Design

I was thinking about night (and evening) flowers today. A number of plants have flowers that open up in the evening, or are most fragrant in the evening. Usually, they're pollinated by night-flying moths or beetles or in warm tropical regions, bats. A common denominator is fragrance; moths have a keen sense of smell through their feathery antennae, so flowers that open in the evening often have agreeable scents. Think about evening primrose, magnolias, four-a-clocks, gardenias, moonflowers, tuberoses, fringetree, and a host of others. They all are fragrant, and luminous in the evening. A lovely book, The Evening Garden: Flowers and Fragrance from Dusk till Dawn by Peter Loewer is a great reference. It was republished by Timber Press in 2002, so copies are still available. It's an excellent guide to creating an evening garden.

Simply Elegant Home Designs has added an Interior Animation of their Hudson Cottage house plan.  The home includes an open family and friend gathering room accomodating cooking, eating and sitting areas.  The space features a vaulted wood ceiling with exposed truss framing.

We really hadn't planned on a small bog garden, but happened on a display of carnivorous plants at a local plant festival. The keen young proprietor had many of our native pitcher plants, sundews and some Venus fly traps, along with some Australian insectivorous species. Most had been propagated by tissue culture, he said, and my gardening companion was entranced (he knows all about our native bog plants from an ecological point of view). He set to work digging a hole. Native bogs and savannah habitats are a wonderful aspect of the Southeastern U.S. When we lived in SE Georgia, the few remaining bogs were (and are) meccas for plant lovers. Here in South Carolina, we have the same pine savannah bogs, but also mountain cataract bogs, supporting a range of rare species. Once widespread, coastal plain pitcher plant bogs have declined because of drainage, development, agriculture, etc. Wetland protection has helped some, but bogs are still rare and threatened here in the U.S., as w...

What if the Wright way, is the wrong way? Eero Saarinen as the Greatest American Architect Heather Bourgeois Without even realizing it, people move throughout spaces, sitting, standing and existing. They cook, clean, sleep, eat and shower in the spaces of their homes, work and other buildings. These places are filled with furniture. And while these spaces and furniture may seem unimportant and cluttered with stuff, they have an affect on our lives. The space we live in and the furniture that is in it directly affects how we feel about our lives, our moods and the way we live our day. One of the ways we are directly affected is through the idea of comfort. Whether we have a good night’s sleep or bump our heads on the top of a cabinet, slam our fingers in our dresser drawer or trip up our stairs, our days are dependent on our comfort and our coexistence with the things that fill our space. The people in the art world who design the objects that have this effect on our lives are furnitur...

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One of the best virtual interior design applications we've seen was recently launched by Autodesk Labs Project Showroom . Their virtual showroom has a photo-like quality to it and it renders changes in color and product quickly. The rooms and products are very limited but it's fun to play with and I'd love to see a big-box retailer get behind this. We can see it being useful at home as well as in-store at point-of-purchase. [via Kitchen Design Notes ]

Garlic, radish, potatoes, snap peas, and a couple of hay bales ready to plant Abundant rain this winter and spring (hooray!), along with some very warm days over the last week, has the vegetable garden growing rapidly. I might actually be able to try cooking some fresh favas (broad beans) this year. There are a few pods on the small number of plants that overwintered. These plants came from seed sown in early February --it'll be interesting to see if they're able to set any fruits before our hot weather sets in. Fall planting followed by overwintering is usually the best method in our climate, but this year's cold winter zapped that! Right now, there are more greens than we can eat directly -- the mustards, Asian greens, and older salad mix will become stir-fries; younger lettuces, spinach, purple mustard, arugula, and green onions, we'll eat fresh. The garlic and onions are looking very promising, and the potato foliage looks great. I'll be planting squash and...

Design spa furniture the seat this was the place design that was perfect for maintenance medical treatment foot with the seat and that had the support to despise the back and the head made comfortable when you spoiled yourself with design that was beautiful. furniture .

Contemporary coffee table Custom Corian Coffee Tables from Stuart Melrose the coffee table that was beautiful with the clear color and in my opinion the very beautiful and perfect seat luxurious to design the layout in your house and what when you be attracted by design this to learn more complete information was here I only showed came back design furniture that was good to home you.

