Small Water Features for DIY Projects

Vintage celadon vessel makes perfect table-top water feature!

Large vessels make focal points for fountain features. Large containers or bored stone boulders are perfect sculptural elements for the glistening appearance of running water, the gentle sounds and refreshing effects. While we have had great fun creating dramatic site installations for outdoor living scenes, we realize that there is great merit in the smaller versions that DIY buffs can create for their interiors or patios.
First, find an interesting container. I found a pair that are footed and are dolphin figures to boot – what luck!! This celadon glazed ceramic has a nice diameter of about 12” and is raised up by its three dolphin figurine feet. It’s a perfect aquamarine theme for this table-top water feature.
Select your container and then gather things that you enjoy. You might already have pieces of glass, tokens, stones, shells, coral, miniature figurines…use what you have or collect more for this specific use.
Get a small pump at the local home-improvement store or hardware store. This should be relative to the size of your container. This one is a little smaller than my fist. The cord will drape out of the container, up over the rim and behind the fountain to plug into your electrical source. This will conceal adequately if you place your fountain on a surface that backs up to a wall where the electrical outlet is located.
Arrange your collectibles on and around the pump to conceal it from view placing the more interesting pieces at the surface.
I use distilled water to insure no residue from harsh mineral that might be present in your tap water. Fill the container to the appropriate level. It will cover much of your collectibles in the bowl. Here I have used a couple of vertical slices of local travertine to add height, texture, color and interest. Once your first turn on the pump – or plug it in as this one does (no switch), you will be pleased at the calming, refreshing results.
Send photos of your finished products!!!!!

Shown here…Nestled into the landscape, this brilliant blue glazed fountain with interesting textured exterior is tall and splendid amidst the greenery as its water recirculates and flows into a bed of stones.

Posted On June 11, 2013 By pattisays In art and interior design, art as gift ideas, design, design trends, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, interior design, landscape design, recycle design /

Tangerine Dreams – a Fresh Design Scheme for Inside and Out!

Inspiration is often a pleasant surprise. It happens with a spark that ignites a theme and the project evolves. In a very dramatic transformation of a simple yet dated living room, we skinned two walls with stacked white stone. The slivers of horizontal texture brought a clean-lined organic feel to the space. Existing sage green carpeting was a cool contrast against the clean bleached stone – we also painted the walls white to mimic the tones in the stone. The perfect punctuation in this sage and white scheme became the fresh pop of orange. Call it melon or coral our color is that somewhat rosy version to slightly soften the contrast. See more of this project at PATRICIAN DESIGN http://bit.ly/YQCyrE

Roll the footage along over the course of this last year and the finished product receives rave reviews. We are encouraged to take the scheme outdoors and continue this project now called Tangerine Dreams. Once outside the orange can be released to express brighter versions melding the coral tones with other shades more bold and brilliant.

Existing white patio furniture provided an open invitation to continue the thread of white that was introduced inside with the white stone wall. Making things look intentional and incorporating existing elements is a cost-effective approach. But the trick is not to let it appear as though the scheme was sacrificed for savings.

So with the lush green foliage of the desert’s semi-tropic offerings that were already mature in this landscaped yard – all we needed was to introduce floribunda of orange to carry through with the tangerine themed color scheme. We planned and prepared, planted and potted for the perfect patio party! Pillows, placements and pottery also brought orange tones sprinkled throughout the design.

A new water feature will replace a lemon tree lost in the last freeze. A brilliant orange trumpet bush will nestle against the towering ceramic urn of luminous green tones where cascading water will re-circulate from beneath the stone bed.

See more photos of this project in our facebook album at http://on.fb.me/13TVGUm and watch for future posts as the plantings mature and the work continues.

Posted On May 13, 2013 By pattisays In art and interior design, color and temperature re: interior design, context of interior design, design, design trends, exterior - outdoor design, interior design, landscape design, lighting /

NYT article on Outdoor Living

Here’s a great article on outdoor furniture and the expansion of actually living outdoors. The practical thoughts on the subject, historical references to designers and their style influencing the scene as well as consumers influencing the designers and the marketplace provide a fascinating commentary on seasonal living parameters. It’s not just a trend – its a true morph of people’s habits and lifestyles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/garden/outdoor-furniture-with-an-indoor-sensibility.html?_r=2&ref=gar

Thank you Julie Lasky for compiling this interesting information about an important subject in exterior/interior design. You have given it some “tooth.”

Posted On July 8, 2012 By pattisays In exterior - outdoor design, landscape design / 1 Comment

The Beauty of Blood, Watermelons and Apples – Enchanting!

