Vertical Garden

Ryan and I were at Flora Grubb nursery this weekend to get inspiration for our spring planting.  We came across this vertical garden, which I cannot seem to get my eyes off.  It turned out they recently did a few installation across bay area including one at Flora's own courtyard and one at Bardessono Inn and Spa, a newly opened boutique hotel at Napa Valley. The view from the bed to the simple modern but yet serene courtyard especially appeals to me.



The bottom two images from Flora Grubb's website

Collage

I came across Ophilia Chong's work through Creature Comfort. I have to say this is one of the best collage works I've seen in a long time. I can see them framed and hung in my empty hallway.





Images from creature comfort

Bouquets to Art 2008 II

(continued)

The floral designers were under strict guidelines intended to protect the fine art from buggy, sluggy and cruddy elements sometimes found in floral containers and branches. Prohibited materials include some wooden objects, driftwood, dried wood, feathers, silks, wool and fruits. Dried plants and vines are discouraged. Despite the rules, there was still a wide range of styles, and floral materials used in the design.

Bouquets to Art 2008 I

We visited the De Young museum for Bouquets to Art over the weekend. It was such a visual feast for me. There were 150 stunning floral arrangements to interpret museum's collections from paintings, ancient vessels to sculptures. Some arrangements were more literal translation of their inspirational art pieces; some were designed to harmonize and complement the arts. I wonder how I could miss such an event in the past. But I know going forward this will definitely be added to my annual must-go list...

I heart....

I came across Mizue Hirano's website the other night and totally fell in love with her work - the gentle and fluid watercolor with pastel colors. They're just the right images for the spring season.

Japanese Ikebana Class

These images were shot at my recent Ikebana class - works of the advanced students. They were beyond my prior understanding of Ikenbana style. Before coming to the class, I thought Japanese flower arrangement was all about strictly sticking to the basic principles - with certain angles, number and length of branches and flowers. But I'm extremely happy to find out it goes beyond that. It's about mixing lines, forms and colors with variety of floral materials to achieve a balanced composition, proportion and beautiful negative space.

Robert le Heros

I’ve been in love with Robert le Heros, a fabric/design house, ever since I came across its home furnishing line at Lotus Bleu a few years ago. Their unique take on refreshing color combinations and modern patterns totally makes me smitten. But I sometimes find similarities between Robert le Heros and Amy Butler’s work either in color selection, the graphic patterns or the application of the fabrics. Robert le Heros might have a little bit more of European flair to it. Well, I guess great minds think alike.

On a recent visit to the Robert Le Heros website, I found out that it launched a vacation rental project – Casa Amarelo in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Like its website suggested, it is a place with beautiful ancient charms and contemporary fixture and aesthetics at the same time. Mixing old with new is definitely right up my alley. If I ever make a trip down there, this would be the place to stay. In the mean time, I can only drool over these delicious images.

Original images from Robert le Heros and Casa Amarelo

What is this???

What is this thing??? This is often asked by my coworkers when seeing it quietly sitting on my desk. It is --a tea infuser made by Tavolo, my recent score at Sur La Table. At first glance, I didn’t have any idea of its use either. I was simply attracted to its beautiful form and an elegant angle when it's placed on the table. When I realized that it’s a tea infuser, I knew I had to get one. It’s visually pleasing and also comes in handy at the office. You no longer need to be equipped with the entire tea set just for a good cup of tea to keep you from dozing off in the afternoon...

One of a Kind Nursery

We visited Flora Grubb Garden in SF this week. To get to this oasis in the industrial section of the city, you have to drive through the wholesale fresh produce district . It's definitely one of a kind nursery in my opinion. Not only will you encounter some unique species of plants, but you will find great selections of garden wares, garden design books, and outdoor furnitures. I especially love the multiple rows of bright colored outdoor chairs, displayed tidily on the wall. It creates such a dramatic impact for the setting. Ever since it moved to its current location early this year, we found ourselves hanging out here quite a bit, sometimes for a cup of good coffee, sometimes to simply enjoy its refreshing ambiance.

This one goes to Janjan!!

Hurray!! I think I just found my very first gift for my soon-to-born niece-Janjan!

I happily came across this cutie apple bunny the other night on Le Train Fantome. It is so adorable that I cannot get if off my mind. The vintage print, the fabric and handmade quality just hit my sweet spot. All of the creatures available at this UK based on-line store are designed and handmade by a French artist Fanja Ralison. These handmade dolls are too cute to resist...





Images from Le Train Fantome

Paper Paper on the Wall

It seems that lately from design magazines, newspaper to blogsphere, you cannot help but notice wallpaper has been making a huge comeback. When I think of wallpapers, I get the mental picture of the 1960-70s raised, embellished and dated patterns. I think that image has to do with the yellow-greenish wallpaper we once had at my parents' house. But what you will find today is a much wider range of designs from classic, modern to Avant Garde.

However, knowing myself, I’ll never commit a wall to any hard-to-reverse design ideas. Perphaps, just perhaps I can frame Lizzie Allen’s whimsical “changing guards at buckingham palace” or Hanna Werning’s “kastanjetrast” and hang them on our desperately empty walls. Warren is already complaining that my project list is getting longer and longer because he realized long ago that he is actually the person to execute them. Well, didn’t he notice the word–perhaps?

Images from Hanna Werning & Lizzie Allen

The Gardener, my all-time favorite store

The Gardener was mentioned in my previous posting but I think it deserves a place of its own. It's one of my must-visit stores on every trip to Berkeley. The store was founded back in 1984 by Alta, a former garden designer and photographer. It was originally intended to sell a collection of garden tools and hardware. Over the years, with Alta’s fabulous style and taste, the Gardener has evolved into a lifestyle store.

What you may find at the store today is a great pair of Japanese flower scissor, the local Heath dinnerware, a tribal Noah bell to an organic dinning table from Indonesia. With its well-edited merchandise collection and constant change in store display, no wonder many people come to it for gift ideas, a new piece of garden furniture or simply inspiration. Most importantly, the Gardener portraits a modern, organic indoor/outdoor living style, we Californians all long for.

The Gardener, my all-time favorite store.