A Different Twist

Give your usual grind some new twists and turns with wood pepper mills by Robert Wilhelm.

The sycamore mills are shaped, carved and painted by Wilhelm, so each one is unique. The designer, who lives in Orange, drops color into the hand-carved markings and indentations for a more richly decorated mill.

For instance, Wilhelm carves in the white stripe, and the black stripe is left raised for texture.

“Once I shape it and sand it smooth, I use a hammer tool to put grooves into it,” says Wilhelm, who grew up in Flint, Mich., where he worked on the motion picture “Roger and Me.”

“I focus on a few different styles, geometric patterns, black and white stripes, and almost all of them fit into any color or [decorating] scheme.”

Wilhelm, 42, literally stumbled into the pepper mill business.

While working on some art for the interior of his brother David’s restaurant, Chimayo in Fashion Island Newport Beach, Robert Wilhelm was experimenting with three-dimensional abstract totem poles.

While mulling over the shapes, the pepper mills came to mind. These days, his pieces are found in other restaurants throughout Southern California.

Wilhelm’s mills (about $80) are available through the Gallery Luna Loca, 34700 Coast Highway, in Capistrano Beach, (714) 489-3299, or by calling Wilhelm at (714) 744-3253.

Crowning Touch

To bring a brimful of light into your boudoir, consider this hat lamp.

Designed by Mata Baumiller, the handmade natural straw shade, adorned with a black ribbon, sits on a black metal tripod. It’s a way to usher in the spring season.

The 12-inch-high hat lamp ($90 each, two for $170 plus shipping and handling) is available through the Ross-Simons catalog.

For more information, call (800) 348-4414.

Lighten Up

Sometimes one of the darkest spots in the house--the bathroom--is the one room where you need the most light.

Robern, a leading manufacturer of bathroom accessories based in Bensalem, Pa., has added wall mirror halogen lights to its line. The halogen lights are designed to provide subtle down lighting and work with any Robern wall mirror.

The lights ($419 for a pair, $559 for three) are sold in kits of two or three chrome-on-brass pendants. They attach behind a wall mirror and overhang the front of the mirror. They use 12VAC halogen bulbs up to 50 watts. The fixtures also can be used with a dimmer switch.

For more information, call (215) 245-6550.