My fetish: Chairs

Travel Bag - Benetton

Ray Ban

Naturalizer Upbeat $29.99

rugby

Wanna Buy Books

Spring Wishlist: Anthropologie

Milk Bottle Measuring Cups $24.00

When not on display, this space saving, stackable set separates to do double duty in the kitchen. How's that for good measure?

• New bone china
• Hand Wash
• Imported

Pots And Pans Dishtowel

An illustrated cookware diagram is screenprinted by hand onto a durable, unbleached cotton dishtowel cut from flour sack snippets by Philadelphia-based press Girls Can Tell.

• Cotton
• Machine wash
• 38"L, 22"W
• USA

$18.00

Musings Tray

Australian poet and potter Kylie Johnson presents a dish hand-stamped with a few of her lovely stanzas in which to serve up your own lyrical creations.

• Earthenware
• Hand wash
• 10"L, 8"W
• Italy

$48.00

Fog Linen Cafe Apron

Fog Linen Cafe Apron

Description

Japanese designer Yumiko Sekine uses raw linen from Lithuania to create the Fog Linen Café Apron (1999), which gets softer with age and becomes even more absorbent with each washing. With neatly squared corners and basic, functional shapes, there’s an honest simplicity to Sekine’s work, which is also reflected in how the Fog Linen Collection began. When Sekine had her first small apartment, she decided to make herself a few things, like an apron and a cover for her teapot. When she moved to a larger apartment, she needed a few more things, like a kitchen cloth and pot holder. Basically, every time Sekine moved to a larger space, her Fog Linen Collection grew, adapting to fit her household needs. The name and size of each item is stamped directly on the product (this stamp washes away over time).


remodelista.com

ON LOCATION

His Real Estate Agent? Craigslist

Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

The kitchen cabinetry is from Ikea; stainless-steel pulls were added to emphasize the horizontal lines. More Photos »

By DAVID HAY

Published: February 16, 2011

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THOMAS WARNKE found his house on Craigslist, and he knows how odd that will sound to some people. “Normally one goes to Craigslist for used bikes and rentals, not properties in the hundreds of thousands,” said Mr. Warnke, 43, an architect who moved here from Germany 11 years ago. “And, of course, I was aware that for some other things it could be seen as a little sketchy.”

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A Red Hook ‘Summer Cottage’

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Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

Thomas Warnke, an architect, realized his dream of owning property in Red Hook, Brooklyn. More Photos »

But Mr. Warnke had become frustrated with more-conventional means of finding property — looking with brokers and searching real estate ads — particularly after seeing a deal fall through when the sellers decided at the last minute to raise the price of a house he was buying. And the standard real estate listings offered nothing near the area he had his heart set on: the still-undeveloped waterfront in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

So three years ago, when he saw an ad on Craigslist for a “Charming 2 Story Carriage House” for $775,000, two blocks from the water in Red Hook, he was intrigued. And because he was an architect, the cautionary phrase “needs TLC — get your architect ready!” only served as further enticement.

When he went to see the 1899 building, he was equally undaunted by what surrounded it: the vacant lots on either side, the large expanse of overgrown land behind and the neighboring house that appeared to be collapsing.

He quickly made an offer, buying the 2,000-square-foot house for $760,000, and moved in.

The ground floor, an open garage, was uninhabitable, but the cramped apartment on the second floor was livable enough while he completed plans for the renovation — most of the time. “There were three nights when the roof was open and it poured with rain,” he said. “So that was unpleasant.”

The idea he came up with was simple: a contemporary version of a vacation cottage in the city. “Since I can’t afford a summer house, I thought, why not do it right here?” he said.

The work cost about $200,000 — $100,000 less than it would have if not for the discount offered by a young contractor eager to land the job.

The house retains its original brick facade, so it still blends in with the neighborhood. But the summer-cottage theme is immediately evident once you step through the front door, in the sleek white interior punctuated by purple, aqua and bright orange.

Part of the first floor is now a studio occupied by Tin Nguyen, a 22-year-old artist who pays his rent by giving Mr. Warnke a new painting every two months. Behind it is Mr. Warnke’s kitchen and living space, dominated by a wall of glossy white cabinets purchased at Ikea, two blocks away. On the second floor is the architect’s office, overlooking the street, and his master bedroom.

A staircase at the house’s midpoint divides the two spaces on the ground floor, rising two flights up to a roof deck.

In the process of installing the stairs, Mr. Warnke removed several original ceiling beams, which gave him an opportunity to show off the house’s history. The beams are now shelves in the living room, and because the new ceiling does not extend to the wall, a visitor can glimpse the original structure through the gap.

The garden in back completes the vacation cottage theme. “I did everything myself: clearing the dead trees away, bringing the dirt in, building the walls and, finally, all the planting,” Mr. Warnke said. More recently, he put a vegetable garden and a deck with large planters on the roof.

Last summer, when the renovation was finally complete, Mr. Warnke’s friends flocked to the many barbeques he held — as if they, too, were on vacation. But all they had to do to get to his summer house was take the Ikea ferry to Red Hook.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 17, 2011, on page D6 of the New York edition.

I heart stores

Stores to Visit:

Housing Works
306 Columbus Avenue
between 74th and 75th
shophousingworks.com

Fishs Eddy
889 Broadway
between 19th and 20th St.
fishseddy.com

Olde Good Things
124 W 24th St. between 6th and 7th Avenues

ogtstore.com