You Can Only Have One (Home Version)
10 home essentials. 0 regrets. (Which is a better record than I've had in most other areas of my life.) Plus a word on Challengers! And a request for you!
Maybe it’s because I’m a nosy editor at heart, but there’s something about other people’s mundane essentials that I just love. Do I want to know about your go-to mascara or the blush that changed your life? Sure, yes, absolutely. But that joy is small potatoes compared to the happiness I feel hearing about the less glamorous must-haves in your life.
Are you bonkers for a specific salt in a specific salt cellar? I’m desperate to know. Are you so in love with your potholders that your kitchen doesn’t feel like home unless they’re in the drawer? Tell me everything. Does this make me quite the opposite of half the internet, who have all decided they hate recommendation culture? No doubt, but I don’t care. These are the details that make my brain fizz with delight.
Because here’s the thing: I’ve learned such amazing things from other folks! Like the joy of Lands’ End’s extremely soothing Premium Supima Cotton No-Iron Bed Sheets (currently 30% off!), a suggestion that came from my friend Annie Meyers-Shyer’s amazing @thisoakhouse. Other people’s suggestions is also how I ended up buying the only attractive toilet brush in the world, via Sarah Sherman Samuel, who mentioned it in passing on Instagram stories, once. (Random, I know!) And what would I even wash my hands with if I didn’t have Compagnie de Provence’s fig soap, which I feel like every person has recommended at some point?
So with all of this in mind, I started thinking about what would make my You Can Only Have One: Home Edition list. As I’m sure you’ve gathered, YCOHO will be an ongoing series, and as always, I love hearing your favorites! So if there’s something in your home that you absolutely 11/10 recommend, please drop it in the comments? I adore having a record of your recommendations, and I know other readers appreciate it too!
Upcoming Stories: Per your request last week, I’m currently working on a story about spring/summer dresses, and just placed an enormous order of lovely linen dresses, so that’s coming. Sandals too. Also: I’m always so salty about Mother’s Day coverage, but I’m lightly pulling together some not-shitty options, in case you need something for the mom in your life.
And last but not least, I have a bigger, longer-term project in the works, which involves shopping for my most dreaded category: outdoor furniture. We are currently going through our first-ever home project: A full renovation of our front/backyards with the amazing team at Terremoto. We are making some incredible hardscaping and design changes, which also means I’m a month or two away from having to commit to outdoor furniture—a buying project that fills me with terror. If you have any tips, thoughts, or leads on good brands for all things outdoors, please drop me a comment?
Side Note: I went to a screening of Challengers with Lauren Sherman on Monday night, and enjoyed myself tremendously. (Also, as I’ve written a number of times, Lauren’s newsletter Line Sheet is legit the best thing you can spend your money on, period.) I highly recommend reading Lauren’s latest for a great take on the Jonathan Anderson-designed costumes, the latter of which puts a great cinematic spotlight on Loewe’s Flamenco Tote ($3150), via Zendaya’s character. Also, just here to say that Josh O’Conner—who played the younger Prince Charles in The Crown—kinda stole the show, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score is going to displace Run Lola Run as my go-to workout soundtrack.
As always, if there’s an item you’re shopping for or you need help sorting through the zillions of options out there, please don’t hesitate to drop me a comment and I will add it to my to-do list. (And why am I prompting you to comment? Because while I love DMs and always try to answer you there, my inbox is messy, and comments here are much easier for me to find and use as source material as I’m working on new things. Also, I love comments; they make me feel seen.)
YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE (HOME VERSION)
PAN: Staud Enameled Cast-Iron Frying Pan (normally $200; now $99)
I love to cook and have very specific feelings about my pans. But if tomorrow I had to give them all away, save for one, I’d keep my enameled Staub without question. Mine was a gift, and I didn’t think much of it initally, as I already owned and loved a cast-iron pan, the very affordable and hardworking option from Lodge. (Still love her!) I didn’t think the enameling would make much of a difference, but oh my god I was wrong.
The reality is while I love regular old cast-iron, for me, there is a level of care and maintenance that is required to keep the seasoning intact that I find…fussy. (Is this user error? Most likely.) That’s basically eliminated with this Staub pan, while it still gives you all of the benefits of cast-iron (beautiful browning, even cooking), hence why I adore it so much.
Side note: I personally prefer the larger size, but sadly it’s not on sale. That said, this one is excellent too!
Want more kitchen picks? I wrote about a few of them in late 2021, and upon re-reading, I still stand by (almost) all my selections here, though I’m a little less in love with my Great Jones pans these days.
HOME SCENT: P.F. Candle Co. Reed Diffuser ($29) in Wild Herb Tonic
I don’t love home fragrance. There. I said it. I’m not Team Candle, incense gives me a headache, and don’t get me started on other aromatic options. That said, I love this fragrance and understated diffuser from P.F. Candle Co.. The result is subtle, clean, and fresh—with hints of fir tree and citrus—which is pretty universally appealing.
