Architect Murray Legge Gives Gifts That Elevate the Everyday

The cofounder of Austin-based design firm, Murray Legge Architecture, loves to highlight the extraordinary within seemingly ordinary spaces. His gift guide is no exception, giving us 11 exceptional ideas for the holiday season. Take a look through the architect's favorite products.

Looking for something else? Check out the rest of our holiday gift guides here.

"Aesop is a wonderful company. We’ve long been fans of the products, branding, and brick-and-mortar stores. They have created some great interiors. Their products are cruelty-free and never tested on animals. We love the Aesop Animal—our little dog Lucy has sensitive skin and with her long hair she needs frequent baths!"

"Elegant design that is both traditional and modern. We really love design pieces that are fresh and new but could have been made 100 years ago. We love the Serif Bench in Oak—its clever design makes for easy assembly and it is quite affordable."

"Chronicle Books is a wonderful book publisher and their selection of books makes for a great gift for readers. We’re fans of these sketchbooks and journals and use them daily. The wonderful Polaroid notebook cover design is based on the iconic 1960’s Polaroid package design by Paul Giambarba."

"As designers we are huge fans of landscape and look for opportunities to bring plants inside. We love having trees indoors—there’s a kind of magic to that, like a children’s fairytale where you wake up and find trees are growing inside the house. Plants are good for the soul."

"We have several Menu lights in our home and in our office. We love this portable rechargeable LED lamp, in fact, I gave one to my wife as a gift for her birthday. The fixtures are beautifully built and the color temperature is spot on."

"Hasami porcelain dinnerware is wonderful. The mugs are beautifully designed durable objects that you can use every day. We have a set of black 11 oz Hasami mugs in the office. They bring joy every day. The 11 oz glazed mug is nearly a prefect object."

"We created this prototype Soft Dog Den for a charity event to raise money to support animal shelters. Soft Dog Den is a comfortable indoor dog house made from 3/4" industrial felt with a colorful inner lining. It is formed from a single flat sheet of felt, wrapped into an ovoid den and fastened in one location. The inner lining is removable for cleaning, and can be swapped out for other colors."

"We spend a lot of time cooking in our house. I make bread every Sunday using this Dutch oven. In an era when we throw things away it’s a great feeling to use a tool on a regular basis that will last several life times. The Dutch oven, which was given to us as a gift, is an indispensable tool. They are also beautiful design objects, solid cast iron. Ours is ‘Marseille’ blue. Its deep blue rich glazed color lives up to its name."

"I’m from a family of gardeners. My mother Marion is an extraordinary gardener. She picked up those skills from my grandfather. My daughter has picked up the gardening gene too. Gardening tools are a great gift for the gardener in your family. We love these Japanese flower scissors for their functional, direct and lyrical design. We aspire to create buildings with this level of clarity, purpose and beauty. They are an inspiration."

"We’re fans of the classic 60’s design of Marimekko. The prints and super graphic textile design are extremely memorable and translate across different objects, from mugs, to table cloths to dresses. My wife Deb owns a couple of vintage dresses that were given to her by her mom JoAnn. My daughter has taken to them as well. My daughter loves the Sija Pioipensas dress. More than just a piece of clothing these dresses are bold supergraphic design objects. I don’t always get it right but I love to buy clothing as gifts for my wife and daughter."

"Felt is a wonderful material. Wool felt in particular is sustainable and extremely durable. I’m a fan of the lowly trivet. It’s a simple but very functional tool for place setting or while working in the kitchen. Wool is the ideal trivet material and comes in a range of wonderful colors."

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