Objects and Ideas

Yes, opal engagement rings can be a good idea. This stone represents faithfulness, confidence, and creativity -- making the stone a fitting choice for an engagement ring. Opals, however, are not ideal for everyday wear.

Yes, painting kitchen cabinets is a great idea. Painting kitchen cabinets is quite economical and can give your kitchen a stylish, updated look.

Whether buying a used Rolex is a good idea is totally subjective. When it comes to contemporary luxury wristwatches, Rolex is also often the first brand that springs to mind, and Rolex vintage watches are equally popular among collectors. Buying a new, never-worn watch enables you to build a history with it that isn’t shared by anyone else. Still, the greatest advantage to buying a pre-owned watch is that it opens up a wider range of models to consider, including rare ones that have been discontinued. Shop a diverse assortment of Rolex watches on 1stDibs.

Starck's idea of social design influences his work by inspiring him to create pieces that add humor and surprise to homes. A great example is how he takes fine furnishings that once signified wealth and prestige and puts a fun new twist on them. You can see this approach in the polycarbonate Louis Ghost armchair derived from Louis XVI furniture and the Out-In chair, a futuristic take on the classic English high-back chair. His idea of social design also leads Starck to keep the price of many of his pieces as economical as possible. Shop a collection of Philippe Starck furniture on 1stDibs.

These are found objects that the artist intervenes. They are based on the fantasies and representations that can arise when subconscious acts are performed. They have a symbolic function and leave no room for formal concerns, but depend only on the imagination of each person.

Annie Leibovitz attempts to emulate natural light when taking portraits to capture a more natural and realistic impression. The goal is to pull as much character and personality out of her subjects while making a statement about the world at the same time. Shop a selection of Annie Leibovitz pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.

Many pieces could arguably be considered the most Surreal object that Dalí created. During his lifetime, the artist created a number of thought-provoking works like the Aphrodisiac Telephone, a mixed media sculpture that featured a lobster perched on a rotary telephone, and Surrealist Object Functioning Symbolically, a woman's shoe positioned in a glass of milk in a wooden frame accompanied by a box of sugar lumps, a spoon and an erotic photograph. Shop an assortment of Salvador Dalí art from some of the world's top galleries on 1stDibs.

Kartell started making plastic objects shortly after its founding in 1949. The company began as an industrial design firm, producing useful items like ski racks for automobiles and laboratory equipment designed to replace breakable glass with sturdy plastic. Even as companies like Olivetti and Vespa made Italian design popular in the 1950s, typewriters and scooters remained relatively costly. Kartell founders Giulio Castelli and Anna Ferrieri wanted to provide Italian consumers with affordable, stylish goods. They launched a housewares division in 1953, making lighting fixtures, kitchen tools and accessories from colorful molded plastic. Buoyed by its success in the home goods market, Kartell introduced its Habitat division in 1963. On 1stDibs, shop a wide range of Kartell furniture.

Najeonchilgi is a crafting method where colorful pieces of shellfish are inlaid on an object. For more than 2,000 years, Korean artisans have used it to produce furniture like cabinets and tables and small decorative objects like wooden boxes. Find a collection of inlaid wood furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

The inkstone was the most precious and permanent object in a Japanese writing set. It is a mortar used for mixing dry ink with water for the purposes of writing. You'll find a selection of Japanese writing boxes on 1stDibs.