The careful elimination and subtraction of gratuitous features and design unrelated to function

A few weeks ago, my old tea kettle boiled some water, sprung a spring and declared itself retired. I have since been on a quest to replace it -- easier said than done.

Thankfully, Muji has come to America.

A tea kettle does not get shuffled away into a cluttered, darkened purgatory in my kitchen. Sitting on top of the cook top, it is a prominent design element.

Unfortunately, all the mass market kettles I found seemed over-designed and just generally clunky. In trying to be clever with their selection, all the major retailers ended up with odd contraptions instead of simplicity.

Knowing I was going to be in New York City, I made a mental note to check out the new Muji flagship store in SOHO.

Muji's whole philosophy centers around simple clean design.

Forget the bold colors of Ikea or the kitsch design of most American retailers. Here you're talking white porcelain, recycled papers, simple design. They clearly put plenty of thought into their products, but choose not to flaunt it. As a bonus, they are environmentally friendly, especially with their stationary and clothing.

Having just opened this month, the new store was mobbed over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was still easy to appreciate the clean modern space. Unlike the flea market razing that other chic stores in SOHO embodied that day, there was a clear Japanese sensibility and order to the chaos -- even in the way they managed to get the hordes of customers to line up patiently to check out.

Most importantly, I found the perfect tea kettle.

It is genius in its simplicity and stainless-steel construction. It does without the traditional whistle, assuming you know how to keep track of boiling water yourself. The end result is a subtle design element that I am thrilled to use every day.

For clean modern basics, Muji is a reminder that bold simplicity can be the most modern design choice of all.