Several years ago, when architect Michiyo Yoshimura was looking for a quick escape with her husband and her infant son, she realized there was a dearth of child-friendly vacation options. She and her architect husband Yasutaka Yoshimura of Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects hit upon the idea of a weekly resort rental, and created a collection of seaside houses under the name Nowhere Resort.

The Nowhere but Hayama project, is a renovated Japanese house that was originally built over 80 years ago. Located an hour's train ride away from Tokyo in Hayama on the Miura Peninsula, the town has long been a retreat for urbanites many of whom own second homes here (in fact, the Imperial Family's own bolt-hole is located right next door). A nearby rental property just south, called Nowhere but Sajima, is a modern house that seems to float above the sea. For more information, go to Nowhere Resort.

Nowhere but Hayama

Above: The architects were required to make seismic upgrades to the building. The architects were required to make seismic upgrades to the building. They kept the traditional exterior shell and added four modern units within the house creating a seamless transition between new and old. For more information, go to Nowhere but Hayama.

Above: A modern chandelier and twisting wood block stairs contrast with the traditional architecture.

Above: Two supporting beams in the kitchen are incorporated into the custom table.

Above: In lieu of tatami, the architects have used wood for flooring. An oversized cut out door frame stands where sliding doors would normally have been used.

Above: The bedroom, one of the four modern units within the house created by the architects. The window panel looks onto the staircase.

Above: A jacuzzi off the bedroom with a view over the sea. The house is a one minute walk to the beach.

Above; The traditional engawa, the veranda that marks the transition between the indoors and outdoors.

Nowhere but Sajima

Located on the sea in Sajima, just south of Hayama, is Nowhere but Sajima, a modern concrete three-story house also available for rent.

Above: The north-facing facade has floor-to-ceiling windows that abut the harbor wall.

Above: Visible from an adjacent beach, the house is angled so the views look out across the bay. On a clear day, Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance.

Above: A bedroom with maritime views.

N.B. This post is an update, the original post date ran on May 3, 2010.

Discovered via Myles Henry: Tamiser Antiques in Tokyo, specializing in rustic artifacts from around the world, as well as glass pieces by Tokyo-based American glassworker Peter Ivy. To see more, go to Tamiser Antiques.

Above: Glass vessels by Peter Ivy.

Winter is a good time to stockpile essentials; here are our picks for basic (and not-so-basic) white bath towels.

N.B.: Prices listed are for standard-size bath towels, unless otherwise noted.

Above: Lydia's go-to towel is the durable Turkish Bath Towel ("They maintain their integrity through endless washings"); $28 from Restoration Hardware.

Above: Janet's splurge: The oversized (31-by-63-inch) Riviera Bath Towel features a convenient hanging loop and is made of Turkish cotton; $75 at Matteo Home.

Above: Christine's favorite is the Anatolian Striped Bath Towel, £49 at Toast: "I am always looking for white towels with trim, so I can assign them to individual members of the family (or guests)." Another option is the Ticking Trim Bath Towel; also £49 at Toast.

Above: Until Cosmic Wonder created it, we hadn't seen it (but now we want it): a round bath towel. The organic cotton Round Bath Towel is currently on sale for $166 at Maryam Nassir Zadeh.

Above: Sarah favors the Lexus Three-Piece Bath Towel Set ($70 for three, each 28-by-55 inches in size) from the Turkish Towel Company. Weighing 1.29 pounds each, these towels are exceptionally absorbent and soft.

Above: On Alexa's wish list: the Waterworks Greenway Towels, available in three natural shades: white, muslin, and oatmeal; $70 each at Waterworks.

Above: Julie's staple towels are Organic Cotton Towels from Coyuchi, based in Point Reyes, California; $36 through Amazon.

Above: Janet's linen closet basics include the white Signature Towels in Egyptian cotton; $24 each at Garnet Hill.

