HANGERS, $3.49 for eight
In 15 minutes you can transform a slovenly coat closet. Your gear: Bumerang wooden hangers. (We have used them to hang even the heaviest winter coats.) Put all your coats and jackets on them. Face all coats in the same direction. Smile.
Where: IKEA, 1800 E. McConnor Pkwy., Schaumburg, 847-969-9700; 750 E. Boughton Rd., Bolingbrook, 630-972-7900
FRAME, $8.99
A child’s special drawing. A handkerchief inherited from Grandma. Why stash emotion in a drawer? Put it out there. Frame it. Ready-made frames can come cheaply. We happen to like the selection (such as this pretty, gold-leaf-looking frame) and prices at Hobby Lobby. Frames go on sale regularly here. If they’re not half off this week, wait till next.
Where: hobbylobby.com for store locations
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TOWEL, $4.95
Though it may be a mere dish towel, we see artfulness. Former Chicago textile artist Laura Foster Nicholson created the modern-vintage design based on a silver service in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. We also see a flock of these towels hung as cafe curtains (get simple clip rings and a rod).
Where: Crate and Barrel, 800-996-9960, crateandbarrel.com
PITCHER, $16
We liked the character — the wickerwork that’s strong but delicate — on this Recycled Glass Pitcher made by artisans in Bangladesh.
Where: Ten Thousand Villages, 877-883-8341, tenthousandvillages.com
SOAP, $4
They’re goat’s milk soaps, molded and hand-milled. And they come from Gabriella Szmola — and her goats. The former Evanstonian moved to a farm in Salem, Wis., where she raises dairy goats and alpaca. She makes her soaps in a number of designs and scents including peony, lavender sage, lily of the valley and peppermint.
Where: 262-843-2663, www.alpacasofwhimsicalacres.com
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