Breathless. Just take a look.

I was wondering what Italian Architect, Michele Bonan, has been up to recently (we visited his work in Florence at the J.K Place a couple years ago).  I googled him and look what I saw... 

This is beyond. 

This man is so incredible. He worked with Florentine landscape designer, Nicolo Grassi, to turn this 18th century spinning mill into a home. 

I basically copied and pasted from House of Turquoise because it was all too gorgeous not to share. The inside isn't too shabby either. 

Outdoor Dreaming.

I picked up the book, The Southern Living Garden Book, from the library earlier this summer and wanted to share my two favorite gardens.
Suzanne Hudson is a designer in Georgia. She salvaged windows and created a little outdoor sanctuary.

The second was garden designer, Jon Carloftis's garden gate. This acts as a privacy fence for his back yard. It is constructed from a galvanized horse trough and an old piano dolly.
I showed Tony this clever invention and he just looked at me and said no way with his eyes.

While I'm on outdoor rooms, I'll share a few extra features I love. Jamie Durie, if you ever need a backyard to crash, please come to mine and add these features:

An ivy covered wall with killer lanterns and an over sized mirror

A quirky pool or tub.

A fireplace.

A lush walkway.

Or, you can keep it real simple and go for a pool with striped lounge chairs.

Welcome to my outdoor dreaming, what do your outdoor dreams consist of?

A Perfect Union.

I love living with the indoors, out and the outdoors, in. I want more of this union, or vanishing threshold in my home. (You can read more on "vanishing threshold" coined by landscape expert Tara Dillard, here). It starts inside and grows outside.

I like to bring azaleas inside when they are in bloom

Here's a hysterical video of comedian Jim Gaffigan that touches briefly on the indoor/outdoor topic:

Getting ahead of Myself.

I am a wimp with the cold.

I find myself warming up just looking at these pictures.

Are you already ready for Spring to arrive?

I love the idea in the photo below. Great for a shower + tolerable weather!

via Casa Tres Chic and Party Perfect

Thrilling.

Due to the brutal summer heat, swimming pools have been on my mind a lot lately. In my inbox was a link to the epitome of an infinity pool. It's a mere 55 stories high and is on top of the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. While the pool is an awesome design feature, I get nervous just looking at the pictures. What a rush! article found here.

Cool off.

Tony and I visited my family in West Palm Beach last weekend and I spent everyday in my parents pool. I felt like a kid again soaking up the sun and swimming until my fingers pruned. I was a little worried my hair would turn green with the chlorine but luckily it did not.

I have promised myself I will start swimming laps for exercise at an aquatic center near my office. I need to be outdoors and feel like I have a summer break because when you work full time the beauty of summer does not exist! Oh how I miss having a college schedule.

In honor of summer, here are some pools that take my breath away...

Next time you have the opportunity to cool off in a pool I suggest you throw your excuses to the wind and jump on in.

photos: Andreas von Einsiedel, lots from Elle Decor, and unknown.

Greenery.

"The outdoors" keep catching my eye. I fell in love with Chicago last summer because of the ivy covered walls. I save so many images filled with lush landscape.

As I perused my saved images, here are some mental notes I made:

1. Must plant hydrangea bushes

2. If I ever live in a house with a pool, make the steps like a checkerboard

3. When we install a fence in the backyard- cover it with greenery.
4. Vertical Gardens would be awesome for herbs.
5. This takes my breath away. This is a covered patio but this is outdoors done right.

Photo credit: this is glamorous, la dolce vita; flourish design + style

In honor of the Kentucky Derby...

I'm pulling for Looking at Lucky

When I saved this image I did not notice the horses in the background. It was the lanterns and centerpieces that had me smitten.

Have a wonderful weekend.

image via Shelter.

Dream Terrace.

This one is for you, dear Kelly.

Let me give you some background for this post. My friend Kelly or Elly, she'll answer to both, is the single most creative person I know. She currently has 3 jobs: by day she works for Carlton V. fabrics, she serves as the creative director for 100cameras and she is the co-creator of Hello Robertson. She's got talent and energy galore.

I had an email in my inbox this morning from Kelly asking me to send her some of my favorite pictures of outdoor/terrace living spaces for one of her clients {wink,wink} who has a NY apartment with 1050 sq feet of terrace space, yes you read that right, terrace space.

Since I have no visual context for what this space looks like I am going to incorporate the items I think make an outdoor space feel as like the extension of a home.

The picture below incorporates so many successful ingredients: outdoor rug, outdoor drapes {although you might not want to inhibit the Manhattan skyline}, greenery, lanterns, the different textures found in the furniture and pillows, planters, urns, and of course ample seating.

What I do not see but I think would be great is a grill and an outdoor fire pit.

source unknown

I'm hooked on vertical greenery. {You might need to wait until the spring to get that to grow outside? Please excuse me, I'm from Florida I do not know how hard it is to get things to grow on New York walls!}

via: Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

I love the vertical planters from Smith & Hawken as seen below:

and for an industrial vibe:

via: Newlywed Diaries

Hey Bloggers, do you have any personal favorite pictures of outdoor spaces or recommendations for furniture, rugs, etc that can be useful for this space? All comments are appreciated.