Above: Francesca stocks Pottery Barn Classic 820-Gram Weight Bath Towels made of Turkish cotton in her linen closets. "We go through a lot of towels between three kids, guests, and an in-law apartment. These towels are always in stock and arrive within a day or two of ordering." The towels are available in 12 colors, including white, from Pottery Barn; $24.

Above: A good budget choice is the Frajen Bath Towel in waffle-weave cotton, which comes with a convenient hanging twill tab; $5.99 each at Ikea.

N.B. This post is an update, the original post ran on May 18, 2011.

Located in Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando District, Farmer's Table is a cafe with an upstairs shop specializing in everyday objects for the home.

The brainchild of Hiroko and Minato Ishikawa (she's a stylist and he's a graphic designer), a couple that appreciates the beauty of everyday objects in the home, the shop features a mix of local Japanese crafts and pieces from overseas—as well as the most beautiful S-hooks we've ever seen. The products, alas, are currently only available in Japan; contact the store directly to order.

N.B.: This post is an update, the original post ran on May 7, 2009.

We have our eye on these demure space heaters by famed Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa for Plus Minus Zero.

Infrared electric heaters send out heat waves to be absorbed by nearby objects (as opposed to convection heaters, which have a fan in order to circulate hot air throughout a room). If you are at your desk all day and get chilly from sitting still for too long, an infrared heater is your friend.

Above: The Infrared Electric Heater has gently rounded corners; ¥3,990 at the Plus Minus Zero Store in Japan. Unfortunately, the company has yet to sign up a US retailer for this product; the sole Northern American retailer is Studio Brilliantine in Toronto. There is a different model, also by Fukasawa, which is a fan heater and available in red and blue colors; the Plus Minus Zero Fukasawa Heater is $320 at Japan Trend Shop.

Above: The newest product in the group is the Infrared Heater with Steam, which offers heat and humidity in one device; ¥5,985 at the Plus Minus Zero Store in Japan.

The New York Times calls Leonard Koren "a maker of deceptively modest books about deceptively modest subjects"; his topics include gravel and sand gardens, tea ceremonies, and flower shops.

His book, Wabi-Sabi, first published in 1994, is considered required reading for the thinking designer; his more recent book, Which Aesthetics? is another must-read. Koren, who studied architecture at UCLA, writes: "Aesthetics is pervasive in our lives and behavior. It's basic, it's primal. The way we dress, style our hair, decorate our homes, prepare our food, give names to things—these are all aesthetic activities. Then there's the novels we read, the music we listen to, the movies we view, the video games we play, the art we make and collect."

Above: Koren's house in Point Reyes, in Marin County, Northern California; see the whole house at the New York Times. Photograph by Paul Dyer.

Above: Koren not only writes, he also designs his own books, down to the typeface. Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (L) is $10.88 at Amazon. Which 'Aesthetics" Do You Mean? Ten Definitions (R) is $10.93 at Amazon.

San Francisco-based designer and creative director Matt Dick is known around town as Indigo Matt—possibly because his hands are perpetually stained blue, or maybe it's because he's frequently attired in an inky-hued kurta.

Matt, who designs uniforms and workwear for happening San Francisco coffee shops and restaurants, is a born creative. During his student years, he spent a summer working at the Nakajima Konya dye works in Saitama just outside Tokyo under the instruction of Nakajima Sensei—a National Living Treasure in Japan. There he learned the secrets of the craft; how to cut traditional stencils and work with mulberry and persimmon resins and natural indigo dyes, which are stored in sunken earthenware vats. We swung by his studio recently to talk fabrics and check out his space; to see more of Matt's work, visit Small Trade Company.

Photography by Mimi Giboin for Remodelista.

RM: What are you working on now?
MD: I've just finished some denim bags and denim crocheted rugs for the Levi's Made and Crafted line, which Jay Carroll put together. The line is all about the story behind the goods and how they are made. We've also just finished a mechanics jumpsuit, which is part of our collection inspired by the way people go to work around the world: shepherds, farmers, fishermen, and the like.

