Curbed editor-in-chief Kelsey Keith knows a thing or two about design and home décor (before Curbed, she was an editor at Dwell), so she told us her husband let her take the driver’s seat when building their registry — which almost never existed, she says. But because “people love to help celebrate a wedding,” Keith continues, “we did one at our parents’ request that was not too over the top.”
Before the two officially tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at Manhattan’s City Hall, they were “together for awhile,” Keith says, and “there was a lot of stuff that we just had.” But for part of their relationship, they were a long-distance couple, so the registry provided an opportunity to ask for things they could use to cook and entertain guests now that they were living together again. “That informed a lot of the choices we made,” she says. Below, Keith shares her favorite items from their registry, including the Italian ironing board she says makes doing laundry much more joyful, the pizza stone her husband swears by, and more.
“This is probably the item I lusted after most on the whole registry, as insane as that sounds. But hear me out: I legitimately enjoy ironing. It’s both meditative and results-oriented. And every other ironing board on the market is rickety and prone to pinching — I’ve hated them all. Now I save a big stack of items to iron in my living room in front of the windows with this big-ass wooden board and it is heaven.”
“We didn’t go super-traditional with our registry (no towels, no matching dishes). However, flatware is something you’ll pretty much never prioritize for yourself, and my husband and I both wanted to be fully stocked and ready to host a dinner party at a moment’s notice. I bugged a lot of design-y friends for their own picks, and one of them — who’s worked with Alessi for years — advocated for Dry, a timeless design that Achille Castiglioni did for the company in 1982. In fact, it was Alessi’s only cutlery pattern for a number of years. This spring during Milan design week, I paid a visit to Castiglioni’s studio and cemented the choice after manhandling Dry prototypes and admiring the designer’s overall genius.”
“Felicia Ferrone is a favorite designer of mine to tap when sending gifts to just-married friends. (Case in point: the Margot Champagne coupes I bought for one couple after seeing them on set during a Curbed shopping-guide shoot.) And if an ironing board is a workhorse, this crystal-esque pitcher is a real show pony. It’s mostly kept in its box, inside a credenza, primed to trot out for guests. I’m picturing it more as a vase (fall forsythia!) than something to pour liquid from.”
“I’m constantly on the hunt for (unscented) candles, but totems alone do not a tablescape make! Knowing that Nordic companies have the ‘unfussy candleholder’ category on lock, I put these sweet, simple holders from Iittala on our registry. The mossy green complements our general color palette of neutrals (black, white, tan) mixed with goldenrod yellow, rust, and pale blue. Of course, now I’m eyeing the other colors available, as well as the shorter, squatter version.”
“Now, if anyone is feeling generous and wants to send some Carl Durkow beeswax candles my way … I discovered these after making our registry, so they unfortunately didn’t make the cut.”
“This seemed like the sort of sensible item one might find on an adult’s wedding registry. And it’s nice to have a huge surface — we got the 24-by-18 inch — for whatever chopping needs arise. (Me, stone fruit; my husband, preserved lemon.) Only now I’m figuring out the responsibilities of owning a nice cutting board; namely, you have to become a Cutting Board Person who keeps a well-mineral-oiled maintenance routine. Someday!”
“Having worked at Dwell and getting married to a man who grew up in the Bay Area, it would have been sacrilege to leave Heath off our registry. The Sausalito-based ceramics purveyor has been churning out reliably tasteful, modern porcelain and servingware since 1948. We picked this medium covered serving dish, which delights me every time I use it. The aqua shade is perfect: a soothing, unexpected color that doesn’t overwhelm whatever else you’ve got on the table.”
“Anyone who’s tasted it knows that my husband makes the absolute best pizza. (He starts with a no-knead dough recipe, for the curious.) It’s one of the many ways in which he first wooed me! Anyway, we’ve gone through a few subpar pizza stones and thought we should upgrade to this one, which is very sturdy and very well-reviewed.”
“Maybe it’s the latent prep in me who went to college in a coastal town, but I cannot resist these mats. They’re made from recycled Maine float-rope so they’re incredibly durable, and the colors vary for each since they’re handmade from whatever old rope the company has handy.”
“Akari Light Sculptures by Isamu Noguchi are nearly ubiquitous as an accessible design object, and for good reason: They’re relatively well-priced and emit an irresistible glow. Noguchi — originally inspired by fishermen’s lanterns — selected a manufacturer in Gifu, Japan, that was known for its umbrellas made of washi paper (which comes from mulberry bark) and bamboo. The lamps have been hand made by that same company since 1951. Appropriately, Curbed’s architecture critic (and Noguchi expert) Alexandra Lange gifted this one to us,” says Keith, who regularly writes about the latest trends and designs catching her eye in a newsletter for Curbed.
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