housemartin

vonblum

Shop owners are an interesting group. We all seek each other out trying to find answers and trying not to re-invent the wheel when it comes to small business. I am so thrilled that Vonblum in Barcelona has finally opened its doors! I have been following their progress via emails and their blog since September. It is a clever mix of gift items and a cafe. I will have to add it to my list of travels to meet them in person...
also check out their blog which charts their progress here.

manos

Wonderful pieces created as a collaboration between artist Camilla Engman and ceramic artist Karin Eriksson at a show at Karin's shop called Manos which started a few days ago. 2nd from bottom are vases in the Manos shop by the Mighty Bearcats (from the Skin Series). At the bottom is a bowl by Karin Erikkson.

clay

Loved this article on ceramics in Inside Out magazine from Australia. I was so thrilled to find out that they have some articles online here.

5 zero zero

Yes, that's right folks - a whopping 500 posts for me here at housemartin!
Thanks to everyone who has has been so loyal - new readers and old...
Thanks also for all your wonderful comments and support - they keep me going!
It has been a pleasure bringing you all the things that inspire me!
Here's to 500 more - hopefully many of which will include beautiful inspiration from the upcoming shop!
(field of ranunculas photo from Larry Gerbrandt at Flickr).

modern living

This is Zaik house built in 1957 which was on the Street of Eames homes tour. It is a wonderful L-shaped home which allows for a more public space for entertaining as well as a more private living area. I wanted the floral design to be a bit bold and exotic and play off of the tones in the wonderful tree painting. It is a combination of tropical leaves, Kameleon and Murano Equadoran roses, antherium, kangaroo paws, and tulips.

into the woods

Another set of designs done for a home on the Street of Eames tour. This is the home of architects Brian and  Melody Emerick. It is the first LEEDS green residential project in Oregon . Many of the woods are reclaimed and sustainable materials were used. In fact the dining table was made from a tree removed on the property during construction. It is a wonderfully warm and cozy yet modern environment tucked into the woods high atop a hill. To showcase the large built in dining room mirror, I designed this grand arrangement all in shades of green, white, and yellow. The sweeping mossy branches and green dogwood branches add nice movement. Kale, Limbo roses, hanging amaranthus, ranunculas, billy buttons, and yellow tulips make a lush arrangement. For the dining table - I did a grouping of 6 cubes running down the table. Each cube has a leaf wrapped inside, tufts of moss, and billy buttons - very architectural - maybe echoing a little cluster of undergrowth in the woods. For the bedroom, was a striking arrangement of purple artichokes, Limbo roses, kermit poms, and clusters of moss with grey dusty miller leaves.

dreaming in pattern

I adore these room shots for the Zara home catalog. The top picture I could look at all day! Gorgeous Moroccan-inspired open bedroom/living room with sunny yellow and brown offset by neutrals - it's stunning. And that garden dripping with datura flowers - let's all have mint tea there shall we? I'm sure it smells like heaven in the evening...
Also love the more understated details in the white bedroom below.

woodland wonder

OK, so many times I have proclaimed my love for all things woodland, right? Mushrooms, trees, woodland creatures...I can never get enough. So you can imagine my pleasure when I received and email about this fab project done by Jennifer Talbot of B.delicious in collaboration with interior designer Colleen Grusecki. They did a custom environment in this little girls bedroom. This precious room is a little girl's dream! There is a mural of a tree full of leaves with appliqued floral prints as well as birds, and chipmunks! Along the wall are felt applique flowers, with a low ottoman with felt grass and even a mushroom. A larger tufted ottoman is just perfect with a bucket of felt apples. I also love the branch of owl and bird friends on the wall and the little hanging birdhouse above the bed. But my absolute fav is the woodgrain fabric door at the base of the tree - what a special detail for little hands to discover!
You can read more about the process of designing this room at Jennifer's blog.

succulent spring

Since I have been working with succulents recently in arrangements - I wanted to show you this fine example. This arrangement was featured in Western Interiors magazine and was designed by Jeffrey Lee of Urban Flower Grange Hall in Dallas. You must go see their website with fab pics of the unusual an striking shop. The arrangement is set atop a rustic piece of driftwood and features not only donkey-tail succulents but hydrangea, precious ranunculas, scabiosa, hyacinth, and spanish moss. Lovely.

lush color

I went all a-flutter over this gorgeous page on jewelry boxes in last months Martha. I love the color combination of the intense but vintage-tinged colors. That robin's-egg blue against the velvet persimmon and dusty peach tones - delightful...
And of course you can never go wrong adding a little grey for good measure.