Above: A quilted indigo tote bag made of cotton from the highland area of China that's dyed with indigo mixed with wild pigs' blood and coated with a lacquer solution made from herbs and egg, which gives it a distinctive sheen.

RM: Where do you source your fabric?
MD: I get all my denim from Cone Mills in North Carolina (my friends at Levi's turned me on to them). I like to source fabrics that are hand-woven, are limited editions, or have a good story behind them. Most come from India, Japan, and Italy, and I also get some from a couple who travels a lot to China and the area between Burma and Laos.

RM: What are your favorite tools?
MD: Clearly I have a scissor problem. I have a collection of different shears; the ones with gold handles are from Kapitol. The large black ones with the brass fitting (third from the top) are from a knife shop in Tsukiji. The other large black scissors are from Sheffield. I also like my Thread Clips from Merchant and Mills.

Above: Denim fabric and bundles of uniforms wrapped in cotton (L). Matt commissioned custom hangers (R) for the Shop at Bardessono (see Shopper's Diary: The Shop at Bardessono).

Above: Matt makes aprons for Sightglass Coffee using waxed military canvas sourced from Martin, the oldest working mill in the United States ("it's been around since 1838"). He's added a leather panel where the apron brushes up against the counter to make it more durable.

Above: A wall layered with inspiration: invitations, gallery openings, museum shops, and pages torn from magazines.

RM: Where did you find the mercury glass light?
MD: It's from an old theater; I took it to Dogfork, and they made it functional again.

Above: The Five-Year Datebook from APC, with pens from Kinokuniya (Matt added the indigo tassels).

RM: Color-coded books?
MD: I color-code my fabric swatches, my wardrobe, and my bookshelves. It's much easier to find things that way.

Our current design obsession is indigo in all its forms. You too? Share your inspirations with us on Pinterest for a chance to win a Remodelista Gift Box.

Here's how to triumph:

• Follow Remodelista on Pinterest and create a pinboard named "Remodelista Indigo Board."
• Pin 10 images of indigo home inspiration (indigo-colored walls, textiles and fabrics, home accessories).
• Search Remodelista for an indigo image (not from this post) and add to your pinboard.
• Get inspired by checking out our own Indigo Board on Pinterest. And have fun.

The entry deadline is Thursday, March 2, at 3pm, when we'll start reviewing your boards and picking a favorite, to be announced our winner on Friday, March 3.

Above: Victoria Smith's San Francisco bedroom, via SF Girl by Bay.

Above: A wall painted in dark-blue chalkboard paint; image via Bemz.

Above: Dark indigo walls in a white kitchen; image via French by Design.

Above: Benjamin Moore Dark Harbor walls; image via Design Crisis.

Above: Dark walls in a dining room; image via Lonny Magazine.

Wouldn't these light-hearted origami paper lights be lovely in a children's room?

Cachette is a brand-new online shop started by an Anglo-French couple, Stephen Rogan and Delphine de Chabalier, who have embarked on their own version of A Year in Provence: After a decade of life in London, they pulled up stakes and moved to the South of France to start a new business. "We have put our common passion for a certain lifestyle, great design, and great food into this shop," they say.

Above: Produced in Holland, Paper Lights are folded from a single piece of paper; €89 (around $120, shipping to the US available) at Cachette.

Above: The lights are suspended from cloth-wrapped cords.

Above: The lights are available in seven colors, including white and pink, which would float overhead like giant meringues.

Furniture maker Yosuke Kimura is a devotee of the belief that "form follows function," and his modular pieces are a perfect expression of the modernist creed.

Last year, Kimura opened Building Fundamental Furniture, offering classic midcentury pieces as well as his own line of seven streamlined designs. We are particularly drawn to Fundamental Furniture's flexible seating system that adapts to a family's ever-changing needs. Kimura omits all extraneous decoration in his designs, which are fabricated in a woodworking shop in the suburbs of Tokyo by young craftsmen. See the full line at Building Fundamental Furniture.

