Galvanized Soaking Pool

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Galvanized Soaking Pool

As I type this, the chain link fence that surrounds our front yard is being dismantled.  There are little sparkling bits of light floating around my head right now I am so happy. Over the next few days the yard will be transformed from a dead grass lot to the beginnings of a wild, drought tolerant garden with horizontal slat side fences. Behind those fences is the next project, and while I am thinking mostly about the new back deck and raised beds, there's this other thing that I'm considering, a pipe dream, of making a soaking pool out of a galvanized livestock feed tub. If you think I'm crazy, just check out what other folks have done with this application.

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The Front Yard- Part 1

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The Front Yard- Part 1

If I haven't been posting as often lately, it's because of this. I bought a project. I optimistically took this picture the day the sold sign posted, before moving day, and before the important boxes were unpacked and a civilized, but very temporary amount of home decorating was done.  When the dust settled I began the researching and costing things out, making sketches, revising sketches, and meeting with all manner of house people from architects to tree guys. Despite the fact that I'm dying to do the inside, we decided that the most important thing to start with is the front yard. Psychologically speaking, it will make us feel more settled to drive up to a nice looking house.

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Wall Mounted Pinch Pots

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Wall Mounted Pinch Pots

Our new house is white walled, and I'm kind of loving it. I like the idea of bringing in little pops of color with art and accessories. I can easily swap them out when I want to change things up. Because our upper level has great light and beautiful tree-filled valley view, I really want the interior walls to come alive with flora to mirror the outside. I even bought a few large Shane Powers ceramic wall pots from West Elm for hanging ferns on the stairwell wall (me and those ferns). Using these large pieces as a point of inspiration, I made some tiny versions with polymer clay to hang in smaller spaces, like the bathroom, or over a bedside table. I think the granite pots look like river rocks.

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The January Home

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The January Home

It's January. I know this because the frozen air and my somber post- holiday mood is leaving me with the overwhelming desire to strip my house naked like a tree without leaves.  I love empty space.  I love simple, natural elements. I love air plants, and succulents, and leafy stems, and barnacle covered stones. I made a winter terrarium with them this week. I rinsed the barnacles with cold water and shook the moisture off, then put them on a wooden cheese pedestal with air plants- the moisture from the rocks keeps them hydrated- and covered them with a glass dome.  The air plants look like sea plants to me, and the whole thing looks decayed, and frozen.

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The Trapeze Planter

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The Trapeze Planter

Plants are trendy right now, I'm just saying. Inspired by the current interiors of Anthropologie, the amazing San Francisco oddity Paxton Gate and this recent tutorial from Emily Henderson, I've been trying to incorporate more houseplants as decor into our front room.  The space is flooded with natural light, just perfect for green plants and my brown thumb. Today's DIY was a freebie for me; we had all the materials lying around, including these small coconut fiber pots- meant for planting directly into the ground.  As succulents and cacti don't require much watering, you can use these containers as decorative pots for indoor use, just remember they will break down if they are kept damp. 

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