A Nice Cuppa

In Manhattan, good apartments are as easy to come by as flying pigs. After months of searching, my husband and I finally found the perfect one. We call it our grown-up apartment because we can finally decorate according to our taste rather than depending solely on family hand-me-downs or knick-knacks found on the street. (For those of you who don???t live in NYC, moving day is a day all New Yorkers, great and small, stroll the streets collecting goodies discarded by our fellow citizens.)

Decorating. Where to begin? After spending nearly a week looking for the perfect shower curtain, I turned my sights to the kitchen. A great way to spruce up any kitchen is to have a nice teakettle on the stovetop. Like the coffee pot, it???s one of the few items that is always at the center of things. I can???t think of any home I???ve been to where there hasn???t been a proud kettle presiding over the entire kitchen. Well, we needed a new one. Our old kettle was my brother???s, which had originally been my mother???s. Yes, double hand-me-downs are quite common in my family.

I didn???t have to search this time. I knew exactly what I wanted: the square teakettle by Staub. They come in several different bold colors. I chose the deep eggplant and it looks like a sculpture on my stovetop. The best part is, it???s as useful as it is beautiful. I use it every day to boil water for everything from tea and coffee to rice and vegetables. Whether your style is maximalist or minimalist, I can???t rave enough about these teakettles.

* You can find both the round and square Staub teapots online at sunjaratea.com