Storage as art, by Note for Seletti

I'm in the middle of an extended spring clean... Actually, I'm always in the middle of an extended spring clean. Where does all the mess and clutter come from? It's not me. Definitely not me.

So on that theme, do you ever fantasise that a new thing for your home will change your life? I get it lots about things from Lakeland. But today I'm having it about this.

As far as I can tell, this ingenious – and very beautiful – piece of clutter collecting storage isn't yet for sale in the UK. It's made by Italian company Seletti, who Abi was getting excited about in a recent post. The designers are a company called Note, who make some other very good-looking and useful objects.

It's called Suburbia – because as well as hiding or beautifying all sorts of old crap that's normally spilling off surfaces in the average house, or lingering redundantly in top drawers – if you look at it empty, you can see it's designed to resemble a little town, as seen from above. The inspiration was the marvellous Uten.Silo, a pleasing plastic holder of things designed in the 1960s by Dorothee Becker that you can see here. Bodie & Fou also do something similar in a metal finish, but nothing like as art-like as this.

Seletti sell in places such as Heal's, Pedlar's and SCP so, when it's launched into shops, it's unlikely to be cheap. But think how happy it will make you.

Father's Day gifts

Last week, I wrote a thing for the Independent about the difficulty of finding good house-y man-gifts – what with father's day (June 16) looming and all, it's chap-friendly one could be a thing to consider. 

There wasn't room to publish all of the nice things I found in my research. So I thought I'd share the lot with you here. 

For snap-happy chaps, or just fans of lovely looking antique gadgetry, Type in east London have a small range of these lamps. Each one is different as they’re made from real vintage cameras. £125 to £195, Type East

Interiors-themed things for fathers, sons, brothers and the others aren't perhaps an obvious choice – since browsing through the average gender-geared ‘gift’ section at online interiors shops, the impression you're left with is that men like their homes exclusively filled with leather, gadgets, golf ephemera and whisky glasses. 

Yeuch. Poor chaps. Even in some of the most stylish shops, there’s room for this naff, derivative theme. It’s as if there was no middle ground between pretty vintage perfume bottles and leather-clad decanters. With some hunting, of course, there’s lots to inspire – it just takes a bit of hunting down.

And Father’s day is a great prompt to scratch beneath the clichés and find good homewares and furniture that any design-appreciative man (and, indeed, woman) can appreciate.

Some classic shops or brands that specialise in the decidedly ungirlie side of design include Folklore, House Doctor DK, Pedlars, Labour & Wait  – or the new contender in that ilk, Objects of Use in Oxford. All good for a preliminary browse. Or perhaps one of our pick of objects will be man enough for the job…

This practical, industrial-style stool by Danish designers, House Doctor DK, is essentially a solid slab of wood and some sturdy metal legs (choice of five colours). A nice office or workshop perch, or a side-table for a cuppa. Each also has “have a seat” stamped into the wood. Sweet.

£79, Bodie and Fou

This award-winning solid steel “Bull Trophy” bike rack comes in different colours and finishes, and looks just as good as décor when the bike’s in use.

£79, Outline Works Ltd

Swedish illustrator, Ingela Arrhenius specialises in bold, graphic prints with a midcentury flavour. What well-dressed man could resist this chap? £18.95, Hus and Hem

I've written about this lovely lampshade company before. And the idea behind their Tee Lights is simple: take his favourite old band (or other) T-shirt – and get it turned into a beautiful, bespoke “Tee Light” lampshade. The one pictured was made for a fan of the late hip hop producer, J Dilla. (Each is a one-off.) £250, Belle & Videre 

Tala’s pleasing retro metal measuring cups don’t just include the better-known baking ones. This display-friendly Thali Measure comes in two shades (“coriander” and “tumeric”) and includes a recipe booklet, too. £15.95, Divertimenti

Echoing the classic plastic 1960s Uten.Silo by Dorothee Becker, this metal wall-tidy for bits and bobs has a pleasingly industrial edge. Designed by Danish company, House Doctor DK, it is good in any room for stashing everything from dressing table bits to nails to kitchen clutter.