Magestic Sandia Mountain

The freezing cold temperatures this past winter have left a lot of destruction in the landscape. The advice has been “give it a while” to see if there is any sign of life. And as suckers sprout from the base of some of the rose bushes – the actual grafted heirloom plant might not be saved. But as the days pass, it is painfully apparent that many are not coming back.
To think that New Mexico had the coldest days in the entire country including Alaska at some points in January is arresting. No wonder our plantings took a beating! I drove through the valley today and saw multiple large, healthy, rose bushes in full bloom – they must have been insulated from the worst of the freezes…and sometimes a good freeze – if not too much for too long can be beneficial.
The question is – at this juncture – do you want to replant the same or make a change in your landscape design? Framework like a boxwood hedge or manicured rosemary versus wild flowers of a drought-resistant variety – the choices are many.
The new medians along Academy are solidly grounded with gravel, stone and boulders punctuated with brilliant red sage, sparkling yellow poppies and good-sized trees. This xeric landscape is an example of a well-done project. It is thoughtful, thorough and strong. Cars will not want to venture into the median for late night vandalism with all the boulders placed throughout the design. Yet the bountiful balance of flowering and leafy shrubbery is attractive.
We are in the desert southwest – central New Mexico version. We enjoy the cool mountain air paired with the arid warmth of the high desert. Yes, we get snow. This year we froze our foliage off! We have bright sunshine nearly every day and a vista that rivals the vast ocean scenes found worldwide. Sunsets blaze across the sky and our mountains reflect those colors with “sangre” blood red, “sandia” watermelon vermillion, and “manzano” apple rose. We call it the Land of Enchantment.
So be thoughtful about your plantings. Make good decisions that will tolerate our climate, use little water, and enhance your enjoyment of living outdoors in the warmer months to come! EXTERIOR DESiGN!!!

Posted On May 10, 2011 By pattisays In exterior - outdoor design, landscape design /

Easy Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Patio – NOT!

I love how those home improvement shows always make it look so easy. One that I came upon the other day created a flagstone patio with a stacked stone retaining wall and voila! All during the course of a half hour or maybe it was a full hour – regardless, this is an invitation to disaster.
“Be prepared” is what I must say first. As I spoke to a friend of mine who found a “great deal” on some demolition flagstone on Craig’s List, she personally hefted over 3,000 pounds into the back of a pick-up to begin her own flagstone patio! “Get OUT – three thousand pounds by yourself?!!” I exclaimed! And also offered that perhaps she might not have to go to the gym for the next 3-4 years!!!! But as she further delved into the details and mention of “anyone with high heels best remain on the paved portion of the patio” this now momentous project, I felt it worth a blog…
On TV, they clear and carve the area, level the surface, cut the stone with a wet saw…well, you can imagine – maybe. But in REAL TIME with one or two novices, it becomes more than a challenge. They WILL get finished – and barring anything unforeseen, before the summer is over so that they can actually enjoy the fruits of their labor…Patience and perseverance – one step at a time…one stone at a time…
Often on EXTERIOR design projects, it is not uncommon for the homeowners of the residential plans to want to “help” with the process. It sounds like fun. This is great. It allows for an investment of more than money when one actually participates in the work. So I never discourage this involvement. But I have rescued clients from trying to do it all themselves – when the tension is so thick that you can barely cut it with a garden spade! They say that building a house together can ruin a marriage…the stress can be tremendous – so too can be the landscaping projects and remodels that seem so manageable – until reality strikes! How heavy, how even, how flush…the exacting details…this place is a mess…how much longer is this going to take????? If you survive, it can be satisfying – but at what price this prideful satisfaction?
I shot this beautiful stone path at the Acropolis in Athens a couple of weeks ago. It was so perfectly casual. Stone against plantings is so welcoming – especially meandering through a garden. It provides texture, color, contrast and all with the harmonious sense that it’s a natural occurrence…with a little help from patient and capable hands.

