Patio Styles

Ahhhh, the poolside retreat!!!!!!!! This is an important factor about using lighting on your patio, once the sun goes down, light it up, to reflect shadows and create a romantic relaxed mood.

Ahhhh, I want to go here on vacation!!!!!!!!!

Lovely extended room patio with fireplace!!!!!!!!!!

Love this style for a patio home!!!!!!!!!!

This outdoor kitchen patio is great for the large estate surrounded by the woods and it is completed with a fireplace!!!!!!!

This design is perfect for high rise living, condos or second level decks.



The total jungle feel....I could do that!!!!

A contemporary style and the water does all the rest!!!!!!!!!!

This patio has an old world feel, adding the bright pastels gives it a contemporary feel. Love it!!!!

This patio is gorgeous serene and fits my style of relaxing with nature.


This beautiful eight-sided pavilion, designed by landscape architect Keith Anderson, is the focal point of a European-style garden. I found this elegant design at HGTV. You can just hear the sounds of the water fountain behind the pavilion.

Sunbrella Fabrics/Custom Pillows

Outdoor Pillows are a great way to add comfort and style to your outdoor living spaces! The hottest trend in decorating is taking indoor design to the outdoors, and using decorative pillows outdoors is possible when you buy outdoor pillows covered with Sunbrella fabrics.
When choosing outdoor pillows for your patio, poolside, or garden, it is important to choose decorative pillows that can withstand the elements outdoors. What's even better is that Sunbrella Pillows come in over 200 fabric choices, so you can make your outdoor living area unique and completely custom. My particular favorite is the zebra print which comes in red and an assortment of other colors.
Don't forget the fringe, there is also an assortment of outdoor trims to add to your pillows for the fun and or elegant look of complete design.

I recommend Crate and Barrel for the texture pillows (bottom picture) and I recommend Calico Corner for the custom coverings...you will find a varied assortment of trims and Sunbrella patterns in their showrooms.

Pool Houses

Pool House

The concept was the idea of creating a walled garden; a container for a building that could create a special place within what is an exposed garden at the top of a ridge in Surrey. A dark yew tree offered an immediate presence of nature and the idea of counter-pointing this with a man-made garden took root. The walled garden became a courtyard, a spiritually rich, calm place that abstracts nature- stone, water, sun, shadows and sky in the tradition of the Zen garden. The building is enclosed by a zinc clad, folded plane, cedar lined internally that wraps over limestone walls – the floor in English limestone and the pool in Bisazza mosaics. An oak clad ‘box’ containing a study projects through the frame less glass wall.

Serenity In Design "No Doubt"!!!!!

No more grass mowing, just the serene sounds of flowing water???

House On The River - wow, it's actually in the river ...

The modern Hind House design by UK’s award-winning John Pardy Architects is one of the firm’s unique “one-off” residential designs that truly is one of a kind. Located near Wargrave on the banks of the River Loddon, the house is based on three parts: public living spaces, private sleeping spaces, and guest accommodations (because a contemporary house like this was meant to entertain in!). Each function occupies a wing of the house, radiating outward in what the architects have described as a “pinwheel form.” Stilts support the house, while allowing the river waters to freely flow underneath when running high. A set of industrial-style stairs leads up to a zinc-clad entrance at the front of the house. Beyond, the unusual house of glass, timber and steel unfolds. A main living space boasts large windows and a wonderful view of nature – trees, water and wildlife – and opens onto a timber outdoor deck for enjoyment of the surroundings, first-hand. John Pardy Architects

Save the Trees In Design

When building your new home or adding a deck to your existing home, a solution to saving some trees around the house and also enjoying the conveniences of modern outdoor decking is this wood deck design idea from Anderson and Anderson architects. An interesting idea for all nature lovers who like having trees around. If you choose to go with the outdoor wood deck then it can be carefully cut out to follow the shape of a tree trunk. Surely, multiple cut-outs can be made to embrace several trees. Afterwords, why not try decorating with river stones and allowing grass to grow up in that place? A great variety of other plants can be planted around the wood deck designed this way. You will get a modern look for your backyard, and also choose a environment-friendly solution. Who would have thought keeping trees safe through simple deck designs can be so easy? Anderson and Anderson.

Black/White and Color

"The little Black dress", it always works for simple elegance, the beauty is that you can add any color of your choice shoes, handbag, earrings, necklace, etc. that will fit your own style.



The same applies to the rooms in your own home. The basics work and never go out of style, the plus in designing this way; you can always change the colors which helps on any budget.....this allows new art, new floral arrangements, new rugs, new accessories to be added to break the boredom of a room.

Asian Culture Centerpieces

The photographs displayed were from the Asian Culture Festival. The arrangements were created with fresh flowers and various parts of stems and twigs , and a lovely assortment of beautiful vases! These are gorgeous.. Enjoy!

What great ideas for centerpieces, these could also be created using silk floral . I love the dramatics of the height and unusual flow of the stems and foliage.

Clean Lines and Light

Maybe it’s the less than exuberant state of the economy, or perhaps the nation’s growing affection for all things organic, or the imperative to go green. Whatever the drivers, the latest crop of coveted kitchens and baths gives a definitive nod to soothing simplicity. Clean lines, natural finishes, and economical choices were once again bountiful in this year’s Watermark awards, and daylight remains a central ingredient. In the quest for serenity, many designers and home buyers are stripping away the excess and embracing elemental palettes of glass, metal, stone, and wood. They’re also dispensing with some of the old ideas (about work triangles, galley kitchens, and cabinet configurations, for example) and rethinking the rules. This year it’s not so much about what’s hot in kitchens and baths; it’s about what’s functional, essential, and cool.

Spring Fever

I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am ready for spring. I have trudged through enough snow, sleet and 5 degree temperatures to last me a lifetime! It has been the coldest in NC in 30 years so enough already!!!!
I've purchased my first ferns and flowers and WOW would love this patio design...think about it...remove the plants in this photo and it doesn't have the same feel of warmth and serenity. Plants, plants and more plants surround you with nature, which is why we go outside in the first place..creating that garden room inside your home calls for the same treatment...so go ahead bring nature into your rooms...add a waterfall for effect, inside or out. Don't forget the bird feeder and birdbaths, right now we are visited by birds, squirrels, and even a rabbit..... take the time for meditation in the garden you create....a reflective morning outside with your favorite book and your first cup of coffee is the perfect way to begin any day and celebrate life with a new day!!

Glass Houses

Talk about a room with a view!!!!!!!!!!

A home with an open atrium is such a focal statement, talk about serenity!!!


Don and Jeanine Cooksey worked with architectural designer Wallace Cunningham to conceive a house for their La Jolla, California, land—a lot that was thought to be unbuildable. The structure, which has four bedrooms and six baths and is done in white concrete, stainless steel and glass, straddles a dramatic coastal canyon. Above: The master suite’s lounge overlooks the courtyard near the center of the building. Cunningham situated it in an enclosed bridge, giving the outdoor room an open sightline to the horizon. Embedded in the courtyard-terrace floor is a line of glazed blocks that light an underground parking area.
I've always been a frustrated architect at heart and designed two homes which consisted of mostly glass but nothing like this architectural dream. I hope you enjoyed the glass house tour. This was found on the architectural digest website. Nothing less than breathtaking with a view from every room. Adopted from the Frank Lloyd Wright style of design, where every room must have a focal point and an extraordinary view, I do believe they achieved that goal in these spectacular designs.

Talk about architecture....view this slide show from Egypt!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30210655/displaymode/1247/