this house in the Silverado Estates needed privacy so we installed 40 trees. a few more are coming.
The San Francisco Garden Show is Going Wild
Great Soiree last night with Garden Design Magazine and John Greenlee & Associates at Living Green, celebrating the start of the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show‘s 30th season.
The show has new energy and ownership. Good things are happening.
The theme this year is Going Wild. How wild will it be?
Save the Date. March 18-22.
Williams-Sonoma Returns to Sonoma
It’s cool that Williams Sonoma is back in Sonoma.
The new landmark Williams-Sonoma store is part retail store and part museum, located in the exact spot that housed the original, a house that transformed American cooking in many ways.
It’s a tribute to Chuck Williams and the Williams-Sonoma lifestyle experience.
After operating a hardware store, Williams opened Williams-Sonoma in 1956, selling French kitchenware. He lived behind the original house with his mother. He relocated to San Francisco in 1958. He’s 99 now and going strong: the opening of the new store coincided with his birthday.
The new store is a shrine to American ingenuity, to a guy who saw the world the way we use it now, starting in the 1950s, when America was eating frozen dinners. Williams recognized a whole beautiful world of food that America hadn’t caught onto at the time. Now Williams-Sonoma is a $4 billion company.
The original sign from 1956 is hanging in front. The original door is still in place. There’s a lovely garden space and outdoor cooking area in the back.
Here are a few pictures I took during the pre-opening reception and birthday celebration:
Check out Chuck’s desk calendar from 1958.
Monica Bhargava, who heads the design team for Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, said that while there are many modern furnishings in the Williams-Sonoma home catalog,the team was cautious not to infuse that into the house. The upstairs bedroom includes classics such as the Bedford sofa, Atherton chair, and the La Courte Upright Desk. There’s a natural feel that comes across in the choice of linens, hand-mounted rugs, signature cowhide, leather and suede that the company is known for. The design team went for a very neutral color palate of linens. “We wanted it to feel more like Chuck,” Bhargava said. “We went back to his roots as we were looking for things.”
“Comfort is the biggest luxury,” Bhargava said. “If you’re not comfortable what’s the point of all the fancy stuff?”
work in progress – installing a romantic meadow – Kenwood
work in progress – St Helena
work in progress – Sonoma
This is a super cool new home. We’re just finishing the landscaping. We should be done next week. It’s coming together nicely. Just filled the pool. It’s 72 feet long.
Ross with a view, a pool, lot’s of room, and more …
This gorgeous home in Ross sold right away. It has wonderful views … and, why yes, we did the landscaping More on this home here
Blu Homes Model Home
This is a model home we landscaped … see the link – three more model homes to go …
Ceder Fence and Hardscape, Downtown Sonoma
Cedar fence, routed out posts … Sonoma modern farmhouse with ancient olive tree, cement walkway to house. … plants coming …
