If you’re like me and your green thumb is the very lightest shade of the hue, you’ll love how easy it is to add a little color to your garden, thanks to some spectacular outdoor furniture offerings that Richard Schultz and John Kelly introduced at ICFF.

New from the iconic Schultz, the seating in the Fresh Air Collection re-imagines the classic Windsor chair in powder-coated sheet aluminum. Available in three highly polished classic colors, the chairs can be customized with either a tubular-steel base or an aluminum-panel base.

Equally cool is the Fresh Air table, with thick square legs crafted of powder-coated extruded aluminum that complement beautifully both leg styles of the dining chairs. The table is available with a porcelain, glass or fiberglass top. I would love this in an office or studio in a screened porch.

The Rho Series from John Kelly Furniture owes its sleek silhouette to a perfect combination of smooth curves and precise angles—and is available in 10 fabulous colors! A well-edited selection of chair and table styles allows for contemporary dining and conversation areas, not to mention a stylish way to relax by the pool.

And if you can’t choose from all the great colors, consider the stripes! I loved this chaise lounge; the striped fabric makes for a great punctuation mark within the color palette.

Images: Design Within Reach

Just in time for Earth Day comes the Go collection of outdoor furniture, created exclusively for Design Within Reach by eco geniuses Greg Benson and Jeff Taly at Loll Designs. Crafted from 100-percent post-consumer plastic recycled from milk jugs, Go brings the indoors out with a modern spin on the classic club chair and loveseat, as well as accessories such as the side table and coffee table/bench. Built to last, every piece is waterproof, fade resistant and maintenance free. And with 90-percent of the waste from the manufacturing process being sent to a recycling plant, the Go collection’s carbon footprint is small in size and big on style.

All seven pieces in the Go collection are available in seven colors, including black, white, British green, Chocolate, Apple, Leaf and Sky, shown here. The side chair offers plenty of space to relax, and boasts a more-upright back that most outdoor “lounge” chairs, a feature found throughout the collection. Choose from the stationary version above, or get moving with the rocking side chair.

Also available as a rocker or stationary piece, the loveseat expands on the collection’s airy, clean-lined style. I especially appreciate the open spots on either end, which provide an easy way to move the furniture around while also adding to the overall aesthetic of the designs.

The interior furniture-influence is especially evident on the side table and coffee table. More than just a pretty accent, the side table boasts plenty of real estate on top to share drink space between two chairs, with additional storage found below.

The equally functional coffee table also has loads of space, and is super-sturdy to do double duty as a bench.

The Go collection wouldn’t be complete without this fantastic porch swing! A black nylon cord takes the place of the steel chain usually found on your standard porch swing, taking this classic to a mod new level.

Red Adirondack Bench by Loll Designs

With winter on the way out, it’s time to entertain the thought of outdoor furniture.  My dream is the Adirondack chair and bench ensemble and now I have found a product that fits the bill.  Recycled outdoor furniture by Loll Designs  is absolutely fabulous and good looking too.   

The companies slogan “Outdoor Furniture for the Modern Lollygagger” is rather catchy, I think I am a modern lollygagger but I’ m not sure.  What I am sure of is the fact that this furniture is made out of recycled materials and that is what makes it so wonderful.  They got their start as “True Ride” a company that manufactured ramps for skate parks. After watching the Snowboard portion of the Winter Olympics I have a new view on this sport and what it takes to achieve it. here is one of the original ramps made from recycled materials.

The question of what to do with the excess skate materials brought about a whole new design concept that was birthed in 2003 as Loll designs furniture.  Here is a look at the first chair.

Not very eloquent but add a bit of color and a touch of good design and presto-chango you have a winner.  Here are a few more products from Loll.

A recent visit to a craft fair got me re-inspired about hammocks.  A vendor there was selling “Hammock Chairs” and of course I tried the sample and fell in love all over again.  Hammocks seem to have a super natural power that is most evident when you are swinging in them.  Hammock chairs are a way to integrate the hammock theme into half the space.  Used as an ”indoor-outdoor” concept I think that this item is definately worth considering as a fun, alternative form of seating.  I know my daughter would not protest if given the choice. 

Air Chair USA

Woven hammocks are the ones that I love.  These are a bit more traditional in style and some are even colorful. 

Yard Envy Chair Hammock 

Island Bay Proch Swing

And here’s yours truely having a ball on a roof-top hammock.

