This Is Not a Chair

I am a big fan of pulling objects out of people's trash cans. I've been known to pick up a life-sized plastic Santa or a pool ladder on my morning run, and evidently I'm not alone. Blu Dot, the modern furniture design studio, capitalized on trash-picker mentality in their new marketing ploy. The concept, detailed in yesterday's New York Times, is genius: In random locations all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, leave chairs fitted with hidden GPS monitors and track where they wind up. Cute hipsters from all parts of the city picked up the Good chair for free, which normally retails for $129, only to discover that they had been the target of a sales pitch.

I'm not sure about this new type of product placement. Part of me loves the conceptual end of it, as I was incredibly curious about who picked up the chairs and where they went. But another part of me wonders where this technique might lead. True, we've all grown accustomed to pop up ads, telemarketers, and movie product placement, but tracking a product's physical movements strikes me as a bit too invasive. But it is a nice chair, so if I saw it in the trash on my morning run, I'm certain I'd jog off with one too.

Illumination

One cannot overstate the importance of a light fixture. Ok that's a bit strong, but truly, the choice between one light fixture over another can make the difference between a modern tone or a traditional one. To be true to the bones of the Islip house, as well as to provide different degrees of light, these three fixtures provide three different levels of lighting. The George Nelson Bubble lamp from Modernica added a much needed 1947 space age feature to our otherwise traditional living room. In the next picture, set in the heart of the home, the art glass, geometric Tiffany fixture over the dining room table is more architectural than the usual multicolored floral pieces. I almost bought a flying monkey chandelier for the space, which would have been a mistake in the long run. Finally, the light fixture over the kitchen island had to be both a functional work space light but also walk the right design line. This Kohler fixture seemed to tap into the 1925 origin of the house without being too obvious. As for fantasy lighting, sometime in my life I would love to hang a great, decadent chandelier dripping with crystals over an enormous claw foot tub. Now that would a be a luxurious soak indeed.