14 Dec 2010

Hill Gift Guide: For Your Home on the Hill

Floral-themed earthenware platters and ramekins by Mustardseed and Moonshine, at The Forecast

Floral-themed earthenware platters and ramekins by Mustardseed and Moonshine, at The Forecast

I have scoured  the seven seas–or a seven block area awash in the cold, dark days of December, keeping its eyes peeled  for swanky, cheerful  or just plain unexpected gifts to please the Hill home-body. Here’s what we have — feel free to add more. This list  is just meant to open the door to Home gift ideas.

1.  Let’s start with a house itself. Who wouldn’t want a baby mansion with a pristine  brick and iron facade and  a colored-glass transom for a bargain basement (that’s where the kitchen is) price of $587,000? The lucky recipient then gets to choose all new kitchen, bath, lighting, living room, bedroom, staircase, fireplace, backyard, wallpaper, fixtures, floors and hopefully, a new soap dish, because the interior is hanging by a thread to its former beauty.  This diamond-in-the-very-rough was described by  John Smith, the listing agent  at Prudential, as “rustic,”with its ancient Victorian wallpaper curlicues and plaster bits and paint and holes — all sharing the same wall. All that’s left of the former occupants are a half bar of soap in an old yellowing tiny, tub. But a developer with Hill experience  says it has room for a bump out, while still maintaining a yard and a two-car garage. #1113 Independence Ave., SE,  headlines the Home gift guide.

Once you have the renovations done, whether at #1113 or elsewhere, or even if you haven’t, gifts 2 through 10 are sure to please once the basics of plumbing, water and electricity and large appliance are met.

2. How about giving the gift of being greeted with a lovely flower arrangement in one’s entryway? Can’t arrange? Can’t water? Can’t manage? Just take a pot or ceramic container or any container you think your friend will fancy –perhaps temporarily stealing one of her or his own– and bring it to the oasis known as  Surroundings, located across from Lincoln Park. Charles  or Francisco will make  a custom arrangement for you. Charles tells me he can make an arrangement for  all budgets, and adorn your sad old vase with everything from lively flowers, ferns, Christmas-themed evergreens. Surroundings magic is at your service.

3. The scene is set.  Take a seat. The felt stool  in the shape of an asterisk and greeting your hips at an angle gets you sitting up  ramrod straight and feeling aligned and  very fine. Item: Asterisk chair/stool red felt, stuffed, $579. Shorter version $550. Designed by Roscoe Jackson. At Homebody on Barracks Row.

Asterisk red felt chair, by Roscoe Jackson, at Homebody

Asterisk red felt chair, by Roscoe Jackson, at The Homebody

4. Pull out an end table for the wine and cheese. So what if it swivels and twists–it will be level in the places that count. Item: monkey pod Twist end table or stool or bedside table, $264 and monkey pod Keyhole stool with keyhole post design, $245, at Homebody. Made in Philippines, with other monkey pod wood items.

5. Comfortable? Good, now pull out the cheeseboard. Not just any cheeseboard, but a white marble one, with walnut finishes and two cheese knives inserted into the marble. Tambourine cheese board, by Umbra’s U + studio line, $110 at Homebody.

6. Winter sun setting? You’ll need a lamp. My favorite is an iroko (teak) lamp with a gride-shaped pedestal with a matching wooden shade with mica panels. available at the Eastern Market flea market and crafted by artisan  Patrick Roberts of Designs for Living, who sells there with his family on Sundays.  It’s 29″ tall and has a 3-way 100 watt switch, and works well with many of our Arts and Crafts style living rooms here. They are calling it the “Festa” lamp, no kidding, since I have bought two and had Patrick design it for me. It is also available in oak, cherry, walnut, maple and stains such as dark cherry, Mission finish, wenge, espresso, and mocha.  The shade is of matching wood with mica panels.  The floor lamp is 59 inches high.  Table lamps about $260, floor lamps about $350 in this style. At Designs for Living. (And no, I do not own, nor could I, everything on this list. Could I? Would I?)

The grid-patterned teak and mica "Festa" lamp, by Designs For Living

7. Finish off the wine and cheese offerings with some winter fruits presented to your favorite neighboring family in modern, spare fruit bowls of steel and air. Fruit bowls by three companies: Blomus $17.95; Black + Blum; $45.95 for Fruit Loop model and $35 for Atomic swirl, and the British Columbia’s Torre and Tagus, with  prices from $26 to $42. Available at Homebody.

