For the last decade or so, brands whose mission it is to rethink the look of everyday items have been working overtime to convince us that the ordinary things we have in our homes don’t have to be boring. Unfortunately, the great direct-to-consumer boom of the mid to late 2010s swung too far in the direction of plastic, candy-colored stuff with rounded corners. I won’t call them out by name, but I bet you can think of several brands who “disrupted” cookware, razors, and suitcases at the drop of a hat.
I too was bamboozled into buying a bunch of stuff in that one shade of green I repeatedly saw in my Instagram feed between 2016 and 2020. I understand how we got there—until then we hadn’t really considered that the things we keep behind cabinet and closet doors could be aesthetically pleasing. Had I really thought about it at the time I may have realized that it wasn’t quite my style, but wasn’t buying a frying pan in a pop color with a cute logo more appealing than buying one that’s boring? Or worse, ugly?!
I like to think I’m a little more in tune with myself and my personal style these days. I put a lot more thought into gauging what’s worth spending money on, and considering quality, cost per use, and practicality before I click “purchase.” I’m of the opinon that there are beautiful alternatives out there for whatever-looking things that don’t seem like they were designed by AI. And if you skew toward the visually sensitive side à la yours truly, you’re probably always on the hunt for them too.
In rounding up these things for this newsletter, I realized that my personal preference leans towards items that have a really classic, got-this-at-a-French-hardware-store feel. Brands trying to recreate this vibe tend to fall into one of two categories: the tradwife aesthetic, where everything looks like it was handmade by someone in expensive overalls, or an industrial look, where it all seems like it came from the workshop of a man with a mustache. Cleaning supplies tend to fall into the former; office supplies, into the latter.
I think I was able to break past these tropes and find things I genuinely really like that don’t feel like Disneyland versions of old objects. They’re the items I’d buy if I needed something practical, say a laundry basket or a chip clip, but I wanted to put some time into finding the best possible version of it. The fact of the matter is that “better looking” and “well made” are typically going to equal “more expensive,” but I’m willing to invest slightly more in things that will last a long time, that will get a lot of use, and that I have to look at every day. Look, it’s not Amazon prices, but I kept things in check.
Below: 27 items that are both beautiful and functional, curated for you from all corners of the internet.
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