Cyclic Kitchen

Even though we're basking in another week of bright, warm weather, there's no denying that autumn is here. The colors in this kitchen—deep sage, terra cotta—are plucked from the palette that characterizes the slide from the clear greens and yellows of summertime to the saturated tones of fall. The room's unadorned windows looking out onto freshly plowed fields are another reminder that this time of year is all about nature. lucymarston.com

Outlet Shopping

What a difference 84 years make. While today's kitchen is a marvel of untethered connectivity, with Internet-enabled appliances and counter surfaces that seamlessly power our phones, the modern home of 1929 had its own definition of 'wired'. I see GE did its part to simplify [and perchance monopolize?] what was then an emerging demand for electrical convenience by helpfully offering a proprietary wiring system for the kitchen.

Smart Surface

No, I didn't put the wrong photo up today. And I'm not focusing on the smartphone—it's the countertop that's the point of this post. A collaboration between of DuPont Building Innovations and the Power Matters Alliance has produced this wireless recharging surface. Made of Corian, it promises to cut the cords in the kitchen and beyond.

Connecting the Dots

I'm a fan of wall-hung water closets; the concealed tank opens up floor space in a chronically small room. But too often there's an aesthetic flaw in the fixture: the flush buttons are awkwardly isolated on the wall above the bowl. The Mood collection of bath products seeks to rectify this with a resin panel that incorporates the offending hardware into a field of color. A similar treatment is extended to the vanity and shower. noken.com

Pedi-Cure

With the increasingly inverse relationship between showers and tubs [the former ascendant, the latter on the downslope of popularity], the options for a comfortable foot-bath have diminished. [Exception: Advanced yoga practitioners who can contort their tootsies into the sink.] So I'm very pleased to discover the Fonte stool, whose dual-purpose design combines seating and a portable basin. rexadesign.it

Change in the Air

To ease the passing of summer, how about a season-straddling kitchen to lead off this first week of autumn? Clearly, the wicker seating has a beach house sensibility. Less obvious, though, is the link to fall. I see the cabinets, with their randomly perforated doors, as analogous to the gradually-thinning tree canopy. herbstarchitects.co.nz

Seasonal Color

A few more days, and fall is upon us. A few more weeks, and it will be time to take a leisurely afternoon drive to admire the russets, reds, and Harvest Golds that adorn the stands of kitchen appliances which dot the countryside. Granted, there aren't as many of these majestic groves now as there were in 1968, the year this floppy-hatted fashion-plate was photographed strolling blissfully among the Westinghouses. For better or worse, Big Box stores consumed much of their native habitat, and an invasive species, Stainless Steel, further eroded the population.