Decent teapot  

clarification, please
Are you looking for a tea POT (for pouring tea into the cup) or a tea KETTLE (for heating water on the stove)?

Kettle is what I meant
Thanks for catching that.

homeportfolio
Seems to be a 'Guide to Contemporary Tea Kettles & Presses, Contemporary Tea Kettle & Press Brands, and Local Contemporary Tea Kettle & Press Showrooms"
http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/guide/Kitchen_Electrics/Tea_Kettles...

Good looking kettle
My money would be on the Mami kettle by Stefano Giovannoni, viewable at Unica Home.

Kettle vs. Pots
Ah well. I collect teapots, so I could innundate you with info on that subject. But, I can also give you some good info on what constitutes a well-designed kettle. Stainless beats any other material. Copper gets all nasty especially if your water is hard. (hi mineral content) Copper layered on the outside of a SS pots are good, though, they heat faster. Enameled ones eventually chip and the base metal rusts. As for shape, choose one wider than it is tall to get more surface area onto the heating element and quicker boiling times. Whistling kettles all seem to dribble when you pour, except for the 1950's one with the pull latch. (Revereware still makes them, I think.) I think this is a function of the spout angle, a good whistling angle is not a good pouring angle. Graves' kettle for Alessi dribbles rather badly in my experience. Pouring well seems to me to be one of the hardest design elements to get right, so be prepared to return pots that are dribblers. Mine is a Revereware "Proline" which is no longer made. I've had it for 15 years and it still looks good. I bought and returned several kettles until I found that one. The rejects were all dribblers. I've never thought to get another kettle, but I do like the Bodum Ottuni. It pours well too!

Hobbs. Russell Hobbs.
Said with the confidence of "Bond. James Bond."
One man. One kettle. One life.

I am cheating on my Hobbs with a copper hussy by the name of Simplex....
Anyone ever try a Simplex. It is hopelessly old, but seems some how "right."

Chantal Hohner
We have the Chantal Hohner 1.8-Quart Stainless Steel Tea Kettle (see link). I highly recommend it. We also went through several before deciding on this one. It manages to whistle, and pour well, also. We have it is the stainless Steel. What is most distinct about it is the "harmonica" whistle. It doesn't have a regular whilsle. If you notice the spout cover with the holes, it plays two diffrent harmonic tones when the steam blows through it, instead of the usual ear-splitting tea kettle screech. The one short coming (design flaw) is when it heats up, the handle gets very hot, and requires an insulated mit or at least a kitchen hand-towel to pick-up.

I love the harmonica and just gave my little boy
a Hohner to play with. Does it whistle something mournful like the mouth harp in Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower?" Or something more monotonic like a locomotive whistle? Either way, it seems like a fine kettle. But is it modern or post?

May not be your "cup of tea", but
I've enjoyed the Oggi Zephyr. I love the look, it pours great, and I think Target even carries it now.

That Oggi deserves a link to a pic...
and here is one. BTW, I like it very much.

Le Lapin designed by Nicolai...
Le Lapin designed by Nicolai Carels is a good design it will cost you aprox ? 15,- (=$18,-) you could check it here.
(click on consumer products)
His two colored cutting board is also great for practical reasons; use the white side for vegetables and the colored side for meat.
http://www.carels.nl

Eva Zeisel Kettle
The new MoMA catalog arrived today,
and on page 3 there's an interesting
stainless steel number.