Affordable Quick Fixes for Any Room in the House

So I assume you’ve heard there’s a recession going on. Depressing. And most people are holding tight to their increasingly hard-to-earn greenbacks. So, yes, the major renovation plans are on hold. Happily, small purchases can make a big visual impact and dramatically elevate our abiding affection for our homes, not to mention our mood. So here are five suggestions for quick and easy upgrades for any room in the house. I wouldn’t want to call them “cheap” (that sounds so Scrooge McDuck), but nothing here costs more than $170.

Kitchen
If your kitchen is like mine, the teakettle lives on the stove for all to see, and it’s a lot easier to replace than the stove (I’ll just keep my growing lust for a convection oven in check for now). I love my Oxo Good Grips kettle, but I’ve been loving it for awhile now. Were I buying a new one, I’d go with Bodum’s 2-liter (68-ounce) Osiris (above) with its geometric polished stainless-steel beauty and practicality (2 liters, $70; bodumusa.com).

Living Room
How often have you heard it said: Keep the sofa neutral and redecorate with throw pillows? Well, how often do you do that? Do it now. Go to Jonathan Adler. Do not pass go. His “Happy Chic” take on life says it all. Here’s Johnny’s 12” x 16” Diamonds pillow from his Bargello line. It’s hand-embroidered, has feather/down filling and a zipper for cleaning. I defy you to be depressed (or even recessed) around this perky accessory ($110, jonathanadler.com).

 

Bedroom
One of my pet peeves is matching side tables. Mix ‘em up, I say. Pile some suitcases on one side of the bed and use a conga drum on the other. Or… opt for some great nesting tables: Use the middle table on one side of the bed and the small one under the largest one on the other (which gives you space for a decorative box to hold items that you might want… nearby). I found these Slice tables in chrome and glass online. They require “some assembly,” but they only cost $162.68. The biggest one is 17.5” square. They’d be particularly great in a small bedroom (comcore21.com)

 

 

Dining Room
For me, it’s all about the table, particularly when there are no guests, which is how the dining table is set up most of the time. Just what goes on that table can be changed in seconds, and the tone of the room with it. When I was growing up, we had a fake little wrought-iron scale bearing wax fruit on the table (it’s amazing I’m even allowed through the doors of Design Within Reach). Anyway, you can pick a bowl, a basket or some great candlesticks, but I’d go with this stunner, the Niche by wonder woman architect Zaha Hadid. Made of matte-finish black melamine, it consists of five pieces, each of which works as a serving dish for sweets or nuts, but they assemble to make an eye-catching aerodynamic “domestic sculpture.” At $168, it’s bargain Hadid (alessi-shop.com).

Bathroom
Naturally my fantasy involves ripping out the adjacent closet and installing a sauna, but meanwhile… towels. Boring? Not if you do it right. You’ll be singing in the shower with these Jazz towels from the good Italian modernist folks at Missoni Home in boldly colorful stripes on stripes ($162 for two bath and two hand towels; unicahome.com).

I love shopping, but I’m exhausted. Good thing I love my newly appointed home so much that I don’t need to do anything but sit down and enjoy the view.

Michael Lassell,
Features Director, Metropolitan Home