housemartin

wondrous

I love it when my customers give me tips about lovely shops around the world. Several months ago a shopper told me about this lovely one in her city of Chicago - Asrai Garden. There aren't many home and floral lifestyle shops - which I obviously have  a passion for -  so when she told me about it I was excited to see what it was like. Their website doesnt disappoint! A shop full of natural wonders, home deocr, gifts, finerie, and flowers. Owner Elizabeth Cronin has an amazing eye and has been sharing her vision for 11 years. Floral arrangements that are natural, unstructured, and gorgeous. My heart goes pitter pat. If you are ever in Chicago do go by and check out this wondroous place. and get a hand tied bouquet while you are there.

 
 

Street of Eames - Oringdulph house

More on the flowers of the Street of Eames tour that we did. This is the Oringdulph house which was designed in 1958 and remodeled recently. We did 2 large white cube arrangements on the built in dining table. We wanted to echo all the orange tones in the home. We used Orange Milva Ecuadoran roses, green berzellia, dragon-eye leucadendron, green bud hydrangea, kale, coral hypericum berries, and chocolate eucalyptus leaves. This is one of my favorites as the intense colors add such a nice pop against the white ceramic container and the wood table - the flowers so juicy and lush.

 

 

Street of Eames - Yeon house

Another home on the Street of Eames modern home tour with floral designed by ink & peat. This is the Yeon house designed in 1949. John Yeonis is know as a famous "environmental modernist" architect here in the northwest. His designs are often kept in original condition by its owners as they so respected his original intent. This sagey green color is a a signature component of several Yeon homes so we wanted to bring it into the floral arrangements. Colors in the home are muted and light-dappled.We used blue/green succulents, Alexandra roses, yellow beehives, billy buttons, white stock, alstromeria, and dusty miller foliage.

 

Street of Eames - Rummer house

More flowers from the Street of Eames modern home tour with ink & peat doing the flowers. This is the Rummer home designed in 1969 and recently remodeled. We did 4 of these cubes along the sleek white bar in the kitchen. We used orange pincushion proteas, Sphinx Gold and Naranja roses, hypericum berries, berzellia, and silver leucadendron.

 

Street of Eames - Path home - unit 1

Get ready for FLOWERS this week people! More pics form the Street of Eames modern home tour where we did all the flowers. This is one of the townhouse units at the Path house - designed by Corey Martin and Ben Kaiser of Path Architecture. This space was sleek and modern with lots of light. We wanted to pick up on some of the red and yellow color cues in the home. We had 2 of these large oblong arrangements - 1 on the coffee table and one on the dining table. We used Yellow Island roses, blue/green succulents, coral alstromeria, billy buttons, chocolate eucalyptus, and spanish moss in clusters.

 

end of an era

I happened to be looking online as I was planning my NY trip for August and found some sad news. One of my all time favorite stores is closing. Takashimaya, the famed Japanese high-end department store, is closing its NY location June 5th. Takashimaya had a lovely selection of perfumes and soaps, tailored beautiful clothing, kids goodies, and of course the home and floral section. When the floral section was downstairs, it was magical and inventive - it certainly inspired me to begin a floral carer. The most exquisite blossoms arranged in unique ways - many years before I began seeing this style on the West Coast. It is a sad loss. For those of you in the NY area - do go in and snap up some goods at 40% off. Oh and have lunch in the tea room one last time for me. And buy a 1/4 lb. of Genmaicha and a 1/4 lb. of plum blossom tea as well in a simple brown bag with a decadent gold seal.

 

Street of Eames - White house

More flowers from the Street of Eames modern home tour last month designed by us at ink & peat. This is the White house which was a remodel by Brian White from a 1949 Warren Weber construction. This floral design is a time honored favorite - we have done a variation of it for 3 years and it is always a crowd pleaser! We had 4 glass cubes lined with ti leaves and filled with fresh moss, then added green berzellia and yellow billy buttons. These arrangements lasted for almost a month and have such an other-worldly look.

 

 

Street of Eames - Seed house

For our 4th year in a row, ink & peat designed and donated flowers for the Street of Eames home tour. This is a modern home tour here in Portland which is a benefit that funds after school programs for homeless kids. This was the dramatic 4 foot arrangement we did for the Seed house - designed by Seed Architecture. It is a modern construction for a family in the west hills. It is very sleek with clean lines and soaring ceilings and windows on the main floor. We decided to add a fun punch of color to the room with this arrangement which sat on the dining table. We used orange pincushion protea, orange Milva Ecuadoran roses, yellow tropical beehives, stock, dragon eye leucadendron, yellow alstromeria, podacarpus, and chocolate eucalyptus. we will be showing you more houses throughout the week!

 

the loot

After 4 days of waking at 4:30 am, eating several pounds of kettle corn, and more port-a-potty visits than you care to make in one week - we are home from Brimfield! We had a great time - just as amazing as ever. Even if you didn't buy anything it is fun. Great historical pieces to see and great people watching! I spent my budget, however, with some lovely finds. These pics are not anything I bought but just a slice of life at Brimfield - the largest antique show in the USA. I also ran into the fabulous gals of Design*Sponge - Grace Bonney and Amy Azzarito - what fun! You know this blogging community is kind and forgiving when they can see you at your worst - soaked to the bone from rain in a baseball cap and grubby tennies - but that is Brimfield! I contributed to their post on Brimfield so go read my input here and  here. Lots of other great tips and trends by other designers as well! I just never get tired of this show. Well maybe let me catch up on my sleep first before saying that!

 

 

woodland

Here are some wonderful prints by Parisian graphic designer Aliette. I love the woodland imagery and the limited color palette.