Printemps

As I look outside my window, to see a whole city covered in a blanket of snow, I’m reminded of Bing Crosby, Christmas carols and all things holiday.  Yet, the presents under the tree have been opened for some time now, the ornaments gone, and lights properly put away. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love winter, being from Colorado; I love skiing down the slopes of Breckenridge and walking in my snow-boots to Starbucks.  I love everything from the first frost to the last flake falling.

But spring, if you’re reading this… can you come visit soon? 

 

Garden Plans

The world is anticipating your inevitable return and causing me to miss the warm(er) weather. Not merely the warm breeze, but the color green! My favorite reads on this frigid day was anything garden, with the likes of Carolyne Roehm, Robert Norris, Privet Home and Garden along with Suzanne Cummings and her images of her hand tied bouquets. I couldn’t help but to daydream of white gardens, the scents, textures, accents, charm and finally entertaining in the coming spring.

Maiden Hair Fern

With that constantly in the back of my mind, I want to decorate the house with Maiden Hair ferns under cloches, pick out seeds, and rework the garden landscape. I daydream of spring’s potential. Nothing would make me happier than being able to start growing a few Paperwhite bulbs on the kitchen windowsill or placing them strategically around the house utilizing my collection of white pottery.

 

Where have those strong wheat grass blades gone that I took for granted during the summer? It’s time to start growing, don’t you think? 

Our good friend and Chicago’s premiere florist Ms. Suzanne Cummings brings her training with designer Jane Packer of London and her personal esthetic to every creation. When she’s not running about town, Suzanne can be found at http://www.suzannecummingsflowers.com

 

 

Mr. Robert Norris not only designs spectacular classical homes at http://www.spitzmillerandnorris.com throughout the country, he gardens. He has taken this hobby to the next level with grounds and combinations that will absolutely inspire. I met Robert on Facebook a while back and I’m so happy I did.

 

After all, magazines are starting to pile up. I’m simply running out of storage space for all of these articles. In my attempt to organize, I divide the catalogues and magazines into three categories: fashion, color, and garden. (The slow return of the season is definitely not helping my floor plans.)

With each turn of the page, I let my imagination run wild with landscape plans…

One of My favorites spots for Home and Garden. Privet Home’s goal is to provide and serve clients with those often "impossible to find pieces", pieces which are destined to become family heirlooms. If you haven’t checked them out you can find them here, http://www.privethome.com/

 

 

 

Usually, I’m against rushing the seasons. Enjoy them while they’re here is what I tell my family and friends. However, in the case of spring I’ll allow this one exception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structure

Moldings establish scale and proportion in any room, and communicate the owner's taste. Photography courtesy of Brent Hull, Hull Historical 

   I began thinking about this single word "structure" and how it applies to design. At first, a very easy task, after all we use it almost every day. I couldn’t have been more incorrect. What I found was quite different from my initial thought. I began referencing the objects we live and surround us in our homes.  I got lost in the details; A carved leg, a surface design, a color….Almost every design has been influenced by “organic structure”. First was the apparent, a curling fern, the acanthus leaf, even the fullness of a bloom. My idea of structure grew from here.
  Most of you know my love for the beach and how I’ve incorporated the lifestyle into almost everything. In my home, besides the driftwood mounted on the wall (you’ve heard that one before) I have a collection of rustic oars hanging on a Robins Eggs Blue wall. The painted surface designs scattered about emphasize the always inspiring structures of English gardens. One of which is in this journal entry; a surface design intended to be a print for scarves, complete with Latin botanicals that I created. As if that weren’t enough, I even planted Sea Oats outside my kitchen window just for the texture and color last weekend. I’m looking forward to it taking hold and providing another visual opportunity. Perhaps it’s just another way of introducing structure into my personal space, but I find that details make the worthwhile difference of making house a home. How will you incorporate it into yours?
 
Michael Fogs 42" Faux Bois Bench. Utilizing materials to create impossible forms

 

Live willow fence

Jane Churchill

 

French Design, More information in the "Own the Look" tab.

 

 

Krause Music Store, Chicago, Illinois, 1922 — William Presto and Louis Sullivan.

 Louis Sullivan’s last commission as an architect before his death in 1924.

 English Tudor Garden Study: Michael Ryan Design

 

Orange Tree in Bronze: Andrew Zega & Bernd DamsThe Art of Topiary

Stunning latitudinal view from one sitting room through the foyer, on into a beautiful living room, and finally out to a gracious patio area in a home in Rye, New York by Mark P. Finlay, Architect.