Inspiration

As a follow-up to my recent piece on carbon fiber for RL Magazine, here are a few lines of copy on carbon fiber, plus 10 items that show the breadth with which the material is currently being used in items...

Here’s a screenshot from the undersecretary’s office in the atmospheric film adaptation of John le Carre’s spy thriller “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” The time is 1973, and the office blends the modern and classic in a compelling way. It also...

My latest feature for Ralph Lauren Magazine is on carbon fiber, which has increasingly become a signature material and design motif of the brand. It all began with the chair pictured above, which is still in production. But what exactly...

Most of the male animal kingdom engages in some form of display, often involving colors and plumage. Homo sapiens do it with their clothing. But there’s no reason sartorial display should be confined only to public spaces. The website Billionaire.com...

Yesterday the wildly popular website Proper Kid Problems kindly gave us a shout-out, and so we’re returning the favor with a little post aimed at the college guys out there. I saw this page in a design magazine and thought...

We first featured the work of San Francisco-based interior designer and Ralph Lauren alumnus Scot Meacham Wood in the early days of the blog (you know, about three weeks ago). Well on Wednesday Wood announced that this fall he will...

  The recent post on serving trays brought out comments from a reader horrified at the thought of eating from a tray depicting a monstrous octopus (not to mention the shock of the $600 price tag). And so I dedicate...

What do you get when you cross a “Downton Abbey” fetish with presidential portraits and a generous heaping of bordello red? You get the office of young Illinois congressman Aaron Schock. The story first broke yesterday at TalkingPointsMemo.com, which had...

The April 2002 issue of Robb Report had a Home theme, and for the back page I was asked to provide a parting shot on the concept of the smart home. What started out as an essay ended up becoming...

Are you being served, to quote a British TV show? Yes, you are — with what the media calls a “service” piece on serving trays. With bicycles and golf clubs negating a breakfast nook in my kitchen, and a piano...

After our last post on space-age bachelor pads, a user left a comment saying that such midcentury interiors left him cold. Well at least they have creature comforts such as beds and refrigerators. Imagine working in the stark offices of...

Last month Troy Patterson, author of the Slate column The Gentleman Scholar, wrote an article on the history of the bachelor pad. It includes the following observation, certainly known to all of us here, but a worthwhile clarification for anyone...