For the table: Josef Hoffmann wine coaster

I use this wine coaster almost every night. Subtle and understated, it was designed by Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann in 1905. I bought it at the Neue Galerie in New York. The museum dedicated to early 20th-century German and Austrian art and design has a phenomenal gift shop with reproductions of many of the iconic pieces of Viennese design. (It is also home to Café Sabarsky, a great address for coffee and pastries or a light lunch -- and just across from the Metropolitan Museum.)

The nickel-plated pewter wine coaster is $125 online or at the shop. Hoffmann also designed a silver and lacquered rosewood version a few years later. The design is more refined and it costs about 10 times as much, a whopping $1,250.

I’m quite sure I prefer the nickel-plated pewter version. If you order now, it should come in time for Christmas.

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