Kim's personal links
MY FAVOURITE DECOR SHOPS IN OTTAWA
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kitchen remodel in my last house
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my twin sister's mostly kid's rooms decor blog
Today is another garden day. Unlike yesterday's post these gardens are more formal. Clipped and manicured, trellised and trained. Elegant and sophisticated and in dreamy far away climes. Olive groves glimpsed over stone walls, terracotta complimenting lush green grass. It's broad brush strokes and attention to detail. I'm in love with the fantasy of these glorious gardens by Paul Gervais.
A steady rain is falling outside my window. It has been a dry winter and any rain is a blessing. My mind is turning to the coming spring and it's a perfect time to look into the portfolio of San Francisco based Arterra Landscape Architects. Their work is contemporary and meaningful, sustainable and spirited. I love that they describe themselves as a "diverse and slightly quirky group of creative and nerdy individuals". Sounds just like the sort of design firm that I'd love to entrust my gardens to. This first family garden caught my eye but there are so many inspiring landscapes, big and small, after the jump.
Hi everyone and welcome to a new week on Desire to Inspire. I've been thinking of imperfection over the weekend. I went to see a house and I'm trying my hardest now to buy it. We should know in a few of days after the banks and building inspectors and valuers and agents have prodded and poked, massaged figures and stared down sellers. The house was built in 1860 and got me wondering about imperfection and the beauty of gently aged things. If we are successful I don't want to gut renovate but to slowly add my own layers to the old house. To leave a crack or an unevenly plastered walls. To cherish the footsteps worn in the cedar stairs. To gently clean the wood burning stove and live with the warped floorboards. I don't have photos yet to show you but instead I wanted to share the tattered beauty of another home, this one English, one of the locations from Oak Management. Why do we so often race in and rip out ?
I love gardening and really appreciate decent landscaping when I see it. I nearly had a coronary when Jeffrey of the firm Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture contacted us and I had a peek at his website. His landscape design skills are incredible and so freaking creative. His firm is based in Los Osos, California, and 'he has a strong conviction toward a “regional style”, encouraging the owners of his designs to celebrate where they live and create a stronger connection through their landscape'. I have a slightly different mindset living so far up north (unfortunately) that I love to use tropical plants (succulents are my favourites) so I can pretend I live somewhere far warmer. LOL. In any case, I'm not sure how feasible that driveway in the photo above is for Canadian climate when it would be covered in snow at least half the year and require shoveling but I'd LOOOVE something that non-traditional.
The quest for harmony, serenity and timelessness, atmosphere, universality and context drives the creative processes of Spanish architect Ramón Esteve. Think modern, creative, innovative and dynamic. To me they are monumental works, at one with their cultural history and the land on which they sit while providing a defence against the harsh elements. A fortress and a home. That's one way of justifying a spectacular pool ... it's the moat! So much more after the jump.
Wed, 11 Aug 2010