Welcome (back) to the former Former Editor’s Notes, now known as Ground Condition. Ground for its literal sense—“site”—as well as its more figurative meaning, “context.” It seems apt to me, this phrase, as a nod to the state of things as they exist right now. This week: a peek inside my apartment, and a few design-adjacent recommendations worth your attention.
ON THE HOMEFRONT
With limited time left in our DC apartment, I figured it was time to take some photos. Rewind to April 2019: The original listing pictures posted on Zillow were terrible, but had enough detail to suggest huge windows, more than one fireplace, and what looked to be generously sized rooms. In person, I fell hard—after I got over the pet chinchilla the previous tenants kept in the living room, that is.
I’m a firm believer in customizing a space—even as a renter—so I couldn’t resist a few home improvements to really make it our own: Painting the main room and nursery (Atrium White by Benjamin Moore). Hanging Ana Kraš’s Bonbon light for Hay above the dining table. Wallpapering the bathroom (in the Underwater World pattern from Hygge & West—wrote about that process here), plus installing new vanity lighting, hardware, and a mirror.
There’s an outstanding list of things I wish I’d fixed, from swapping out the obtrusive hall sconces to figuring out a more aesthetic arrangement for our television and stereo. But no project is ever truly finished—if it were, it would instantly become a decorating time capsule. In any case, it’s not the tangible stuff I’ll get nostalgic about someday. What I’ll preserve in amber are memories of our first year here as a family: hanging out in our baby’s room, my mom balancing on top of the toilet tank while stripping wallpaper, using our best tableware for the anniversary dinner my husband cooked for the two of us.
ON MY MIND
Hello, and welcome to the Golden Age of Newsletters. As my former colleague Annemarie Dooling recently put it, email is a platform. Much like the oft-missed Google Reader, you can curate a shitload of smart material just by hitting subscribe. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, there’s no algorithm at work.
Newsletters aren’t just fun pastimes, of course. More than a few are driven by necessity, as a way to keep one’s name in people’s inboxes without the comfort of a full-time byline. And this week was a particularly bad one for journalist layoffs.
A few regular emails I’m sweating, in no particular order: novelist Rumaan Alam’s culture dispatch for The New Republic; Nishat Kurwa’s Talk Story, which pairs news stories on equity with introductions to “women who rule”; A Thing or Two from Of A Kind founders Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo; a comics newsletter from beloved internet writer Edith Zimmerman; and Garden Variety, which relies on a few revolving editors to surface cooking tips, must-read articles, and random life hacks. Newsletters are fantastic for the most prolific writers among us: two examples are all-around publishing wunderkind Phillip Picardi, whose newsletter Fruity I forward to someone every time I read it, and former Curbed reporter Patrick Sisson, who’s challenged his insight on the housing market into a coronavirus market report of sorts, Shutdown Corners.
SHOPPING
Functional: Brought to you by the same person who recommended a wooden ironing board for a wedding gift, behold: this perfect example of a foldable maple drying rack.
Frothy: Do I possess several sets of matching towels in versatile white/beige/charcoal? Yes. Do I covet this vibey Turkish-cotton-by-way-of Bolinas bath towel and want to use it exclusively? Also yes.
DISTRACTIONS, DIGITAL AND OTHERWISE
Learn: Each installment of Friedman Benda’s Design in Dialogue series is essentially a Zoom presentation from a seriously fascinating host. Last Friday I tuned in for James Wines of SITE and inhaled all he had to say about his iconic postmodern department stores for Best.
Support: The royal we have been reading and liking Sight Unseen for over a decade now—isn’t it time to give back? Tiered membership program right this way.
Listen: I may be biased, but I’m also correct in asserting that Avery Trufelman has the best voice (and perspective) in podcasting. Her series about the things we wear, Articles of Interest, is now airing its second season!
Watch: If you enjoyed a certain podcast about failed utopias last year, specifically an episode about an enclosed ecological experiment in Arizona, you’re going to want to watch the Spaceship Earth documentary on Hulu.
THIS WEEK IN TABS
That minor-major celeb chef kerfuffle was a good reminder that maligning your peers can be a bad look. So I will not malign any Danish architects here, I will just leave you with the following quote and this link: “It might seem megalomaniacal to make a master plan for the whole planet, but…” Mkay!
This oh-so-clever list of small home upgrades from The Strategist, which first ran in a print issue of New York mag last year: a $33 plaster ceiling medallion, black toilet seats, Lucite handles, and more.
An opinion piece that articulates what all the urbanists have been saying: It’s a mistake to blame density for the spread of the coronavirus. Dr. Mary T. Bassett FTW.
Custom of the Country is an Edith Wharton sleeper hit—I read it last year on the recommendation of Molly Young’s newsletter and have since passed along my hearty endorsement to anyone interested in ahead-of-their-time influencers, parlor decor, and armchair traveling. Now we know Sofia Coppola is adapting the book into a limited series for Apple. I’m already designing the sets in my head.
Yours,
Kelsey