Here now, Curbed National's weekly dissection of the NYT's Home & Garden section. Brace.
Ye olde Home & Garden section looked awfully 'roided out this morning, what with a roster of stories such as "The Cult of the Cloves," "In Berlin, Waking Up in a Brewery," and "Manly Furniture Inspired by Esquire Magazine." Then there's a piece on rugs, which aren't content to just be rugs but have to be "laser-etched," as well as a library that someone decided to flip on its side. OK, OK, that last one is pretty cool. The best, the worst, and all things between, below:
· Most questionable term: "greenie"
· Most disgusting detail: “What this means is that we pay close attention to Shep to determine when he’s about to pee or poop and then race to the shower so that he doesn’t soil his diaper so we can use it longer. We’ve actually gotten pretty good at reading the signs.”
· Most cryptic lead paragraph: Are you beguiled by pyramid schemes, but loath to lose a fortune? Deanna Stanchfield has an offer for you.
· Best fraud reference: And the year after that? Now we’re getting into Bernard Madoff-style math. At this point, you can surely spare a few bulbs to start your neighbor’s garlic garden.
· Best description of tomatoes: "flamboyant, lush, sexy"
· Best case of not a chance in hell: This weekend brings the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival to Orange, Mass., near Amherst, and the Easton Garlic Fest to Easton, Pa. The Connecticut Garlic and Harvest Festival visits Bethlehem on Oct. 9 and 10.
· Prettiest prose: There are two techniques I know of that allow you to see your house with fresh eyes. One is to have a party, when at the last minute you suddenly become aware of every imperfection, discoloration or aesthetically displeasing thing about your house. The other is to leave home for an extended period.
· Most extraneous architectural detail: In the center of the space, off the kitchen, is a shallow tiled basin that Ms. Kimberly said was inspired by “the pools in the central plazas you find where I come from—this space seemed to be asking for a basin.”
· Biggest you-and-everyone-else moment: “The idea of living in a space that’s old on the outside, but could be formed anew on the inside, really appealed to us,” Ms. Ware said.
· Most awkward art-world detail: For a public art project in McGolrick Park, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, sponsored by the organization Trust Art, she installed a “perfume fountain” that emits fragrance from a heart-shaped glass vessel equipped with a pump.
· Worst Q&A interview question: Your objects always look so animated, even if they’re not overtly critter-like.
· Scratch that: O.K., but do your Italian friends like your new coffee?
· Wildest design concept: So Anurag Nema, the founder of nemaworkshop, a Manhattan design firm, did something interesting: he flipped the coffee shop on its side.
· Manliest detail: But the names of the pieces—Gimlet, Dark and Stormy, Old Fashioned—are from cocktails from decades ago.
· Most egregious price point: $8,240 for a sofa.
· Home & Garden section [NYTimes]