Design We Like is a blog series highlighting everyday items that complement the aesthetic sensibility of Turkel Design. By sharing these selections from our team, we hope to reveal more about our own design thinking: understated beauty, clean lines, high-quality materials, and work that is built to last. Durable rather than delicate, timeless rather than trendy, these are the essentials that are too well-designed to keep hidden in a drawer. There’s no sponsored content here—it’s a place for us to celebrate the things that we believe would fit in a Turkel Design home.
There’s nothing like surprising the people on your holiday list with something they love but didn’t expect. Etsy is an excellent resource for gifts that can’t be found anywhere else, and it’s a great way to support small-scale makers and shopkeepers.
With gift-giving season almost upon us, we offer up here six of our favorite Etsy storefronts:
For the person who has everything (or at least a great vinyl collection)
How about a custom hand-made turntable cabinet from Frailey Woodworks? Handcrafted in Texas, these high-quality throwback pieces would fit naturally in any Turkel Design home.
For the picky brother-in-law or hard-to-impress host
Jonesing to give a one-of-a-kind gift to someone with discerning taste? Check out the incredible collection of vintage items curated by Lucile at Feeling of Déjà Vu. Virtually everything this shop offers is a near impossible find. Items ship from France, so be ready for a longer lead time (and an ever-shifting tariff), but when the goods arrive, they definitely deliver.
For the child of discerning parents
Do you have a little person on your list and you can’t possibly show up to their design-conscious parents’ home this season with yet another copy of Iggy Peck, Architect? Then take a look at Bistra Popova’s Bulgarian shop for an amazing wooden menagerie of design-centric toys. We are particularly in love with the Nordic Woods Animals.
For the midcentury maven
If you crave a splash of color in your digs and have a special someone with a soft spot in their heart for great ’60s and ’70s design, consider a vintage light fixture from Carl and Melene at Deerstedt in Denmark. This is without doubt one of the most beautiful and carefully curated shops on Etsy. It is simply a joy to peruse their fabulously coordinated photography. We have purchased pieces for ourselves and for clients from them over the years and they are a joy to work with. Even if your taste leans a little more restrained, pull up a cup of eggnog anyway and enjoy ogling all their amazing and nostalgic fixtures. If you do buy, keep in mind that many of their items will come wired for the EU. You can, however, likely get them rewired for North America, as we did for one of our favorite light fixtures in our office in Somerville, Massachusetts.
For the holiday decor collector
It wouldn’t be the holidays without a little seasonal décor. Made from locally sourced upcycled Vermont hardwoods, these adorable holiday miniatures from HauskaaVT will entrance visitors young and old. After all, who can resist a holiday village? This time, however, the miniatures are not overwrought plastic schmaltz, but restrained and tasteful hand-crafted wooden pieces of heirloom quality, great for mantlepiece and tabletop holiday displays alike.
For just about anyone
When it comes to holiday gift-giving, it’s hard to beat a simple throw cushion covered in a fabulous high-quality vintage Scandinavian print. Our friend Eliana Rajao is a longtime member of the Boston design scene, having helmed the Marimekko store in Cambridge’s Huron Village for many years. Eliana has branched out creating her own line of hand-crafted home goods often featuring textiles from her extraordinary personal collection of vintage bolts. Her pillows, throws, runners, and other table settings are a natural fit for a Turkel Design home or for anyone who loves restrained yet colorful modern design.
A home that’s fit for the holidays
At Turkel Design, we create warm modern homes that are customized to fit the life you want—the type of home that makes for memorable holiday celebrations.
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