Asian Culture Centerpieces

The photographs displayed were from the Asian Culture Festival. The arrangements were created with fresh flowers and various parts of stems and twigs , and a lovely assortment of beautiful vases! These are gorgeous.. Enjoy!What great ideas for centerpieces, these could also be created using silk floral . I love the dramatics of the height and unusual flow of the stems and folia...

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Clean Lines and Light

Maybe it’s the less than exuberant state of the economy, or perhaps the nation’s growing affection for all things organic, or the imperative to go green. Whatever the drivers, the latest crop of coveted kitchens and baths gives a definitive nod to soothing simplicity. Clean lines, natural finishes, and economical choices were once again bountiful in this year’s Watermark awards, and daylight remains a central ingredient. In the quest for serenity, many designers and home buyers are stripping away the excess and embracing elemental palettes of glass, metal, stone, and wood. They’re also dispensing with some of the old ideas (about work triangles, galley kitchens, and cabinet configurations, for example) and rethinking the rules. This year it’s...

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Spring Fever

I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am ready for spring. I have trudged through enough snow, sleet and 5 degree temperatures to last me a lifetime! It has been the coldest in NC in 30 years so enough already!!!!I've purchased my first ferns and flowers and WOW would love this patio design...think about it...remove the plants in this photo and it doesn't have the same feel of warmth and serenity. Plants, plants and more plants surround you with nature, which is why we go outside in the first place..creating that garden room inside your home calls for the same treatment...so go ahead bring nature into your rooms...add a waterfall for effect, inside or out. Don't forget the bird feeder and birdbaths, right now we are visited by birds, squirrels,...

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Glass Houses

Talk about a room with a view!!!!!!!!!!A home with an open atrium is such a focal statement, talk about serenity!!!Don and Jeanine Cooksey worked with architectural designer Wallace Cunningham to conceive a house for their La Jolla, California, land—a lot that was thought to be unbuildable. The structure, which has four bedrooms and six baths and is done in white concrete, stainless steel and glass, straddles a dramatic coastal canyon. Above: The master suite’s lounge overlooks the courtyard near the center of the building. Cunningham situated it in an enclosed bridge, giving the outdoor room an open sightline to the horizon. Embedded in the courtyard-terrace floor is a line of glazed blocks that light an underground parking area.I've always...

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Featured Home for April 2009

I am featuring my sister's home this month which displays her Pennsylvania style living and a few room makeover ideas which should inspire you for that spring home project.Quaint Pennsylvania architecture defines the setting as we tour my sister's traditional style home which is surrounded by a local golf resort community. The view from the garden room patio located on the second floor of the home overlooks the golf course, which she and her husband frequents. The lower level is an exercise room/wine cellar/lap pool/guest room combination. The top level is the master suite/offices/and guest room. Of course the featured room in the home is the kitchen/living area, which is rich in reds, turquoise and deep tans to compliment the walnut stained...

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Latta Plantation

Between the period of time James Latta and William A. Sample owned the home is when my Aunt lived in the house which we referred to as the"Sample" house. In the early 60's my family lived at the now, Latta Plantation, which has been restored to it's original state in historical history. When my family lived there it had a wrap around porch and a large kitchen that has now been removed for the restoration . It was the years of Buddy Holly , Chubby Checker and Doris Day movies, we wore poodle skirts and had wiener roast with bonfires on the lawn. And, yes, I can say we picked cotton in the local fields , which was for fun, yet in it's time it was a productive cotton farming plantation. Now this part of history displays it's natural historical...

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