The Best Bet
Mathmos’s new soporific Space Projector is like a modern version of a magic lantern, and an enchanting way to soothe the kids to dreamland. A slowly rotating color wheel projects pleasantly hypnotic shapes, from airplanes to soothing amorphous blobs (like the one seen here), onto the nursery wall. Its trance-inducing properties work equally well as ambient psychedelic décor for grown-up parties, so plug it in, cue up the new Basement Jaxx, and chill out ($135 at Hasker, 333 Smith St., nr. Carroll St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn; 718-222-5756).
A Table, Au Naturel
Dransfield & Ross modifies the now-ubiquitous wood-in- its-natural-state design trend by sandblasting tree roots and lacquering them in a choice of five colors ($595 at Mecox Gardens, 962 Lexington Ave., nr. 70th St.; 212-249-5301).
For the Urban Kitchen Drawer
Old-fashioned graters are clunky and difficult to clean; this slim stainless Microplane Long-Blade Coarse Grater is sharp and compact, excellent for quick and tidy back-and-forths on cheese, chocolate, and vegetables ($12.95 at Crate & Barrel, 650 Madison Ave., at 59th St.; 212-308-0011).
The Convenience of Layering
Virginia Johnson’s extremely soft, thin merino-wool scarf is large enough to be worn as a shawl in fickle autumnal weather ($175 at Layla, 86 Hoyt St., nr. Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; 718-222-1933).
She Has the Birthday, We Get the Gifts
Legendary ceramics designer Eva Zeisel turns 100 on November 13. Her licensee Chantal is reissuing her Pinnacle Collection, first introduced in the fifties, in time for the occasion (from $30 at Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Ave., at 59th St.; 212-705-2000).
Just When You Thought Jeans Couldn’t Get Any Tighter
Now arriving from Sweden is the ne plus ultra of skinny jeans by Cheap Monday— unwashed and cut eighties-rocker-tight—at a price we haven’t seen in a decade ($65 at Odin, 328 E. 11th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-475-0666).
No Longer an Eyesore
Aga’s under-the-counter refrigerators are small but intelligently designed for maximum storage—ideal for studio kitchenettes—with minimal space loss ($1,499 at Domain, 938 Broadway, at 22nd St.; 212-228-7450).