Even if cute isn't your thing, it's hard to resist mice that add a little Bohemian chic to the Christmas tree. We gave this pair an ethereal tree of their own -- handblown glass grapes, actually, that we stood up in planter of pebbles. Mice $12 a piece, glass tree $38, Colcha, 1416 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 392-3600

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Gift picks for the home: blankets, bowls, birdhouses and more

Even if cute isn’t your thing, it’s hard to resist mice that add a little Bohemian chic to the Christmas tree. We gave this pair an ethereal tree of their own -- handblown glass grapes, actually, that we stood up in planter of pebbles.

Mice $12 a piece, glass tree $38, Colcha, 1416 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 392-3600 (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

It certainly makes a splash: The silicone Dropp! bowl by the design firm Menu. It’s 10.5 inches in diameter and available in gray, milk white, lime green, hot pink and baby blue.

$50, A+R, 171 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, and 1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (800) 913-0071 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Organic Modernism has a limited run of these bronze “working woman” statuettes.

$150, 315 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 525-0911 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Giant snail shells play host to a different bit of life: air plants that even a brown thumb could keep alive.

$29.99 including wire hanger at Kellygreen, 2149 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 353-0488 (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Roger Lee, an apprentice to potter Adam Silverman at Heath Ceramics, has been finding an audience for his own designs, which include serving bowls and hanging planters with great palettes and textures. The vase pictured here was $68 at Platform, 5027 York Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 793-9037. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Roger Lee’s vase shown with a bowl and hanging planter in the same finish. All the pieces shown here were bought for less than $100 at Platform, 5027 York Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 793-9037. The store also carries painted ceramics that Lee makes with Kat Hutter, who blogs under the name Paint + Clay. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Old 35mm slides form the lampshade for this photogenic fixture at the Green Gypsie. The store uses vintage bases to create lights with shades in three sizes.

$95 to $165, the Green Gypsie, 526 1st St., Claremont, (909) 260-5542 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Angela Rossi gives vintage china amusing, hand-painted updates that run from the surreal (wildlife in Victorian garb) to the kitschy (pop culture icons such as Mr. T surrounded by floral frills).

$20 to $200 per plate, the Green Gypsie, 526 1st St., Claremont, (909) 260-5542 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)