Pure novelty, but not without appeal is the Fred-O-Vision retro TV alarm clock.
It’s based on an old portable TV, showing the time through an old test screen display, with all the settings controlled by TV-style buttons. It’s also an alarm clock, playing old game show jingles (US ones I imagine) and a mood light.
And of course, it has a TV-style remote to control everything. Sized around 4 inches x 3 inches, you can pick it up for $24.99 (around £13).
Find out more at the Perpetual Kid website
As we’ve just featured a desk, it seems a good time to mention one of the coolest desk accessories you can buy – the Imbroglio desk calendar, originally designed in 1973 by French industrial designer Jean-Pierre Vitrac.
This is the freestanding version of the Imbroglio, which uses a panel made from powder-coated steel featuring screen-printed graphics and a plastic, magnetic cursor. The plastic cursor frames and defines the numbers 1 – 31, so you always know what day it is. And as it doesn’t do years, there’s no reason to buy a new calendar every year – just the one will do.
You can pick one up in red or grey for a very reasonable £19.95.
Find out more at the Twentytwentyone website
Think office desks today and you’ll instantly think of some cheap wooden flatpack creation from Ikea (or similar outlet). It’s rare for anyone to spend big on a desk, even if they work from home regularly. But if you’re an exception to the home-assembly rule, check out this amazing Papiro desk, designed by Augusto Mandeli and Walter Selva.
Originally introduced in 2004, the desk has the look and basic functionality of a modernist piece from 70 years previous – as well as looking a little like the desks Merrow Associates were producing in the 60s. There’s a choice of polished wood finishes (oak in this case), a chrome base and two drawers.
It’s priced at around £1,150. Not cheap, but a stylish addition to your home.
OK, this isn’t a replica of The Beatles’ cartoon sub, but this Yellow Submarine bathtime radio should liven up bath nights a little more than any kind of rubber duck – even the James Brown one.
Essentially it’s a musical bath toy, floating in your bath, but also hiding an FM radio and waterproof speakers. The radio features auto-scan to find your favourite stations easily, along with a power switch, volume control and a hidden antenna. And runs off 2x AA batteries.
Available now, you can pick one up for £14.95. Oh yes, it’s also available in black – but there isn’t a song called Black Submarine, so we conveniently overlooked that fact.
We’re very keen on recycling – especially if the end product is as attractive as the items in the Sarah Cihat Rehabilitated Dishware range.
All the items in the range are unwanted/vintage ceramics, usually picked up from charity shops or from factory excess. Then new patterns are added and the plates refired. Designs are varied and not all to my taste, but I do love this spaceman design, ideal for your space age home!
Prices from the US-based firm, vary, but all pieces fall between the $34 and $59 price points.
Find out more from the Sarah Cihat website
After receiving a book on Bauhaus for Christmas, I’m really getting into some of its stylish and functional designs. None more so than the MT8 Lamp, designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld.
Dating back to 1924, but still made today to the strict design blueprints of the original, it was ideal for providing both ambient and task light. It features a translucent globe made of clear and opaline glass, sat on a nickel-plated metal base, with plenty of light courtesy of the 75w bulb.
All of today’s lamps are consecutively numbered under the base and bear the Bauhaus logos. Available from Moma in the US and SCP and Aram in the UK, expect to pay around £500.
More on the lamp from the Moma Store
