When designing a backyard, we are encouraged to think of the foliage first. A powerful backbone of intriguing leaves in the garden will maintain a style together, even if flowering plants aren’t at their peak. However, we can quickly locate ourselves at a foliage frenzy, choosing exciting leaves in every color from purple and chocolate… Continue reading Fantastic Design Plant: Old Fashioned Smoke Bush
Is The Garden Minding the Viewing Speed Limit?
Imagine you’re the landscape architect for the street department. You are stuck for ideas for a new stretch of the interstate, which means you click your browser shortcut, go to and property on a cute-as-a-bug’s-ear window box agreement. Warning! Assuming the traffic engineers have done their job, the normal viewer would buzz beyond a window… Continue reading Is The Garden Minding the Viewing Speed Limit?
On Trend: 10 Hammers That Nail Great Design
Whatever project I’m working on, I’ve found I like it and am more likely to complete the tedious steps within that endeavor — if the tools I use work nicely and are pleasing to look at. There’s something about a quality tool which makes everything feel better and go more smoothly — including the attitude!… Continue reading On Trend: 10 Hammers That Nail Great Design
Guest Picks: Wake Up Porch or a Patio With Color
As an antidote to the gray skies outside my window, I find myself envisioning outdoor rooms enlivened with bold pops of saturated colour. From colorful planters and bright outdoor rugs to furniture and cushions from the splashiest of hues, there is no way to not feel cheered up once you include one or more of… Continue reading Guest Picks: Wake Up Porch or a Patio With Color
Gardens Under Glass: How to Make Your Own Terrarium
Terrariums have been popping up around the place, from design portfolios into home store catalogs. What is the attraction? It’s easy: convenience and fashion. Terrariums need little watering, take up little space and are usually easy to care for — even for your own black-thumbed amongst us. And those little, lush vignettes make attention and… Continue reading Gardens Under Glass: How to Make Your Own Terrarium
April Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home
Spring has arrived. Wake up your home and get ready for the season ahead by deep cleansing, sprucing up outdoor areas and simplifying your living areas, one shelf at a time. And when you’re finished, pour yourself a nice glass of something cold to drink and toast your beautiful, freshly cleaned home. Shelley Morris Interiors… Continue reading April Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home
Summer Crops: How to Grow Okra
Okra enjoys the warmth. It grows best when daytime temperatures reach 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) and night temperatures do not drop below 60 (15.5). It can manage humidity making it a favorite in the South. It provides height to a generally non-toxic vegetable patch, reaching 6 feet tall, and is 3 ft wide.… Continue reading Summer Crops: How to Grow Okra
Modern Marries Conventional at a Chicago'Shotgun' Home
I’ve long admired the work of the husband and wife architect team of Stuart Cohen and Julie Hacker. Like this other great architect on Chicago’s North Shore, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Cohen and Hacker have assembled some remarkable houses in Chicago and its environs. While the majority of these houses have been large manor houses,… Continue reading Modern Marries Conventional at a Chicago'Shotgun' Home
Architecture's 12 Days
On the 12 days of Christmas, what will architecture give to you? Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture Jody Brown Architecture See… Continue reading Architecture's 12 Days
Clear Staircases — They're a Real Glass Act
All-glass stairs, made popular by architect Peter Brohlin’s for the iconic Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York, have started to show up in many a home. These stairways are luxury products, often running north of $100,000. However, for those who want a fresh, contemporary interior with the most recent materials, assemblies and technology, a… Continue reading Clear Staircases — They're a Real Glass Act