Above: The frames of Kimura's flexible seating system comes in a choice of ash, oak, black cherry, or ash; fabrics are available in in 39 colors. The system is available in Japan only and pieces start at ¥71,400 (approximately $900). See Building Fundamental Furniture for more information.

Above: A corner seat; ¥99,750.

Above: While the armless seat can work on its own, it can also be used as a module to create a sofa; ¥92,400.

Above: The ottoman; ¥71,400.

Above: A configuration that features all of the possible components.

We asked celebrated "paint whisperer" Eve Ashcraft (see Required Reading: The Right Color by Eve Ashcraft) to analyze our favorite indigo room.

"Indigo was once a guarded pigment, used as a dye by members of secretive and powerful textile guilds, and the color still evokes mystery. The bar at the Saint Cecilia Hotel in Austin, Texas, demonstrates how the color indigo can create mood and command space; in this room, the deep color is alluring, the perfect invitation to linger over a drink. A chevron-patterned floor in bold black and white ties it all together, turning what could be a sedate space into a dynamic environment. And finally, upholstery in lipstick red is the switch that turns the room on."

Above: "Cloaking the walls with indigo provides a dramatic backdrop, while extending the color across the ceiling makes the lounge a more intimate space. Handsome black trim adds a modern aspect to the room," says Ashcraft. Photograph by Michael A. Muller.

Above: "White elements like the marble tabletops and the fireplace wall (not to mention the albino peacock) bounce light around and also balance the dark elements," she says. Photograph by Michael A. Muller.

Above: Eve Ashcraft's paint palette shows how indigo can work with other colors (clockwise from top L): Eddie Bauer/Valspar Basin Blue EB41-1, National Trust for Historic Preservation Hotel St. Francis Spirit Blue 5010-10, Pratt & Lambert Spanish Blue 25-16, Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue HC-156, Farrow & Ball Railings No. 31, Benjamin Moore Winter White 2140-70, Ralph Lauren Studio White UL53, Ralph Lauren Amalfi Red IB60, Benjamin Moore Neon Red 2087-10, Fine Paints of Europe Select Collection #9340, Benjamin Moore Black Satin 2131-10, Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue HC-155, Benjamin Moore Marine Blue 2059-10.

My neighbors in Chelsea are both from Japan: Their loft is truly a work/live space, where they have been creating their art since the 1970s.

He is Tadaaki Kuwayama, a Minimalist artist; his work is currently showing at Chelsea's Gary Snyder Gallery and a painting of his was in the recent "Surface, Support, Process: The 1960s Monochrome in the Guggenheim Collection." She is Rakuko Naito, who does delicate works on paper and other materials—intricate cuts and folds to create patterns and shadow; she currently has a solo show at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery in Wyoming.

After meeting at Tokyo’s University of the Arts, they married and headed for New York in 1958. Their circle has included artists who emerged to define Minimalism during the 60s—Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Frank Stella among them. An expansive loft has been their family home since 1976, where they’ve raised two daughters and created countless works of art. The 4,000-square-foot space flows with a seamless serenity, from Rakuko’s front studio to their living and sleeping area through to Tadaaki’s work area. The loft is unified by two striking original features: a varnished floor patched over time with white, red, and yellow pine, and a tin ceiling manufactured in Brooklyn during the 1880s.

Above: Rakuko and Tadaaki in their Chelsea loft; this is Tadaaki's studio, located at the back of the space.

Above: An Eames rocker (an original) sits in front of an oak map chest, which holds Tadaaki’s drawings and doubles as a room divider.

Above: The walking stick is from Switzerland, and the small white parasol was a gift to Rakuko from her sister when they left Japan.

Above: A cast-iron column centers Rakuko’s sunny studio at the front of the loft. The co-op building started life as a stable in the 1880s.

