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Trend Alert: Magical Mushrooms
Maybe it was a natural follow-up to the garden gnome trend, but it seems as if the interior design world has gone a little wild for the mushroom motif as of late. From high-end fungi such as the Artifort Mushroom Chair ($2,529)
to more affordable items like the Paper Cloud Mushroom Pillow ($75), there's no reason not to ensure that each of our homes has some fungus among us.
Whether you like your mushrooms modern and candy colored or woodsy and lifelike, there's plenty to choose from in the design world.
Midday Muse: Art Imitating Nature
This sculpture, "Urchins," by Kelly Ann Lees, is part of the 2008 Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney, Australia. This public art festival, which is in its twelfth year, features over 100 sculptures placed along the Bondi to Bronte coastal path. I wish I had an Australia trip planned for the near future, so I could check out this artwork in person.
Photographer to Watch: Pamela Tachibana
Pamela Tachibana is a printmaker/hybrid artist from a long line of artists, all of whom warned her to find a different profession. She now resides with her family, creating art on the craggy coast of Kennebunk, Maine, a part of New England notorious for its quick, lusty summers and seemingly endless, unforgiving winters. Pamela is showing in a group show that benefits the American Breast Cancer Foundation this month at the Four Walls Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also has her next solo exhibit at the Kennebunk Free Library Gallery beginning April first.
Midday Muse: Back-To-Nature Mantel
My fiancé and I go on a lot of backpacking and hiking trips, and always tend to pick up some small memento during our trip. The horseshoe in this photo was discovered on a trail after we came across two coyotes while backpacking in the eastern Sierras. The rocks were found on other backpacking trips, while the one in the extreme foreground were slipped into pockets immediately after we got engaged on the coast in the Redwoods.
Midday Muse: Tree Weaving
My sister happened upon this art installation when she was hiking in a Wisconsin forest this summer. Talk about designing with nature. I love how it looks as if this tree is wearing a hoop skirt.
Simple Style: Fall Olive Jar Arrangement
I love decorating with elements from nature, and this autumnal arrangement, from Better Homes and Gardens, fits the bill. For this simple display, a collection of rustic olive jars in various sizes are scattered on a worn wood console. Striking chestnut branches arch out of just one of the jars.
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Do You Have a View of Nature?
At my house, I can see a lot of trees, but my main view is of the San Francisco skyline. Sometimes I miss the more idyllic views that I grew up with in a rural community. Do you have a nature view at your home?
Round-up: Natural Air Fresheners For Your Home
Got a stinky smell in your home? You might want to pause before turning to that can of synthetic air freshener.
Did you know that most synthetic air fresheners — such as Lysol — do little to nothing to freshen the air?
Trend Alert: Natural Curiosities
A while ago, I showed you home décor that followed in the fashion of The Book of Plants. To balance all of that flora with some fauna, today I have some décor ideas that seem influenced by Albert Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. Since his book sits right below The Book of Plants on my coffee table (it's a great distraction for kids at dinner parties), it seemed only reasonable to follow up on my first trend alert.
What's Your Natural Disaster?
According to CNN, Hawaiian homeowners living in proximity to Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, have chosen to outrun lava flows instead of picking up and moving to greener pastures. Lava destroyed three abandoned houses there just this week in a nearly deserted neighborhood there, but one local said:
It's the safest place I've ever lived, safer than the mainland. They have forest fires over there that burn up 3,000 homes in Southern California.
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