Modern pieces with a hush-hush past

At first glance, the nine framed art pieces on the wall of Noho Modern look like lost LP record covers from the early 1960s -- especially the one that resembles Jimmy Durante impersonating the Lone Ranger. Look a little closer, however, and you’ll discover these boldly graphic designs ($325 each) from the same era are actually security reminders for the employees at the Ramo-Wooldridge Corp. and its subsidiary Space Technology Laboratories -- Cold War versions of World War II posters like “Loose Lips Sink Ships.”

Having recently added a room to their home gallery, which includes a contemporary clothing boutique, partners Jeremy Petty and Thomas Hayes also have expanded the offerings at Noho Modern (11225 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, [818] 505-1297) to incorporate “important furniture designers and significant art.” After the success of their exhibition of hard-edge paintings by June Harwood, Petty and Hayes have unearthed the 1970s painted, dowel-constructed wood sculptures of C. Anthony Eck (the work shown here is $1,200). The pieces sit comfortably amid furniture by Denmark’s Hans Wegner, Lucite pioneer Charles Hollis Jones and California modernist Milo Baughman (sofa, $1,500).

This summer, the duo plan their largest art installation yet, a collection of sculptures by Northern California wood turner James Prestini, “one of the first sculptors to make standardized architectural elements from industrial suppliers into pieces of fine art,” says Hayes.

-- David A. Keeps

It’s ready for liftoff -- of dust

The DC11 Telescope see-through vacuum is a $500 steel and yellow canister that looks like a jet pack ready to be strapped on for a trip to the future. It landed in stores this month.

Like the Dyson company’s DC07 upright introduced in the U.S. last year, this bag-less model uses miniature cyclones that don’t lose suction power, no matter how full the bin gets. But one of its biggest draws is the DC11’s size: At just 14 pounds, it can curl up into a 17-inch-wide cupboard -- and still look cool. For more information, go to www.dyson.com.

-- Janet Eastman

Apply some pain remover

In house painting, cleaning up and working out all those aches and pains afterward often take more time than the act of applying brush to wall.

The new Handy Paint Pail seeks to solve both those problems in one stroke.

The container, which has an adjustable strap handle, holds a gallon of paint -- close to the task at hand, rather than in a larger can sitting on the ground.

Should you want to take a break, a magnet inside the pail will hold the brush.

The pail -- $8 to $10 at the Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams and other stores -- is also sold with a pack of four disposable plastic liners for $2.99.

-- Scott Sandell