Above: Mies van der Rohe metal-and-rattan armchairs are paired with a prototype table designed by Norman Foster.

Above: Rakuko uses brushes to wax the surface of a piece of paper, or to paint a frame white.

Above: A detail of an untitled work by Rakuko. To create it, she curled sections of acid-free Japanese paper and then burnished the edges with a thin stick of incense.

Above: An untitled work by Rakuko, made from metal mesh and folded aluminum strips, hangs above Le Corbusier armchairs in her studio.

Above: Tadaaki’s desk light is from German architectural lighting company ERCO.

Above: Tadaaki consults a Japanese sample chart to get the right color for his titanium pieces. The number beside each color is the number of seconds it takes to obtain that color after it's dipped in acid with an electric current.

Above: Tadaaki’s Bakelite wall pieces and anodized aluminum cylinders are perfect examples of his lifelong adherence to Minimalism.

SF-based renaissance woman Louesa Roebuck is all about "breaking the rules of floral arranging," as she says. "I find imperfection so much more interesting and beautiful."

On an unseasonably springlike day earlier this week, I met up with Roebuck on a Telegraph Hill rooftop, overlooking the bay, for an impromptu ikebana floral arranging lesson. Roebuck brought along armloads of foraged flora from her Oakland neighborhood—buckeye branches and buckets of magnolia blossoms.

"I got into foraging when I moved from Ohio to Oakland and landed a job at Chez Panisse," she says. "The idea of the menu constantly changing and being hyper-seasonal, that whole philosophy really appealed to me. I started gleaning with my friends and I realized there is so much fruit and bounty out here in California." Roebuck, who studied painting and printmaking at RISD, worked at Erica Tanov and owned her own shop, August, before going full time into foraged flower arranging; to see more of her work, go to Louesa Roebuck.

Want more? See Roebuck talk flowers, foraging, and ikebana on my iPhone video.

Photography by Jay Carroll of One Trip Pass.

Above: Roebuck's approach to flower arranging? "I am all about breaking the rules. So much floral work is tight, bunched up, and formal. I find imperfection so much more interesting and beautiful. I like creative paradoxes such as the juxtaposition of pristine and decay."

Above: The buckeyes are from a tree that grows in the yard of an abandoned house in Berkeley. "The tree is like a friend now, and the branches are just starting to bud out and be that brilliant Japanese-y green. I also love the big floppy magnolias, I spotted them in a garden and I just knocked on the door and asked if I could take them. I am always making mental maps of flora, noting where things are blooming or where branches have a specific line and form, when plum trees are in bloom and when fennel is tall and yellow. There's always something blooming in California."

Above: A small display in a vase by Berkeley potter Jared Nelson.

Above: The flowers are arranged in an Indian pot once used for indigo, set on a piece of fabric from Kapital, both from the collection of Jay Carroll. "I am part Cherokee," Roebuck says, "and my dad taught me about a certain way of looking and observing nature. I learned to let go of any feeling of control."

When the client moved into a 1900s cottage in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, he was a bachelor; when his life expanded to include a wife and three young children, the house took the leap as well.

The modest shingled cottage never had pretensions to a particular style, and in the course of the last century, had remained half-hidden behind trees on a wooded lot. It was this low-key presence that architect Cary Bernstein, who is a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory, was careful to preserve in her major renovation of the house. "The trick was to keep some of the quirkiness of the cottage, and to add our own layer of history," says Bernstein. "We expanded up, adding a third floor, to avoid interrupting the garden surrounding the house."

Photography by César Rubio.

Above: Bernstein transformed the cottage into a light-filled modern home. From the street, it appears to be two stories; the first floor steps down the hill behind. The home's original Dutch door is still in place (now painted black). To see the building before, go to Potrero House and go to the last thumbnail in the gallery.

Above: Adding a third floor did not require any extraordinary measures, thanks to a solid foundation and strategic choices by Bernstein, who used external steel framing to brace the house. A frame around the double-height windows (L) and a trellis over the front door that anchors the house to a shed (R) are key structural supports.

