Best Bets

Photo: Courtesy of Caldera

The Best Bet
With its glowing red elements against a flat black background, Caldera’s elegant glass cooktop ($1,395 at AKO Home Furnishings; 718-375-2130) looks more like a starship control panel than a domestic device. It’s certainly got plenty of tech: 44 settings per burner, each with a 99-minute timer—enough firepower to boil lobsters, yet enough subtlety to keep the risotto from scorching. An auto-recall function remembers the last setting you used for each different burner, and an emergency button turns them all off simultaneously in case you have to leave the room. This futuristic cooktop is perfectly flat and wipes clean in a swipe—because crumbs are so last millennium.

Photo: Courtesy of Pioneer

Hit the Streets With Satellite Radio
Pioneer’s AirWare XM2Go is one of the first portable satellite-radio devices with more than 150 channels and room to record five hours of programming ($330 at Best Buy; 212-366-1373).









Photo: Davies + Starr

Underwear That’s Perfect Summer Outerwear
The fabric on German designer Schiesser Revival’s intimates collection is thin enough to keep you cool and conservative enough that no one will know you’re in your skivvies ($45 to $125 at Opening Ceremony; 212-219-2688).









Photo: Davies + Starr

Maps That Make Art Out of Information
Nautical maps include everything from water depth to lighthouse locations—and if you’re not renting a yacht, they make lovely wall displays ($18.75 at New York Nautical Instruments; 212-962-4522).









Photo: Courtesy of Cappellini

This Modern Chair Could Be an Antique
Is it contemporary? Or is it classic? Marcel Wanders’s “New Antiques” collection, inspired by Italian turned-wood chairs, splits the difference ($1,806 to $2,279 at Cappellini; 212-620-7953).

Photo: Davies + Starr

A Practical Chic Doorstop
The narrow end of this rubber design slides under a door, while the large end effortlessly holds it in place ($7.50 at LEO Design; 212-929-8466).









Best Bets