Oddities

"It's a bit weird, but I thought you'd like it," said my friend yesterday, on giving me this funny little ceramic owl, below. She knows me so well. I think he's fantastic, and fantastically freaky.

I love to have odd bits and pieces in my house; they usually tell a story, or start one by becoming talking points (even if the start of the conversation is "What is that?").

So in celebration of freaky home accessories, I've rounded up some other love-and-hate bits and bobs that you can buy. Meanwhile: what's the oddest thing in your home?

I love how these baby head shaped indoor planters are just the last thing you would expect to have greenery growing out of. And how the plants become very strange looking hair. They are for sale on Etsy by their Brooklyn-based designer, Danielle Spector, for around £35 each (original price is in US dollars; the seller posts to the UK for around £7).

I have a bowl of wooden fruit in my living room. People often pick up one of the hard apples and look at me quizzically: "It's wooden. Why do you have wooden fruit?" Why indeed. Because it looks good? And it's a little bit odd. Mine comes from my mum who used to have it in her house; though on a holiday in Brazil several years ago I found some more and found it impossible to resist. And now I'm looking at these striking hexagonal beauties, made from wood and reclaimed leather, I'm wondering if I could do with some more... Buy them from CultureLabel for £8.50 each.

I have long admired my friend Rose's Obama fabric, which is printed in Ghana. Now she's turned it into cushions (with 'Yes We Can' embroidered on the back), for sale via her Facebook group, Rose Repose, at £20. You need to order early this week as she's bringing a batch over with her from Senegal, where she lives, on Thursday.

This is almost horrible. Which is what I love about it. This digital reproduction mini print of George Condo’s Pop Queen produced to accompany the exhibition Mental States at the Hayward Gallery. It measures 28cm x 36cm and costs just £5 from the Southbank Shop online.