Hem, Montana, and many more. I was gifted a few items at the end of last year, and now I can’t imagine my home without them. They’ve become such staples.

Verner Panton Flowerpot Portable LED Table Lamp VP9 in Vermilion Red

I’ve had this little red lamp for almost 6 months now, and it has quickly become one of my favorite pieces in my home. It lives on my nightstand 90% of the time, but sometimes it goes in my entryway or my dining table. The beauty of a (reimagined) cordless lamp! It was designed by Verner Panton, a Danish furniture and interior designer who loved experimenting with futuristic designs in different materials and colors.

Red lamps forever.

Alvar Aalto Stool 60 in Honey

My apartment is small-ish, so having multiple stools around is a must for saving space. Stools are great for stacking books or extra seating when I have guests over. The Aalto stool feels more special than any other stool I have in my home. It also took the longest to arrive because the specific color I wanted had a very long lead time. But it was worth it. I plan on adding more to my collection because they stack nicely.

It’s perfect.

Panton Wire Single

Verner Panton also designed the iconic Wire system. It’s modular and you can hang it on the wall, or just leave it on the floor. The records in my apartment finally have a home, and it’s nice to have a dedicated small storage for them.

I need more now.

Montana Hide Shoe Cabinet in Cumin

This shoe cabinet changed everything for me. I’ve talked about it before, but I can’t get over how drastic a difference it made in my space. It was a reminder that the right storage cabinet can completely transform the look (and functionality) of your home. I wrote more about it and other things on my home to-do list last month.

In Pursuit of Home Improvement

For Your Leisure

• Speaking of Scandinavian furniture, I recommend getting a copy of Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts. It has one of my favorite texts: Beauty in the Home (1899) by philosopher and critic Ellen Key.

• Every summer is a jelly summer, but this summer is going to be a *sparkly* jelly summer. These Rhys Champagne Glitter Jelly Sandals from Loeffler Randall are perfect, and I can’t wait to wear them on nights out with these pants (which I’ve been wearing basically every single day.

• Federico Fellini’s 8½ is playing at Film Forum in 35mm from now until next Thursday. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1964.

• Flowers in Cinema
  wrote the most incredible piece called The calla lilies are in bloom again and now I need to go find some calla lilies this weekend.

  

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