Above: The original ceiling, with its mix of planking in three different sizes, became the inspiration for the new facade. The flooring is reclaimed oak barn siding.

Above: The minimalist island is made of walnut butcher block—"We like to do them as pieces of furniture, rather than wall cabinetry that managed to float away," says Bernstein. A Blu Dot Knicker Chair is at the built-in desk.

Above: To the left of the front door is a side entry that goes straight into the kitchen; the breakfast nook has a built-in bench for shoes. Around Naoto Fukasawa's Déjà-Vu Table are classic Jacobsen Style Series 7 Chairs.

Above: The stairs are recognizably old-fashioned in shape, but the railing has been reinterpreted with modern steel spindles.

Above: The third-floor study off the master bedroom takes you up into the trees. The chair is a faithful copy of Hans Wegner's CH25 Chair.

Above: The top-floor deck has a view of the Bay Bridge to the east. The outdoor furnishings are from Ikea.

Above: The front yard and its curved wooden bench were left untouched during the renovation, and serve as an outdoor dining room.

Midcentury enthusiasts Isabelle Gilles and Yann Poncelet first met over a Colonel, a vermouth-and-lime cocktail—a momentous drink that would end up supplying the name of their company.

The two started Colonel a couple of years ago, restoring vintage furniture (see Furniture: Colonel in Paris). Today, Isabelle and Yann collaborate with French craftsmen to produce small-scale furniture collections. Drawing inspiration from 1960s American camping chairs and outdoor furniture, the aim of Colonel is to evoke the feeling of summer and its bright colors.

The couple's home in Paris features the same sprightly feel as their furniture collection ("A contemporary re-reading of this universe by mixing colors, rhythms, and patterns," as they say), achieved through an appealing mix of outdoor and indoor, high and low, and antique and modern.

Above: Yann and Isabelle in their living room.

Above: A corner of the living room features an evocative wall mural painted by Alice Gilles. A jute rug, midcentury coffee table, and a vintage sofa upholstered in green velvet all coexist with the mural's fantasyland.

Above: Bright orange garden chairs (akin to these Italian Wooden Deck Chairs) stand out in the living room.

Above: A 1960s bookcase sits in contrast to the formal hearth.

Above: A Noguchi Vitra Akari Floor Lamp (L) and cheap folding beach chairs (R) sit lightly in the space.

Above: Houseplants populate the light-filled dining area, adding a springlike note.

We've done our fair number of Ikea hacks, but nothing as thrillingly transformative as these slipcovers from Swedish company Bemz.

Lesley Pennington, the mastermind behind the company, came up with the idea after procuring an Ikea sofa for her Swedish summer house. She wanted a slipcover, but she wasn't wild about Ikea's selection. Voilà: Bemz, which offers worldwide shipping and more than 180 fabrics to upgrade a new or old Ikea piece. We especially like the latest addition to the collection: Loose Fit Urban covers in Rosendal linen from Belgium. The linen is pre-washed to give it a soft, rumpled feel and comes in a range of appealing colors.

Above: Karlstad Armchair Cover, Loose Fit Urban in absolute white; $239. The colors available in the Loose Fit Urban style are: absolute white, soft white, unbleached, medium gray, sage brown, and lavender.

Above: Bedskirt, Loose Fit Urban in sage brown; $229 for the queen size.

Above: Karlanda Armchair Cover, Loose Fit Urban, $289 in absolute white; and Klippan 2-Seater Sofa Cover, Loose Fit Urban, $398 in absolute white.

Today's Parisian flat (see Parisian Apartment with a Summery Spirit) got us thinking about wall murals that add an arboreal feel to an interior—here's a trio of options at different ends of the price spectrum.

