The Best Watering Can Although they admit that a watering can is a luxury (any old pitcher will do the trick) having a good watering can does make the chore easier. They recommend the Haw Bosmere V115 5-liter because it “produces a gentle rain the spindliest seedlings could love.”

Image converted using ifftoany

Here we are building the frame using polystyrene sticks.

Here's a foretaste of what we can expect from Mendelsund's treatment of the complete Kafka.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

The X3 watering can by Paul Loebach for Kontextür is a minimal vessel inspired by Eastern European motorcycles, and the company’s first product for use outside of the bathroom, $120.

Aldo Bakker designed a watering can that's reduced to the simplest shape possible.

The bedroom is located on a mezzanine just below the roof of a church. The minimal decor and simple arrangement of the room reflect the client’s modest tastes. The small pewter spotlights and pendant by Holloways of London connect to an exposed galvanized conduit that is set against the brick above the bed.

On Vashon Island, about 20 miles southwest of Seattle, architect Seth Grizzle designed a 440-square-foot multiuse structure for his clients Bill and Ruth True.

The Trues host parties in the glass-walled structure, located steps from their vacation home, or they escape to it to catch some rays and read a book. Bill reclines on cushions hidden under the reclaimed-fir floorboards that are propped up with Sugatsune hinges.

Upstairs is a sleeping loft, accessible by a spiral staircase. A digital projector makes it possible for the couple to watch movies against the opposite wall.

Tall indigenous wetland grasses grow fecund, right up to the border of the saltwater swimming pool.

Beyond the second-floor landing, a garden roof filters rainwater and provides insulation.

Here's the Montrachet glass we used to taste the Ceja Vineyards chardonnay.

Corrugated siding usually used for roofing is used for the exterior.

"We really love to cook and much of our home life revolves around our kitchen. When we have friends over it’s great to buzz around here; it’s almost like a cooking show. We’re a very equal couple. We wanted the kitchen island to be a single form that we could both use. We can both cook and we can both wash the dishes. The whole thing is really easy to clean as it’s just one main surface that you can wipe down. So the preparation surfaces, the hob [cooktop], and the sink are accessible from both sides. It’s a simple, fun, form-follows-function principle: Store, wash, prepare, cook, eat."

Maggie Treanor waters plants around her rural home.

Mila designed the home’s concrete pool, which is finished with a custom plaster. The pool area includes sleek chairs from Cast + Crew.

LeMae and Vigil extended their environmentalist leanings outdoors. “In landscaping, we thought a lot about low-water and native plants,” LeMae explains. “The lawn we selected needs 50 percent less water than a normal Kentucky bluegrass lawn.”

The off-grid MU50 is topped with solar panels and solar thermal panels. Ground-source heat pumps support underfloor heating and cooling, while a nearby well supplies water. A desalination system provides drinking water, and rainwater is collected for landscape irrigation.

Constructed using a single tube that is bent three times to create the handle and pour spout and then soldered onto a metal can, the x3 Watering Can is an elegant and modern upgrade to a plastic or silver tone metallic watering can. Of it, Santos says, "Art and function in one—there's no need to hide this watering can under the sink when you're done using it."

De Waart added a chalkboard to the kitchen for writing memos and for drawing, as Tammo does here.

Here's what the kitchen looked like before.

Landscape architect Charles M. McCulloch designed pathways of locally sourced decomposed granite that lead to accessible, raised planting beds, a request from the Mahers, who are avid gardeners.

Designed by Paul Loebach for Kontextur, the x3 is actually a single metal tube bent three times to create a handle and spout.

At the pavilion devoted to Design for Humankind, innovative products emphasized an expanded notion of design for all populations. Moen's Folding Teak Shower Seat and OXO's Good Grips Salad Spinner and Indoor Pour & Store Water Can caught attendees' eyes, along with photographs of Dwell-featured homes such as Orchard House in Sebastopol, California.

The studio is clad in corrugated tin, echoing the adjacent water-storage tanks, which collect and filter rainwater off the roof.

"When I was furnishing the place, I made sure it’d also be a good place for art," Judin tells FvF. "After that, I considered my other passions: cooking, for example. My kitchen is the heart and center of the house."

A 41-foot-long heated saltwater pool includes a submerged tanning ledge. The hot tub was created using concrete and stucco. The outdoor area includes lounge chairs from Jøna’s curatory, Cast + Crew.

Suttles and Shah readied the house for photovoltaic panels, a solar waterheating system for the pool, and a rainwater collection setup.

Designed for an artist and entrepreneur client, this guest house features lots of light, access to the outdoors, and an industrial vibe.

When he moved in, Judin noticed that his existing furniture fit right into the new space—many pieces are also from the '50s. See more images here.

This home in a former Chicago church fully utilizes an original stained-glass window in its light-filled kitchen.

Do North Water Bottle, $28 at askovfinlayson.com For the eco-conscious traveler, there's this stainless steel 27 oz. design from Askov Finlayson. With each purchase of this bottle (or other The North products available from Askov Finlayson), the Minneapolis-based company makes a donation to the organization Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy, which is dedicated to fighting climate change. The bottles' inteirors are electropolished to not retain or impart flavors; they come in black, blue, and green.

Here's a wider view of the exterior.