8. Desserts and yuletide cakes may be presented at your leisure on or in bright handmade flower-themed platters, bowls and ramekins by Mustardseed and Moonshine, out of Cape Town, South Africa. Delicate pastels and poinsettia-reds run riot on the shelves of The Forecast.  The high-fired earthenware is dishwasher and microwave safe. Prices range from $35 for a ramekin to $205 for a large platter, so check in at The Forecast to find a pairing or grouping that suits your  favorite hostess’es display shelves. And the gift-wrapping at The Forecast rates among the best in the area. They could make a ball of wax look good (and do, when wrapping a hand poured  candle packed with scented flowers or fruit, by Rosy Rings, which donates 15% of profits to animal and environmental charities, and provides jobs for developmentally disabled adults.) Rosy Ring candles range from $38 for a 4×4 candle to $92 for a 9 x 6 candle.

9. All ready to make trimming a tree or decorating a tabletop  part of a gift? There are options galore on the Hill  for unique and precious ornaments, from Czechloslovakian glass at Homebody to sturdy paper mache  eggs and multi-sized  ornamental balls for sale at the flea market on weekends from Neema Rosner. The brightly-designed balls, ranging from $7 to $16, are made in the Himalayan Valley of Kashmir. The beautiful baubles can also be placed in any old bowl or better yet,  a graceful piece fired by Hill sculptors like Audrey  down at Eastern Market Pottery, located in the basement of the Market and open weekends. The Forecast also has insanely off-kilter and lovely collection of ornaments representing the” 12 Days of Christmas” by Patience Brewster.  Six geese a-laying in a tuft of white feather, or  10 delicately positioned pipers piping…irresistable, on a string-but not a shoe string budget. Patience Brewster ornaments range from $28 for the smallest animal ornament to $55 for one of the “12 Days.”

10. Ah, well having such a fun time, the oven just got delivered. Is there a better way to wrap a present for it than by looping a cookie cutter in the shape  of your friend’s homestate — (and it likely isn’t D.C., is it?) — though the ribbon? Hill’s Kitchen has every state in stock  except Hawaii, its website warns. I had to include that, thinking either Obama bought them all or the birthers are using them for some citizenship protest. Yes, Virginia, there is a Virginia, but sorry, Obama, there is no Hawaii. Since my cookie party is over, Hill’s Kitchen happily has a host of classes on tap that would make great holiday gifts, finally, hint, hint. To reserve a space in a cooking class, please email events[at]hillskitchen[dot]com with information about which class your true love is interested in (or sorely needs), and contact information.

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8 responses to “Hill Gift Guide: For Your Home on the Hill”

  1. C says:

    I saw 1113 Independence Ave a couple weeks ago and it needs a lot of work. Nothing seriously wrong with it as far as I could tell, but it would need a new kitchen and bathroom, and the floors and walls are in terrible shape. I haven’t a clue how much all of that would cost, but since the list price is already close to $600k I don’t think it would end up being a deal. The layout’s not great either; the kitchen is in the basement and the only bathroom I saw was very tiny. No rental potential unless you were able to move the kitchen up to the main level, and even then the basement would need a lot of work in order to make it desirable to a tenant. The second bedroom is small and awkwardly shaped. It does have an odd little alcove and you could probably knock down the walls of that to create some more space, but I think it would still be hard to fit much furniture into that room. There were a ton of people at the first open house but it sounded like most of them were discouraged by amount of work required.

  2. C says:

    By the way, I’m loving these local shopping guides! But I wouldn’t recommend Homebody, as my experiences there have not been good,

  3. IMGoph says:

    czechoslovakian glass? must be at least a couple decades old, since the country hasn’t existed since ’92.

  4. Liz says:

    @C-You don’t mince words in your remarks. I would give Homebody another chance–I have always had a good experience there, from before I was blogging. They had some thread sewn back on a handmade purse when the zipper caught it, at no cost, and do some good sourcing of their products. @ IMGoph–I think it is almost used as brand name, these days, or the phrase is thrown about. Check with the store.

  5. I’m with Liz, they have always been very helpful, and I have found some great gifts (for myself and other people) there. The owners are also always one of the first businesses to pitch in during events like Barracks Row Oktoberfest.

  6. C says:

    Oh, I did not mean to be disparaging about the rowhouse on Independence Ave, as it has the potential to be a gorgeous house (as I imagine it once was). I just thought feedback from someone who’s had a firsthand look at the property would be welcome, especially for anyone who’s as intrigued by it as I was. I’ve seen close to 200 houses on the Hill so I know a good deal when I see it, and this probably is not a good deal. But definitely take a look if you have the know-how, don’t mind the layout, and are willing to tackle a big project.

  7. Leah says:

    I would love to hear some gift ideas from local businesses without storefronts. I know of a woman who makes beautiful baby toys and handmade frames, but works out of her home (on the hill). It’s hard to know about these businesses so it’d be great to see them highlighted in one post maybe.

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