Above: The Etched Arcadia Mural features graphite-hued forestry digitally printed on paper by Over & Over; it covers 60.75 square feet and is $298. The mural features SureStrip backing, which allows for paste-free application and easy removal.

Above: UK company De Gournay's new Abstract Pines Wallpaper; shown with a reupholstered Chesterfield couch by London-based Tara Craig.; prices for De Gournay's hand-painted wallcoverings start at about $650 per panel.

Above: From venerable French company Zuber, a panoramic panel of Les Courses de Chevalier (the above panel sold at Christie's for $1,793); for information, go to Zuber.

When I spotted this sculptural display in fashion designer Vanessa Bruno's Paris apartment, I was inspired to rush over to Ikea and buy up some rice-paper lanterns.

Bruno's apartment features the perfect balance of a very French masculin/feminin style with a mix of high and low elements. Replicate the low-cost look by hanging up a set four lanterns.

N.B.: We considered whether it would be possible to add lighting to the lanterns, but we couldn't locate a cord with four bulbs spaced at the right intervals; do let us know if you have any ideas.

Above: A stack of lanterns illuminates a corner of Vanessa Bruno's Paris apartment. Photograph by Birgitta Wolfgang Drejer.

Above: The rice-paper Regolit Pendant Shade is $5 at Ikea.

After a lifetime spent acquainting herself with the flowers outside her cottage in the Perthshire hills of Scotland, one day Elizabeth Harrison bent to get a closer look at an unusual seedling—and was face-to-face with a snowdrop no gardener had ever seen before.

Five years later, a single bulb of the yellow-throated flower set off a frenzy on eBay the other day, attracting dozens of bidders before it sold to British seed company Thompson & Morgan for a record £725, catapulting tiny Galanthus "Elizabeth Harrison" into the ranks of the world's most coveted flowers. With England in the throes of its annual Snowdrop Mania (a beloved national pastime since Victoria was on the throne), the high bidder felt it necessary to promptly issue a press release urging eager gardeners to temper expectations: "These unique Galanthus are notorious for their slow rates of multiplication."

Above: Common varieties of snowdrop are white and green; a yellow throat and markings on its petals transformed Galanthus "Elizabeth Harrison" into a treasure that sold for the equivalent of $1,138 US at auction. Said Bryan Harrison of his wife's discovery: "She knew it was unusual, but had no idea of the significance. Had we known, we'd probably have been more excited from the word 'go.' " Probably.

Above: The yellow variety may be a genetic mutation of the more common Galanthus woronowii (above, via Snowdrop Info), available seasonally from Brent and Becky's Bulbs, $28 for 50 bulbs. But the gardener who discovered the rare bulb may not spend her money on either variety. “Christmas box is the one plant I would never be without,” says Elizabeth Harrison.

Spotted in the fashion-aggressive elevators of Condé Nast: a canvas tote that whispered utilitarian charm. Its owner said it was a recent gift from a friend in Tokyo, so we eyeballed the label and did some reconnaissance.

Bag 'n' Noun is the Osaka-based company of designer Takeshi Ozawa. Noun is an abbreviation of his fashion line, Necessary or Unnecessary. The name is perhaps a reference to Ozawa's anti-mass-manufactured approach and his affinity for daring colors. All of the pieces are handmade in Osaka, an industrial city with a wealth of family-run factories. And very little is standard issue—the bag we coveted, the Reverse Tote, is a custom canvas made of fashion-grade cotton manually woven on a 1930s loom. The fabric is so tight it requires no liner, but in a nod to the Japanese art of packaging, Ozawa exposed the yellow selvedge as a decorative element and inserted a nylon drawstring bag within a bag.

Above: The Reverse tote is available in two sizes from Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction ($170 for the smaller, $265 for the larger). The design was conceived so that not an inch of its high-grade canvas went to waste.

Above: L.L. Bean, the venerable Maine-based purveyor of practicality, lets you build your own custom boat and tote bag. The above Extra Large Natural Tote, with yellow handles, is $49.95.