My Favorite Things

“I use these raffia trays on a table next to my bed. Everything used to sit in a confusing pile, but now it’s much more tidy thanks to this little tray system—one for receipts, one for cash, one for my glasses and watch, one for water and pills, and one for books.”

“We designed this incense holder for the furniture designer Shun Kinoshita. The reflective steel surface looks amazing with a growing ash pile on it, and the spherical ‘feet’ can be positioned however one wants. It is a sculptural piece that can be formed by the user.”

“A wonderful, well-priced, old-school tequila in a very beautiful Art Deco bottle that is nice to look at when out of the liquor cabinet. Very pretty on a steel counter.”

“I believe the greatest material luxury of our time is not having to worry about a dying phone, so I religiously charge and carry one of my three portable phone batteries. I’ve landed on this model because the cord is connected, so you never lose that piece, and it provides 60-plus hours of juice.”

“A very good espresso machine that does not burn coffee and is a kind of gleamingly technical and efficient object in the kitchen.”

“I am not sure if this is the most ergonomic toothbrush design in the world, but I derive a fair amount of pleasure from using my C.O. Bigelow toothbrush every day—and I haven’t ever had a cavity. Plus, they look good on the sink in a cup. The tortoiseshell pattern is my favorite.”

“This book has been immensely inspiring to me. Written in the 80s, it collects the sources and interiors that Suzanne Slesin wrote about in her New York Times design column about the emerging industrial style High-Tech. Lots of good ideas!”

“This is a great reading lamp that I make use of quite a bit. It was designed in the 50s by my favorite architect, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, but is still in production. The shade was inspired by the black veil worn by nuns, and it has a little ring on the top so you can easily pick it up to move it to different seating situations.”

“Someone gave me these as a gift and I could never have dreamed of such extraordinary salt and pepper mills. A petal on the stem can be pulled back to insert the pepper corns, and a small snail can be twisted to regulate the coarseness.”

“I’ve recently returned to this book, having read it once when I was just starting to get interested in opera. It was a great initiation; this time around, it’s crystalizing so many feelings and ideas I have had along my opera-journey. Wayne Kestenbaum is extremely funny and insightful.”

“This straw rug is from the Patterson Flynn collection I made with my mom, Pilar Almon. Its size is customizable so it can be large or small; mine is laid on top of a larger area rug. I’ve always been drawn to snails because of the idea that they carry their homes on their backs and that each shell is completely unique.”

“I am so calmed by candlelight; even a single candle in the evening over dinner or while relaxing can really help me to unwind. I have a pair of these classic silver Georgian-style sticks from James Robinson and I appreciate their formal restraint.”