This is pretty much a guest post, in that all of the items you see before you were chosen by my dear friend and neighbor Michelle, when she was hanging out with me the other morning while the cleaning lady worked on her apartment downstairs. And she did such a good job selecting pieces—everything here feels like the most stylish possible version of what it is—that I would outsource all of my home/design posts to her were she not otherwise engaged as an attorney. I like how this bread board is designed to catch the crumbs. And the ridges create such a cool pattern.

This is a bread bin, and the lid can double as a bread board in a pinch.

How chic is this gravy boat? And just in time for Thanksgiving, people.

I also quite like the looks of this black and silver kettle.

This is maybe the most stylish trivet ever.

A splurgy-but-so-fantastic Fornasetti tray.

Were I the type of person who had things like cheese domes in her life, I’d choose this cheese dome.

A set of mixing bowls is a good thing to have on hand even if you almost never cook—they just come in so damn handy—and I think the muted blue of these is quite pretty.

I like how the red contrasts with the wood on this dustpan and brush set.

This challenge comes from my sister-in-law Shirim, who is redoing her kitchen and wonders why most standard items for that room are so ugly. She is not wrong; this was a challenging post to put together. But because I love Shirim, I forged ahead, and bring you, for starters, this very chic bread bin.

I like this utensil holder so much I might have to order it.

Nothing like a classic Wesco trash can.

Shirim specifically asked for me to find a good-looking toaster oven, but I am not convinced such a thing exists. Also, toaster ovens never toast to my satisfaction, so I’m going old school on this one.

I mostly like this paper towel holder because it pretty much disappears.

Shirim is having a vexing time finding a dish rack that isn’t too awful to look at, and I have to say, this was the single toughest item to find. This one from Williams-Sonoma wins, mostly because it is less ugly than most, and is compact, which is good for your average New York apartment.

It wasn’t that easy to find a good-looking coffee maker either, but I did like the look of this one.

Shirim wanted an automatic coffee maker, but my choice for most stylish coffee maker of all time is this timeless drip version from Chemex.

Recently, my friend Will told me that my apartment doesn’t feel like the person who’s living there is very settled. Mostly he’s referring to my supernatural ability to attract clutter, and my extra bedroom, which basically functions as a storage facility. His theory is that this puts guys off when I bring them home, a topic we were on because I was somewhat recently dumped by a man I had only been seeing briefly but liked a lot, and was entirely mystified as to why. I’m pretty much over the getting dumped part, but Will’s criticism stuck: I love and feel perfectly settled in my place, but the truth is that it is absent some of the kind of finishing touches that make a house feel like a home, like say throw pillows for the sofa. So I’ve been looking for some nice bright ones, cause my sectional is a lovely but somewhat boring grey. This one is from Liberty—it’s their Ianthe print, which is one of my favorites, and I think the colors are fantastic.

This is kind of retroish and cute.

Another rather retroish choice: it reminds me of the kitchen in the house where I spent my early childhood.

I like the geometric print here, and the unexpected mix of colors.

This one is so damn cheery.

Just a lot of nice reds.

I’m really digging the combination of army green and pink here, and of course it’s hard for me to resist including a leopard print.

A pricey but oh-so-beautiful choice from Missoni.

And here’s a not-especially-bright but very fun Marimekko print.

And finally: this is just lunacy, but I love it so much.