LAUNDRY: Woolzies Organic Wool Dryer Balls ($20)
As a lifelong Bounce lover, I was oddly reluctant to give up my dryer sheets. But when I went through my best towels project, a handful of you, dear readers, nudged me to take care of them better and finally convert to wool dryer balls, which I use with the below essential oil. A few drops on the wool dryer balls and you’re good to go.
Young Living Essential Oil ($23) in Eucalyptus
Much like my disdain for most home fragrances, I was horrified by the majority of the essential oils I tried for our wool dryer balls. Blends were the worst, so I quickly pivoted to single-ingredient oils, and that has worked beautifully for our laundry. I’m a little trad here, so my go-tos are eucalyptus and lavender (not together, of course), and I like this essential oil brand best so far. (Fun fact: Once upon a time ago, a mutual acquaintance set me up to meet the legendary Donna Karan when I was in New York. She turned me onto the company's Thieves oil, and I have held a soft spot for the brand ever since.)
TABLECLOTH: Heather Taylor Home Tablecloths and Napkins ($88 for four napkins)
For me, most tabletop options seem to fall into one of two categories: bland or twee, and I’m not keen on either category. I’ve had enough tasteful beige for a lifetime, but I also am not interested in hyper-femme, doily adjacent tablecloths and napkins. Which is why I’m so obsessed with everything Heather Taylor Home is making, especially her collab with Domino. I bought the lilac and pomegranate tablecloth at the end of last year, and it is 1000% worth the investment. The colors are so rich, the material is a wonderful, heavy cotton that feels quite luxurious. PS: The site is having a limited edition sample sale right now.
VASE: Hawkins New York Essential Ceramic Vase ($30) in Blush
Flowers are (one of) my love language(s), and I’m always thrilled to have them in the house. That said, there’s little I loathe more than a clear glass vase, as the above-the-water beauty of the flowers are often compromised by the below-the-water stem degradation. Yuck. The obvious fix for this is simply to have opaque vases on hand, and of all the shapes and sizes I’ve tried, this small-but-mighty bud vase is my go-to choice. It has a great hand feel, the colorways are soft and lovely, and it makes for a wonderful present, whether that’s for Mother’s Day, a housewarming, or just a little something for your kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom.
STEAMER: Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam Handheld Steamer ($60)
A friend who works for a luxury fashion brand once told me that the European tailors who fit ready-to-wear runway samples on celebrities use Conair personal steamers for their work. And that sold me. Need more convincing? It’s also the model picked by both Wirecutter and New York Magazine’s The Strategist. Also, according to Conair’s site, this model gets hot enough to kill bedbugs, if that’s something that matters to you.
BATHROOM STORAGE: Dokot Seagrass Basket with Handles ($22)
While I love our home with my whole heart, it was built almost 100 years ago, so the storage situation leaves something to be desired. I’ve had to get creative about how I organize things, especially in our bathrooms. My solution for auxiliary roles of toilet paper? These inexpensive seagrass baskets. You can easily manipulate them to be bigger or smaller, and they also work for storing more elevated things like plants, should that be more up your alley.
WATER PITCHER: Nicholai Wiig Hansen Raawii Strom Jug ($130) in Freesia Yellow
This sunny ceramic pitcher was a gift from my husband, and we use it a shocking amount, especially during the warmer months when we eat outside most nights. It’s staunchly pigmented, perfectly proportioned, and holds a deceptively large amount of water. Would make for a fabulous vase, too.
CHARGER: Nekmit USB + USB-C 4-Port Charger ($32)
Our kitchen, like many, ends up being the defacto charging destination for a million different items, including the kids’ iPad, our phones, and more. This very slim, very low profile charger has two USB-C ports and two standard USB ports, which means there’s always a spot to power up. My husband also gave one of these chargers to my parents, who love it too.
Want more YCOHO home picks?
Bedding: For all things bedding, check out this story. The duvet mentioned is definitely a YCOHO, and I think it was worth every penny.
Towels: More recently, I went on a massive search for the best towels. All of the results for that quest are in this story.
Sheets: More thoughts on my beloved sheets are in this story
Mattress: And let’s not forget about the time I tested 34 mattresses to figure out which one I wanted.
Okay friends, that’s it for now. If you want to follow me on @hillarykerr, I’d love it. And if you have anything to say or ask (preferably nothing terribly mean), please drop me a note either via DM or in the comments below.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’m truly so glad you’re here. If you like what you’re reading, please consider sharing this newsletter. (And if you have the time to like it, that would mean a lot to me!) All products mentioned are independently chosen, and some may be affiliate links. Your support is appreciated.
I love all of these, but heads up that Young Living is an MLM, which is an exploitative business model. There are so many other great essential oil brands out there that work just as great!
Love by Staub Dutch Oven but I think I prefer my Lodge fry pan over the Staub one. My YCOHO are East Fork Everyday Bowls (the perfect bowl/plate hybrid) and the bitty bowls for tiny snacking and hosting.