Designer Library: Bunny Williams' On Garden Style

Since 1998, Bunny Williams has been recognized as much more than an expert on interiors and "On Garden Style" has brought to light her undeniable, deep love and understanding of outdoor environments.

In Bunny Williams' "On Garden Style," recently published through Abrams Books, she visits impeccably designed gardens around the world, shedding light on the key components that make a garden so appealing and idyllic. The chapters entitled, Imagine, Good Bones Make Good Rooms, and Planting With Style, shed light on the intuitive and thoughtful approach to the exterior landscapes that are shared in this book. 

Williams offers advice for bringing it to fruition—the garden structure, furnishing the space, and establishing an aesthetic. The book also includes plant lists, a reading list, and other useful resources.

As we begin to work on our outdoor living spaces for summer, make sure to get a copy of this book to help inspire you to create your own personal style within your home as well as outdoors. You can grab a copy for yourself here. 

 

As originally posted for California Home+Design 06/03/15

All images courtesy of Bunny Williams On Garden Style; Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2015

Designer Library: Windsor Smith Homefront - Design for Modern Living

As part of my designer library book reviews, originally posted as part of my contribution to California Home + Design magazine's online Bookshelf series I wanted to recap some of my favorites, and will share one a day over the next week before my trip to High Point.

Acclaimed California interior designer, Windsor Smith, brings her first book to life this season filled with neutral tones plus the crisp black and white contrasting design schemes we associate with Windsor.

"There are so many modern elements that co-exist beautifully with more classic pieces. Furniture should never look like it landed from another planet." -Windsor Smith

Antiques are loosely integrated within Smith’s contemporary design aesthetic that Gwyneth Paltrow so eloquently shares in the foreword of the book, "Windsor’s talent was not only artistic, it was intuitive. Her goal was to create a space for us to love in, not just live in...”

"Giving the old a new perspective is critical to good design. The craftsmanship of pieces with a provenance makes them irresistible." -Windsor Smith

Her vibrant and “oh so California” friendly personality comes through in every room. Make sure to look carefully as you flip through these pages, what appears to be casual and streamlined design is actually laden with layer upon layer of highly thoughtful architectural and interior details. Absolutely the new design book to add to your library and you can snag a copy here.

Photos courtesy of Cindy Gold / Victoria Pearson (cover)

Posted originally on California Home + Design - 05/28/15

Trend Talk: Make Sure to Incorporate These Trends in Your Design

I am thrilled to have been asked to share some of this season's Top Trends in Design at the fabulously newly redesigned Estate of Design (to the trade) showroom in Costa Mesa, California. I will be highlighting some of my top picks from some of the key brands carried at this showroom, such as CR Laine, Thibaut, Mr & Mrs Howard, Dash & Albert as well as bedding lines like Pine Cone Hill and SDH.  But I won't stop there! I will hopefully be able to share how we can bring parallels from the runway of New York Fashion Week and introduce some of our favorite Fall trends into our home through thoughtfully selected items.  The StoneMill Design Center unites several of our industries leading brands, in an open air environment (with great parking!) and is a go-to destination for us Orange County designers.  So, this upcoming Wednesday, September 30th -  Join Us for a great day of Design!

Bedding is such a fundamental part of designing bedrooms.  Interior Designer and Head Buyer for Designers Resource Collection, Natasha Minasian, will be sharing all you need to know about this area highlighting some of the great pieces that will now be available at Estate of Design in stock. As many designers know, this is a great addition as we can now have access to custom bedding options as well as pull together some of these elements from samples in the showroom to ensure it all comes together beautifully! Hope to see you there! Make sure to RSVP - Its a Free Event, and stay on after for a little Cocktail fun.