As my mom is fond of saying,  to quote Benjamin Franklin, "A place for everything, everything in its place." If only it was that easy in a New York City apartment, if only.  I have a thing for decorative boxes, one of the easiest ways to put this phrase into action. They have the ability to elevate a setting, and add a design moment when set atop a stack of books on the coffee table or on the shelf of an etagere. They also create storage for small objects, a reason to desire them even more. The antidote to clutter, they provide a place to tuck away necklaces and stray earrings, as well as business cards that need corralling.  Taking snazzy luxe materials and transforming them, Addison Weeks, started by close friends, Southerners Lee Addison Lesle and Katherine Weeks Mulford,   creates decorative brass boxes encrusted with semi-precious stones. Brass is hot/hot/hot again. The gals also design terrific jewelry that my friend Holly Phillips of The English Room told me about. It is hard to choose just one of these boxes, since the slightly bohemian pieces look even more amazing together, sparking aplenty. My choice? The rectangular version with gobs of single stones covering the surface. It is a more is more statement, but on a coffee table, it will stand out from the sea of books.

Photo courtesy of Addison Weeks

A large brass box with dazzling Aqua Chalcedony pieces is lined in blue velvet.

The Bendall Box, covered in Ocean-blue labradorite.

A medium rectangular box with a rectangular Lapis on the lid

For stark contrast, a darker stone.

For earrings or desk necessities, a small square box with a blue turquoise on the top.

with a faceted Chalcedony...

or Moonstone...

A round box with teardrop shaped Turquoise.

Rose Quartz, Labradorite and Green Turquoise.