We Interrupt This Blog...

...Well, hopefully, we won't interrupt it. For the next few days, while I'm on the road, I've entrusted my posts to Blogger autopilot—fingers crossed that it works. I'll catch up responding to comments upon my return.

Future Shocking

The eerie lighting, the comely female poking eviscerated animals with a pronged instrument..surely a macabre Halloween ritual, circa 1943. But no! It is part of the kitchen of the future, as envisioned by H. Creston Doner for the Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass company. Given the corporate sponsor, the role of glass in the design is understandably emphasized; surely the public was amazed at the prospect of cooking tasty little carcasses inside what resembles nothing so much as a toppled fish tank.

Witchcraft, to be sure.

Clean Sweep

The Emperor faucet is an uplifting, assertive composition of curves. Solid but not bulky, spirited but not silly, it's a pleasure to contemplate. fluidfaucets.com

Autumn Leaving

A rather blustery day in the northeast, and the lawn has disappeared under a cloak of leaves, many of them from Japanese maples.

This pair of fixtures represents fall in the Miyabi collection, which comprises four hand-painted suites. Each depicts the pine, bamboo and plum trees—known as the 'three friends of winter' owing to their distinctive presence in the landscape at that time of year—in seasonal foliage. totousa.com

Vertical Vitreous

In the spirit of BathroomBlogfest09, I'm pleased to offer this installation in China. And of china—ten thousand commodes were suspended on a wall 328 feet long and 16 feet high, then periodically flooded with water. Is it art or commerce? I'll leave that up to you, the beholders.

A Noir Boudoir

Even if it weren't the week of All Hallow Even, I'd still be drawn to this dark, dramatic bath. The crown molding and the chandelier are incongruous accessories to the somber palette and massive tub.

On another note entirely, I'd like to call your attention to BathroomBlogfest09, where several folks with varied interests in the world of toilets and tubs are posting some far-ranging items. Follow the fest on its Facebook page and Twitter account.

Supercharged Sink

Forty years after its 1968 introduction, this sink [the 'Fiesta' model from American Standard] looks insanely radical when compared to the legion of drawn-cornered, stainless steely basins that populate our kitchens today. With its array of accessories and mean green color, it would make quite a conversation piece—then as well as now. What thoughts does it inspire in you?