Inviting path in the gardens of the Acropolis, Athens

Posted On April 19, 2011 By pattisays In DIY design, environmental design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design, travel and design /

Backyard Celebration of Spring Flowers and New Growth

Purple is the color exploding in my garden today – well, this week…I blew around the yard this afternoon to discover all that was happening. In the blustery wind as the aqua tips of the new growth on the branches of our mammoth blue spruce trembled and the young leaves of the peach tree (we sadly missed the cheerful pink blooms that came and went over the last two weeks while we raced around NYC and flew over the pond to Greece) shook with the gusts, I marveled at Spring’s exhilarating progress.
The redbud tree’s branches are bursting with those red-purple blossoms while the lilac is choked with new green leaves and spires of blue-purple clusters. What an incredible contrast against all that new green growth!
Albuquerque actually looked green from the plane as we landed yesterday – compared with New York and Chicago that are just beginning their long-awaited spring transformation – their vast wooded areas are still brown/gray from the plane window. Yet Albuquerque is quite green from the sky! What usually looks like another planet devoid of foliage by comparison to other more lush and densely forested areas this time of year it sings its song of spring’s seasonal change with bold pride.
I was content to leave the flowers on their bushes today but tomorrow I will clip several bouquets of lilacs and trim some branches off the red bud to bring inside and cheer up the interior in celebration of this wonderful time of year! The fragrance of the lilac is enchanting and promises to waft through the house with the soft breeze that I’ll invite inside on what is forecast to be a wonderfully warm spring day.

Spring Purples

Posted On April 10, 2011 By pattisays In color and temperature re: interior design, environmental design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design /

A Happy Scene on the Island of Mykonos Inspires Exterior Designs.

At first glance, this looked like a sacrilege. After encountering so much graffiti in Athens , (see the photo album on PATRICIAN DESIGN’s face book page) anything remotely related in appearance took on that “read.” To see the colors applied to, what was actually large local stone embedded in a plastered wall – which we often found painted all white in the Greeks isles, sometimes with white plaster leaving the natural stone exposed and then this – I was startled. But upon viewing this wall the other day in context on the beautiful island of Mykonos, I appreciated it as a happy scene.
When planning your exterior design it can be fun to release some of the norms associated with restraint. The beauty of the conventional use of materials in the built environment is not to be discounted – but neither is the bold expression of other possibilities.
Garden art can take on many forms. When you punctuate your exterior design with a bold red metal sculpture, dangle a glazed ceramic or glass wind chime or add a painted wooden door or furniture, you are making a colorful statement within the context of your exterior design. More on this later…
For now, know that there are many possibilities – and have a little fun creating a happy scene in your exterior design.

A Happy Scene

Posted On April 9, 2011 By pattisays In architecture, context of interior design, design, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design, travel and design /

Artists Gather Along the Malacon Fronting the Estudio Café

Like a groupie at rock concert I stood in front of this towering man of a man as I was being introduced to the artist who made the whales!!! Trying to be cool, I shook his hand and marveled at the reality of this moment. As I previously wrote, this magical scene of a waterfront art exhibit every Saturday at the marina in Nuevo Vallarta in front of the Estudio Café, the setting was already not to be believed. Then, to realize that the very first person to whom we were being introduced was that of Octavio Gonzales the sculptor of magnificent mega-scaled masterpieces, I was star struck. Yes, I’m one of those who have ogled and continue to marvel at the stupendous scale of the elegant hump-backed whales that gracefully swim through the sky at the entrance of the marina in Puerto Vallarta. This encounter was a pleasant surprise!
Anyone visiting Vallarta has seen Octavio’s whales, dolphin, musical mermaids, orcas and other incredible renditions magnificently presented in bronze many of which are located on the main malacon downtown. Highland Park outside Chicago even has one of his incredible whale sculptures -shown unlikely but proudly in Octavio’s portfolio in a snowy scene as winter descends on the humpbacks. Arnold Schwarzenegger owns a desk-top miniature of the whales that he references with fond memories of time spent in Vallarta as evidenced in a personal letter in the artist’s portfolio.
And this was just the beginning…several other fine talents were present exhibiting their work and meeting the people who had come to see the art, have breakfast or just were fortunate enough to happen upon this wonderful waterfront scene. Estella Herrera’s work, with her lively glass mobiles, fanciful hearts, jewelry and architectural panels, was elegant, translucent, colorful and creative.
Gonzalo Espinosa crafts whimsical hearts, fish, clouds and other images from found wood that he shapes, colors with dyes and colored wax pencils posting them on iron stands that suspend them in the air above their surface. We enjoyed an interesting conversation as he told me about his techniques and also about exhibiting his work in Tucson – where I hope to discover his work on our next trip.
Meg Munro paints incredible watercolors with the eye of a camera and the soul of an artist. She captures the details but dilutes with shapes and differing levels of clarity for both perspective and emphasis of composition. Her colors are crisp and bold, real and softened to a pleasing interpretation of the reality that she sees.
I didn’t meet all of them – that is left for another visit. But I encourage anyone interested in beautiful Saturday mornings, magical marina settings, quiet music and delightful fresh food to visit this enchanting art exhibit along the malacon in Nuevo Vallarta. www.estudiocafe.net