This so beautiful and neat bed that in equipped with the bookcase and accessories that could be despised by you in wall,what also the collection design furniture that was chosen by you did not make the impression that was solid to your house according to me design this bed has been very perfect and luxurious when you had wall that was the same as the color of the bed was possibly good for the collection in the house and appropriate in had, when you liked and be attracted by design this to in more detail information was here because I possibly had was wrong in giving information about this bed.

Here are a few images from the native plant collections at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville. An tough and adaptable wildflower, Green and Gold ( Chrysogonum virginicum ) thrives in conditions from dry dappled sunlight to damper edges; some plants (from northern populations) are much more upright than the prostrate rosettes common in southern populations. These plants, growing in relatively high rich soil, look robust. Firepink ( Silene virginica ) must be challenging to move - I seldom see it for sale as a tranplant. Otherwise, it would be more common as a garden plant! And Iris cristata always is lovely.

This beautiful "azul" dining room belongs to Ana Cristina Antunes, a TV producer in Portugal (fittingly, her show is basically a Portuguese version of Extreme Makeover Home Edition). She sent me these images as we both share the same passion for blue. I'd say that's definitely true from the looks of this room! For more images of her stunning home, hop over to Elements of Style . You won't be disappointed!

A weekend in the mountains of North Carolina rewinds spring. As we climb up in elevation (from about 1000 ft. in Clemson, South Carolina to the 3000 ft. + mountains surrounding Asheville (about 2000 ft.), the leaves in the forest become smaller, the catkins on the oaks and hickories (achoo!) are still in bloom, and it's peak spring wildflower season again. The Botanical Gardens of Asheville, next to the UNC-Asheville campus, has been a favorite place of ours to visit for the last 15 years. A native plant garden established along a beautiful stream on a sloping, boulder-rich site over 50 years ago, it's a wonderful place to see an abundance of native plants -- wildflowers, shrubs, and trees both in natural and garden settings. Now run as an independent non-profit, it seems to be doing well. We only joined last year, when we came on an afternoon that the Botanical Center was open, but we've had such pleasure in visiting over the years, just being a basic member is hardly ...

Simply Elegant Home Designs is offering a new house plan called the "Hudson Cottage" . This home design is their first plan that offers a main floor master suite and the opportunity for one level living. The Hudson Cottage offers an open floor plan with connected spaces that are perfect for cocktail parties, family gatherings or just hanging out with your friends. The images below depict the new design. You can obtain more information on this plan and others at Simply Elegant Home Designs .

We're well past our last frost date, and unusually warm weather has jump-started the soil temperatures, I hope. It's been exceptionally windy this week, hard on young warm-season vegetables. I've been too busy to get recently purchased transplants (Lao round green and white; Thai green-striped, Thai round green, and a variety of peppers and tomatoes) in the ground, and I didn't think the soil was warm enough, either for them. I guess I could have checked, but I was still too busy -- largely encouraging other gardeners.... The seeds for the eggplants came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I hope they produce some of the delicious small eggplants that we've enjoyed in SE Asia. Along with a lemon grass plant from another plant sale, I'm prepared for Asian stir-fries. I tucked eggplants and peppers into larger nursery pots, getting ready for a weekend away in the mountains, but put most of my tomatoes directly in the ground this evening. I can't say that...

From February 4 to February 7, the Stockholm International Fair will host the Stockholm Furniture Fair , featuring exhibitions of modern design as well as a number of guest speakers and seminars. The show will feature seventeen designers, from well-established names to young talents, from traditional modes of construction to state-of-the-art technologies. You can't miss 'Riot,' a lamp designed by Janne Kyttanen as part of the FOC (Freedom Of Creation) collection which uses Megaman energy saving recyclable bulbs. Other highlights include Angela Staps' floating lamp shade Los 1, in which the lamp shade levitates above the bulb, and Marieke Staps€™ Soil Lamp, in which an LED light is powered by the metabolism of biological life in the mud. Special guest speakers include Ineke Hans , whose famous creations incorporate the training of a designer with the aesthetics of a sculptor, and trend analyst Li Edelkoort , known both for her research and her role as a consultant ...