£169.99, Bodie & Fou

British designer Nick Munro has created a range of homewares for the RNLI. Using the flag system pioneered by Lord Nelson, his two colourful tea-towel designs spell out ‘wet’ or ‘dry’ (and proceeds go to the charity). £10, RNLI Shop

A classic, framed, Getty Images print – if you can find the perfect, personalised image – is a stylish gift to give. John Lewis stock an inspiring range: this one – a 1967 shot of Eric Clapton’s Cream – could be good for guitar geeks. £200, John Lewis

The range of literary prints by Spineless Classics is a simple but excellently executed idea: a cult tome is turned into a work of art – by using the full text of the book to create the graphic. From £39.99 unframed, Spineless Classics

This beautiful cheese board is made from sycamore wood and colour blocked with white painted edge. It features a leather strap and comes with an aesthically-pleasing blue wooden semi-circle that can be fixed to the wall to act as a hanger. £150, Shop Folklore

Polar bears: this year's best Christmas decorations?

I hate that people are already peddling Christmas. I saw mince pies in M&S in September... that was wrong. However, I've just come across some decorations from Bodie & Fou so lovely that, despite myself, I'm going to share them. 

And in my defence (to myself, obvs) I don't think they need only come out at Christmas...

These ceramic polar bears, £28 for a set of two (father and son) from Bodie & Fou, would also make a sweet small gift, festive or otherwise.

Industrial house tuning

Sticking with the industrial theme (see post below), I have been poring over the luscious new images illustrating French company, Bodie & Fou's new range by the Danish design firm, House Doctor (love their blog). 

Below are some favourite shots and products, plus a few cheaper copycat tips...

(C) lifestyle image courtoisy of Johanna Vintage

The 'Have a seat' industrial stools, above, cost £79.99. But what about that great idea on the wall in the background – dinky box shelves, backed with different scraps of wallpaper. Clever.

This Industrial clip-on light, above, would make a great kitchen task light, clipped onto some shelves in your favourite recipe book reading spot: cosy yet no-nonsense. £82.

I've been nurturing a monochrome urge for a while, this look (top) shows just how soft the look can be. I'm inspired. Don't you just want to move in here? I do. Love the cute, white ceramics on the black shelves. The Owl Vase is £22.50. 

As recycling goes, this Pallet Coffee Table (above and below) is a pretty swish version – it costs a whopping £550. But you could knock one up yourself for just a few pounds. There are plenty of sites selling big castors from around £10 a pop. Ideally, find a salvageable pallet that's been chucked out, or sweet-talk your local DIY store for one as they generally come in bulk if you want to buy, or can be expensive. When you have found one, there's even a rather brilliant looking book all about building stuff from pallets to provide the technical tips.

Still on the pallet tip, I thought these cinema seats (below) made for the stylish Deptford Project's Silent Cinema by JailMake last summer were very clever – and beautiful. Let them inspire you into creating your own designer piece.

Nice big red letters. Not cheap (£139). But do check out the inspiring Bodie & Fou blog, which has a long post featuring lots of lovely pictures of variations on these letters, used in various creative ways in nice rooms (see above for starters). 

And for a shabbily chic – and much cheaper – version, try Camel and Yak. While Into The Woodshed has some nice colourful varieties, from around £40.

Fabulous "wooden" feature wallpaper from Bodie and Fou

This "Scrapwood" wallpaper, which comes in six variations (see below, too) is odd and beautiful in equal measure, I think. 

It's designed by Piet Hien Eek and for sale at hip online store, Bodie and Fou. It's pricey – £145 a roll – but the rolls are large (each is enough to cover 4 square metres) and you probably wouldn't want to do a whole room in it. The more I look at it, the more I love it. What do you make of it?