Posted On January 29, 2011 By pattisays In art and interior design, art as gift ideas, design, environmental design, exterior - outdoor design, interior design, landscape design, travel and design /

Picturing Designs – In Advance of Reality

Today started off fun. I saw the finished product of some custom cabinets that I designed with my cabinet-maker, Enrique. We had been working on this for months…stages…interspersed with other projects to keep the peace among eager, anxious clients. The red was vibrant. The maple was clean and contemporary…one project, two rooms, different material, different finishes, side-by-side – sleek, fun, cool.
Also today, I had spoken with another client about her backyard and described to her how after working with a concept and developing it into a design, after awhile the design comes to life so much so that I actually picture the finished product long before it is complete. So much so that I often have entered clients’ homes/yards/offices and not responded to a key component that they had waited weeks to receive and to their disappointment, I had not exclaimed about its addition to the scene. When brought to my attention, I realized that is was as though I had already seen it. I had envisioned it for so long it was as though it already existed. Oops! Sorry…
Then there are the really funny scenes, like that same client this morning who was expressing where she thought her Asian soaking tub should be located and why. She described it in the far corner of the yard…NOT where I had placed it on the plans. She said that she didn’t mind going that far to the tub and that in that particular corner, in the farthest corner of the yard against a fence with spaces between the fence pieces, that it was the most private. Ok, I countered…”So in the depth of winter, when the air is frosty and the night is dark, you are prepared to go streaking in your mid-calf bathrobe with scuffies on your feet to the far reaches of the yard dashing into your steamy soaking tub in the supposed privacy of that far corner of your yard only to find that your neighborhood hoods have set-up bleachers, checked their watches and convened to watch you on your accustomed/predictable schedule through the gaping spaces in the fence that YOU think is a private corner.” She was nearly in tears we were all laughing so hard! I could picture it – she ultimately did.
At the near end of a busy day full of creative consultations and entertaining exchanges, I received a call that my friend Enrique, mentioned in the first paragraph – at the start of my day – my most fabulous cabinet-maker – cut off three of his fingers and of last report, did not know if they could be successfully saved. I picture him mended and back at what he does so well…the stark contrasts between pleasure and pain, reward and disappointment…that’s reality.

Posted On January 13, 2011 By pattisays In color and temperature re: interior design, design, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, interior design, landscape design /

Dormant Months Provide Planning Time For Garden Designs

They’re not dead, they’re just sleeping!! Dormant yet quite alive, gardens are begging for attention with plans for the next season’s excitement!! We know all the recommendations about planting bulbs in the fall and pruning roses in late February, but now is the time to begin your master plan for the outdoor living spaces that will be so important and exciting in the warmer months! Plan NOW!
I have just completed three studies for a “Fantasy Garden.” The distillation of these plans into one more consolidated design will be a master plan for many years to come…it is the story of a garden comprised of an intimate series of zones and spaces ever growing, changing with the seasons and coming years. It is not static. It is a living, breathing work in progress.
This particular garden was requested by the owner to include many features such as a soaking tub, pomegranate tree, storage for bikes, cactus garden, vegetable garden, breakfast patio, party patio, meditation garden…and more…their love of art invites plans for placement of various pieces currently owned and to be acquired. Does this conjure up a picture of an enchanted maze of discovery and wonderment? It should.
Creating outdoor spaces for expanded living enjoyment can be done on a postage stamp sized piece of property (a rooftop maybe) or sections of a larger whole. Don’t hesitate to explore the possibilities for creating the pleasurable environments of an intensely manicured Japanese garden, wild xeric scene or a multi-faceted collective like the one described here. In any case, it is YOUR space and should be so very inviting that you are drawn to be out there – irresistibly drawn to the magic that is provides.
Use your imagination and envision breakfasts outside, water features providing subtly refreshing sounds, nature in the air of bird songs and soft fragrances, evenings under the stars, parties with festive lighting, outdoor kitchens, fresh air and the ever changing blooms and growth of seasonal plantings. And there’s more! Just imagine!
So, start thinking now! Gather you ideas, make a wish list and begin planning your landscape design in these quiet months, preparing aspects that are not dependent upon warmer days, so that when the time arrives, you are ready to plant, critique, sit back and enjoy!

Posted On January 5, 2011 By pattisays In design, design trends, DIY design, environmental, environmental design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design, seasonal interior design /

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