Lifestyle - Roses and Containers

It's that time of year when we Floridians should begin thinking about our gardens again (not that we ever really stop). It's the time of year when flowers are planted to ensure best root development before the heat of summer, the time of year when new palms should be transplanted for the least stress on the tree, and the time of year when planters should be filled to ensure growth and fullness before the first spring party is thrown outdoors.

As far as flowers go, the English Roses of David Austin are widely regarded as the best of the best--some having large, peony-like flowers and wonderful fruity scents. David Austin began as an amateur rose breeder more than fifty years ago, and now ships his roses, bare-root, around the world. For the locals reading this blog, David Austin lists Mabel Ringling Rose Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, among the 21 best gardens in the United States featuring his roses. Here are some of our favorites.

The Scepter'd Isle:

The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild:

and Harlow Carr:

-images via davidaustinroses.com

Roses shipped bare-root to Florida are typically shipped in February, earlier than other parts of the country, so get your orders in now. We'll provide a tutorial on proper planting soon.
As long as we're talking gardening, there's an epidemic in America of too many people buying too small and cheap of pots to make their gardens fulfilling. Don't get us wrong, plastic pots from the local home center can be very useful and can certainly save money, but no matter how good they are, they will not import a sense of beauty and timelessness to your garden. Moreover, if you put a little extra money and care into quality planters, you'll carry them through life to every home you ever own. Take a look at a few of our favorites:

Design Tip - Remember the Glow

Often overlooked is the fact that no matter where you live in this world, you'll spend at least half your days in darkness. That said, when looking at buying a house or remodeling a space, visit it or at least imagine it at night, picture the lighting, and then plan something dramatic. This takes only minutes, but you'll appreciate it for life.

The Goods - Mariposa

More exciting news! Mariposa is now available at The Cobbled Path. Mariposa is well-known for exquisite, high-quality products, including ceramics, glassware, and aluminum serveware.

The Goods - Pom Pom at Home

Pom Pom at Home and Pom Pom Interiors are amazing lines we stumbled upon when looking for linens for our boutique. The lines are designed and owned by designer-to-the-stars, Hilde Leiaghat. If you have the chance to visit her websites, you'll see some amazing linens, furniture, and accessories. Also, there's a very nice "thank you" note HERE from Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, whose twins' nurseries Hilde decorated. If you like what you see and are fairly local, stop by and check out the linens for yourself.

Our Pom Pom at Home line offers gorgeous bed linens for adults:

...the nursery:

...and for the table and bath:

- images via pompomathome.com

The Goods - A Sitting Room

THE SITTING ROOM - We supplied the chair, the garden wall cherub, the wreath, and the cabinet. If you like the woodwork, we'll point you in the right direction.

The Goods - Bella Cucina

Of course, one of these Bella Cucina spreads, as seen in our boutique, would go nicely with the Poilane bread below...

Lifestyle - Poilane at Home

Another French item that you can actually entertain with at your next soiree is the bread from the well-known breadmakers, Poilane. The famous storefront:


Amazingly, the Poilane company now turns out 15,000 loaves of bread per day in 24 wood-burning ovens that are exact replicas of the ovens used in this little shop, many of which are shipped to patrons worldwide. CLICK HERE to order the iconic loaves you see below.

Lifestyle - Macaroons

Laduree, in Paris, makes the most famous of macaroons, and packages them gorgeously. Hungry? No, we haven't figured out a way to offer them fresh in our store, but we're working on it...



-image via Laduree.fr

For those of you throughout the United States that would like something similar... try Sucre, located in the Frenchest of cities, New Orleans. CLICK HERE to order a number of amazing confections, including these:


-image via shopsucre.com.

Design Tip - Planters Worth Your Dollar

Budgets are tight, and will be for a while, so if you're going to buy, spend your money where you'll enjoy it for years to come. For instance, we all love beautiful flowers and plants, but those things can be ephemeral. However, a quality, handcrafted pot can raise any plant to something sublime. Heck, a weed would look good in these two examples:

a beautiful iron cherub planter, or

the famous "tulip planter" by Campo de Fiori. That's spending you'll appreciate forever, right?

The Goods - Lampe Berger Announcement

We're happy to share that we've been selected to carry the Lampe Berger product line for the Tampa area. Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso were the first “well-known people” to appreciate Lampe Berger, and the lamps have since become collectors' items (although they start as low as $40). The scents are out of this world. Very exciting!!! We expect to have our first shipment in stock within the next two weeks.

The Goods

This is a soap from Claus Porto, which has been around since 1887. These soaps come in a variety of amazing scents, are all-natural, not expensive, and look pretty darn cool too (each variety is basically wrapped in artwork). This is the type of simple accessory you can add to your home, no matter what your budget, and illustrate a sophistication and style that most people simply miss (back to the details making the difference). Of course, that's not to say you need to go out and buy this exact item. What we mean to say is that although the soap pump from the local grocery gets the job done, it doesn't carry the style this does... and probably doesn't last as long. Do yourself a favor and go old-school in the powder room.

Design Tip - Details, Details...

The details are what matters. It isn't the big items. It isn't the size or shape of the space. It IS what you do with the details. Look at the picture below. The aged, terra cotta figures are a favorite at our shop, and you can easily see why. The basket is beautiful. The fern is something special. However, would this be half as cool without the figures wired on to the basket? No.

Lifestyle

More shots from the same photo shoot in a local garden...

Lifestyle

This is part of a lovely shoot we did for Tampa Bay Magazine, where our tableware was featured in the Christmas issue. Add a few good parmesan shavings and pear slices, and you've pretty much found heaven...