Anthem Cafe & Bar in Japan

Winter is a good time to stockpile essentials; here are our picks for basic (and not-so-basic) white bath towels.

Discovered via Myles Henry: Tamiser Antiques in Tokyo, specializing in rustic artifacts from around the world, as well as glass pieces by Tokyo-based American glassworker Peter Ivy. To see more, go to Tamiser Antiques.

Several years ago, when architect Michiyo Yoshimura was looking for a quick escape with her husband and her infant son, she realized there was a dearth of child-friendly vacation options. She and her architect husband Yasutaka Yoshimura of Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects hit upon the idea of a weekly resort rental, and created a collection of seaside houses under the name Nowhere Resort.

Tokyo-based Jurgen Lehl—a German who has lived in Japan for several decades—is a textile and fashion designer; he also offers a range of housewares under the Babaghuri line, including these Hanging Vases suspended from rope that is handmade from the bark of the Japanese lime tree.

Lightweight and portable, there is poetry and practicality to these plywood accessories made in Japan.

De rigueur for the Eastern-inspired kitchen: cookware from Tokyo-based designer Makoto Koizumi, made of white enamel coated steel with maple wood handles.

The fine art of everyday objects comes to the forefront at Kanaami-Tsuji, a Japanese company offering handmade wire strainers in patterns like "chrysanthemum" and "tortoise-shell."

Spotted on Dezeen: a low-cost kitchen by Tank Architects of Tokyo, designed for a couple with a passion for cooking but a limited budget.

We did a double take when we spotted this home on Design Boom: It looks like a conventional two-story house from the exterior, but inside it's a giant loft.

Some of our favorite living spaces feature oversize Akari globe lanterns, designed by Isamu Noguchi, suspended from the ceiling like moons.

After working in fashion for more than two decades, Takashi Takahashi opened Classico in the Yanesen district of Tokyo a couple of years ago, offering "antiques, clothes, craft, and life." Among his wares: artisan-made ceramics, driftwood carved sculptures and mobiles, and a collection of vintage books.

We are, admittedly, obsessed with storage hooks; a recent post over at Martha Stewart reminded us of one very useful type: swing hooks.

In Japan they take their bread very seriously—at Panscape in Kyoto, baking is elevated to an art form.

Arts & Science owner Sonya Park believes all good fashion is based on vintage workwear.

If one day you find yourself in the Česká Lípa district of the Czech Republic, look for a pine forest. And a calm, dark lake shaped like an "S." On its grassy shore sits the Black Teahouse.

Architects love stairs: it's a chance to create sculpture in a domestic environment. Here are some of our recent favorites.

Located on San Francisco's foggy periphery near Ocean Beach, Outerlands is as much a gathering spot for sand-dusted surfers as it is a destination for Bay Area foodies.

Modern interpretations of Native American dreamcatchers, via Brooklyn-based Electric Love, made from elemental materials.

New at Anthropologie: Hand-forged iron hooks with a rustic Wild West appeal.

Joshua Tree boasts an otherworldly terrain, but accommodations in California's high desert can be decidedly down to earth.

Moon Rhee and Hey Ja's loft on Rivington Street in NYC makes us want to paint our floors desert-bone white.

Dutch phenom Marcel Wanders was the first designer we spotted wearing a man necklace (it was a couple of years ago at ICFF in NYC). Since then, we've been noticing stylish males decked out in strands of turquoise, leather, feathers, tribal beads.

You couldn't invent designer Matt Dick; his approach to style is so personal, so particular, so unexpected. Although he was born and raised in the Bay Area, Matt is clearly a citizen of the world.

Whenever we need a dose of architectural inspiration, we head over to Michael Cannell's House Vote, which is where we discovered this otherworldly outdoor dining pavilion by Herbst Architects.