Hanging wallpaper in your apartment or house can be a great way to update your stale decor. But who wants the hassle of dealing with the glue, roller and high-priced papers? Save your money and time by using self-adhesive decals to spiff up your pad. The self-proclaimed €œdesign geeks€� at scribbleonwalls.com have a stock of hundreds of designs to stick on walls, ceilings, mirrors, doors and furniture! Pretend you€™re a super hero with larger than life fight noises and word bubbles, or use pretty feminine vine decals for above the couch or bed. Wall graphics are a great modern alternative to paint, wallpaper and posters-- that take about half the time. They're super easy to apply: just remove the decal's backing, smooth it onto the wall, and remove the top coating of clear transfer tape. Bored of your chosen design? You can remove our decals by simply peeling them off the wall without any damage! (The same can't be said about wall paper!) Wall decals range in price, size ...

I'm sure there are some days in your life where all you want to to is just get home, curl up in a ball on your sofa and veg out to junk food and sappy movies. What better way to do it than on the Lunar Mini Round Lounge Sofa from Dania Furniture ! A modern cocoon that reminds me of those retro ball chairs , the sofa is perfect for one or two. True to its name, sit in it and you'll want to lounge forever. It comes in red or taupe fabric to go with most color schemes, but the hardest decision will be who gets to sit in it first. For those who can't decide, there's always the larger Stellar Round Lounge Sofa ! So change into your pajamas and pop in your favorite DVD for a well-deserved and relaxing night in. Price: $795 Who Found It: dkuehnel was the first to add the Lunar Mini Round Lounge Sofa to the Hive.

To be perfectly honest, I've never been the biggest coffee fan. I'll go to fancy schmancy coffee places with friends and order a hot chocolate or tea and get cold stares from the barista. The energizing effect that coffee gives most people actually has the complete opposite effect for me (really weird, I know). From white teas, green teas, and black teas, I drink them all! If you're a fan of tea, then this tea cup stool just might tickle your fancy. A plastic stool made in the shape of a giant tea cup, it's perfect for a kid's room or for grown up kids like me. Take your pick from white, red, yellow, or orange and you can even set them outside for your own tea party. Now that's a easy way of imagining yourself on the Disney spinning tea cup ride without getting dizzy! Price: 139.99 GBP Who Found It: thisgirlangie was the first to add the Tea Cup Stool to the Hive.

Forever 21 is one of those stores you love to hate, and hate to love. I get it-- it's tough to argue with a chain that allows you to cash in on a (sure to be fleeting) trend for nine dollars and change. Trends are fair game in the fashion world-- in fact, the industry thrives on them. But what happens when it's more than a trend that you see hanging on those overpopulated racks? Forever21 is no stranger to accusations of copyright infringement, and we've all seen dresses in prints that are no coincidence- Diane von Furstenberg, Anthropologie, and Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers have all sued the store for stealing their designs, and rightly so. Trovata , the first label to actually take the fast fashion retailer to court, has a tougher case to make: while the Forever 21 versions are too uncanny to be original, no prints or graphics were copied-- just button placement, striping, and stitching-- so while the designs (seven of them to be exact) were blatantly ripped off, t...

Known for his skillful reworking of recycled materials such as old vacuum cleaners and used speakers, innovative artist Peter Waltz's latest gig is his crafty conversion of vintage dollhouses into modern light fixtures to brighten up your own life-size abode. These tiny "homes" come in a variety of floor plans and styles, varying not only in their architecture but in the way Waltz chooses to remodel them as well. Whether he opts to restore its original paint or force it to rust to create that distinctly antique look, each dollhouse is subtly unique from the others, not to mention wholly original from any type of light fixture you'd find at Ikea! They can be attached to a wall or even placed atop an end table -- either way these vintage dollhouses combine the youthful nostalgic charm of a girl's favorite former plaything and the edginess of modern home decor. Check out the whole collection on his online portfolio and order one yourself through the site's cont...

Jeffery Rudell is a contributor at CraftStylish , a web site devoted to inspiring projects and instructions for creating and crafting. Below, he shares a surprisingly easy-to-do design! This little creation was sitting in the window of a small shop on a side street in New York City, and the moment I saw it I fell in love with it. The shopkeeper, however, was unwilling to sell me the display prop out of his window. He did, however, offer to show me how it was made: "It's simple," he assured me, and then proceeded to demonstrate that fact right at the counter of his shop. I wish that I had the benefit of a tiny video clip to prove to you just how easy this is to make. Instead, I am stuck having to make due with sequential photographs. The resulting tutorial looks much more complicated than it really is, but this is only because I have erred on the side of being thorough in my directions. Don't be scared away from this project by the number of steps. Once you learn it, y...