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| Steampunk Pendants |
So now for our European-inspired wishlist, the things we’ve seen, used, enjoyed while in Europe that we would like to put in our home when we get home. Assuming we stay there long enough to A) install them, and B) enjoy them.
Recycle Bins
Rainshower Head
We’ve seen them before, but haven’t thought much of them. We’re now sure our American friends who have them have been purposefully keeping the secret so there wouldn’t be a run on them at the Home Depot. We first had one in our AirBnB apartment in Ireland, and it was love at first shower. You’d think it would be annoying for all that water to be falling straight down on your head. How do you keep the water out of your face, after all? Somehow that’s not a big deal, and the result is simply wonderful. Ditch the pulsating, 30-spray combo water body chisel and get one of these. The bigger the shower head, the more little water-emitting nozzles, the better.
Towel Warmers
Also in several of the European bathrooms we’ve enjoyed can be found towel warmers, often used instead of towel racks. They are fed by the same forced hot water that warms their houses, and so perhaps doubles as the radiator for the bathroom. For just a few moments when we built our house back on Wild Turkey Cove in Gulfport we thought about getting an electric towel warmer, but opted for better kitchen cabinets instead. We had no idea what we’ve missed all these ensuing years. The kitchen cabinets could have come from Ikea for all we really care, but there’s nothing better than a piping how towel when stepping out of the shower, except of course to have followed a wondrous rain-shower.
Bidets
One final bathroom observation. We’ve said it for years: bidets are wonderful little fixtures. It’s beyond us why Americans, as obsessed with cleanliness as we are, haven’t embraced these. Unfortunately installing one takes forethought and they’re nearly impossible to retrofit into existing construction. We’re not sure if we’ll ever build a new house again, but you can be sure it will have a bidet if we do.
Electric Kettle
And finally, one small, manageable, Christmas-gift sized tidbit from the kitchen (a hint to our children here): the electric kettle. Until our arrival in York back in August, we heated water the typical American ways, meaning in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. In our apartment in York I spotted one of these contraptions and thought I’d try it out. My normal routine was to put the water on to boil, then clean and prepare our French press. Then, I’d stand around, maybe check my email, and wait until the water boiled to pour it into the press. In York, I barely had time to clean the plunger of our press before 10 cups of water were happily aboil. Seriously. These things boil full pots of water in seconds. For the picture above I timed it: 6 cups of water to the rolling boil you see above in 40 seconds.
We gotta have one of these, if not for the benefit of coffee and tea making, then for the simple joy of rapidly boiling water.
