This roundup of things we liked this week originally appeared in the August 31, 2024, edition of the Secret Strategist newsletter, a weekly email where we share the stuff our staff — plus a rotating cast of writers, design-world people, and various others with very good taste — would otherwise keep to themselves. If you want to get our picks straight to your inbox each week, sign up here.
One of our editors is currently decorating her apartment, and she also happens to have a set-decorator aunt with the world’s best taste. So she’s been quizzing her incessantly on what to buy for every nook and cranny. Some of her recommendations are in this issue, which also includes good shirts, pants, and shoes.
This Week’s List
Rug
* We believe Julie O’Rourke (the designer behind Rudy Jude) has this nice jute rug from Rush House — nice-looking. And not a bad price for a giant rug. Meanwhile, writer-with-good-taste Julia Felsenthal recently bought THIS similar, also nice-looking looking jute rug.
Posters
* The set-decorator aunt was asked how one should best fill giant wall space without spending one million dollars. She sent the following posters (which will be expensive to get framed, but what can you do):
- Argentine Italian painter Leonor Fini’s Le Train Blanc
- Argentine Italian painter Leonor Fini’s Le Train Blanc
- An exhibition poster from Karma (a cool gallery on 2nd Street)
- Tuxedo Park Print Shop creates limited-edition fine art printed on museum-quality paper and framed! This one is inspired by Josef Hoffmann.
- Another one from Karma, this one from a solo show of the London-based artist Alvaro Barrington
Home office
* She was also asked how to inexpensively decorate an upstairs office. She recommended getting two of these CB2 desks and pushing them together to make one long desk.
Curtains
* On the non-aunt front: Editor Winnie Yang says she’s been “eyeing some beautiful pojagi curtains lately. They’re stitched from leftover scraps using a Korean technique (jogakbo) that’s hundreds of years old. See here and here. I wish I had the skills to sew my own, but instead, I might just order some from Korean Etsy sellers LunarJogak or DesignMeem.” (These are really great.)
Everything else
* The guy behind popular vintage-furniture account JohnsLivingRoom is having a giant warehouse sale this weekend that might be worth the drive to North Haven. He says, “Prices range from super-cheap to below market value on high-end items. Pieces from Wegner, Edmond Spence, Widdicomb, Poul Jensen, Eliel Saarinen, Pipsan Saarinen, Drexel, United, Mel Smilow, Harvey Probber, and a bunch of other stuff. Sofas, case pieces, lighting, dining sets, vintage stereo equipment, smalls-buncha stuff.”
* Also, this Primary Essential flatware set is so simple but nice.
And on the clothes front
* We’re seeing people in baseball tees, and it’s looking very appealing (on Sara Brown Rubinstein and Lucy from Café Forgot, for two). We think your best bet here is going to be to type the words “baseball shirt threadbare” on eBay. (This one is good, so is this one.) But this one is pretty cute too!
* Think these could be worn to work under the right circumstances. (Like with a vintage Ralph Lauren button-down. This one in purple is so good.)
Check These Out Too
* EXTREMELY stylish photographer Brad Ogbonna shared three things he’s liking of late.
- Shoes: Seavees Bolinas Offshore Boots. I’ve worn them around Europe hiking through mountains and down cliffs to the beach and now in the field when I’m working on shoots or even just to dinner. Very versatile and easy to travel with. Super lightweight and comfortable.
- Adidas Premium Essentials Cargo Pants: functional, stylish, comfortable.
- Home design: a handmade credenza by Paris Hynes.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