I was contacted by Southern Living magazine to find out if I would like to review their magazine for Tchochkes. Well, I love Southern Living and their country cottage look – so why not?!

We agreed they would send me a magazine and then I would review.

I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally I get an email from them asking about the review. Well, I never received the magazine. Apparently someone in the Israeli Postal System decided they needed to check out Southern Living even more than I did – because it never arrived here.

So I got pdf’s instead. Which is ok, but not the same as a magazine. You can’t hold a pdf unless you print it out. And then the quality isn’t the same. It’s not bound. You can’t sit with your girlfriends on the sofa gazing at photographs and pointing out what you love and hate. In short – I want my magazine!

*Sigh* Isn’t that stunning? The picture is from “Chattanooga Bungalow” an article on southern bungalow design (and as you know – I’m a sucker for the bungalow).

Admittedly, I would have gone for a deep strawberry red door – which would also be more traditional, but it would also be kind of expected. I’m loving the orange. You know the man is single though – that carpet. I have to wonder if he rolls it up when he invites people over. Or only serves white wine?

One great thing about the article is that they explain how to get the look. Apparently George Krauth, the owner of the house, made the swing long to fit the extra wide porch and the pillows are sewn from military blankets (the army navy store near you will be inundated now with soccer moms searching for these blankets – isn’t that a visual!)

Love the wainscoting, love the sideboard, love the tchochkes on the table. Love it, love it, love it.

The article has even more pictures with details from the house. It’s the October Southern Living issue. Sorry I’m writing about it so late, I hope the newsstands still have copies.

Another article stuck out for more personal reasons…

The “Outdoor Fireplace” article just struck a nerve. When we first moved to our house my husband decided he was going to build a BBQ. Desire to stay married is keeping me from posting a picture of what the result was. Let’s just say it wasn’t the picture you see above, which is simply divine.

The Southern Living website also has some great information in it. While I can’t say I agree with all of their design mores (a bedroom or two had the same fabric pattern everywhere which is far too matchy-matchy for my taste) but the design information is sound and the pictures are pretty. And I’m really into pretty pictures.

OH – AND THE VIDEO! Did I mention how great their room videos are? Check this out.

Great magazine – just wish it actually arrived – Southern Living.

Fall gardening is something new to me.  I happened upon this popular pass-time by chance after my Mom gave me a book that she picked up at a yard sale.  “A Woman’s Hardy Garden” by Helena Rutherfurd Ely first published in 1903 and re-published in 1990, has turned my world around.

This hillside just behind my house was nothing special.  Not only was it uninteresting it was labor intensive when it came to maintenance.  Mowing a hillside of this angle is no fun so I decided to try my hand at landscaping. 

Just like people, plants need to dress for the coming cold.  Fall is the time to plant shrubs, trees and bulbs.  Mulching is a way to make these plants winter-ready.  Mulch, a fancy word for chopped up tree stumps, is better know as “blankets for plants” in the world of gardening.

Here’s my hillside garden.  The brown furry looking stuff is the mulch.  I collected a few rocks from the surrounding wooded areas and presto- chango rock garden here we come.

The next thing I need is this Adirondack bench…  it is on sale at “Country Willow“ one of the local shops around the corner from my home but  I am waiting for fire sale prices. 

Fall gradening is a delight.  Let’s wait and see if the stuff comes up next Spring!

Not so long ago you may have seen the Solair chair – the summer classic that decorated North American motels and patios – tossed in to the garbage. It was available in vibrant colours with a moulded plastic seat on bent removable steel legs. It was so bright, so ’70′s and so dated. That’s all changed.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Prince Edward Island when I came across these chairs.

The Solair(e) chair was designed and manufactured in Canada and overlooked for decades has made a comeback in Toronto. Now hailed as a classic and icon of Canadian design.

It used to be known as the motel chair but is now part of the permanent collection of the Musee National des Beaux Arts du Quebec.

Kate Eisen, owner of the mid-century modern Toronto furniture store INabstracto says: “We just want to make people aware that this is something special in Canadian design.”

The Solair was designed in 1972 by two young Montreal industrial designers: Fabio Fabiano (with a name like that what else could you be?) and Michelange Panzini. Sales slowed for years, but the chair has never been out of production. With all the recent interest IEL manufacturers (originally Industries Provinciales Ltee) of Saint-Damien, Quebec expect sales to double.

Panzini has an architectural practice in Montreal. He was just out of school when he and his partner got a commission from manufacturers Industries Provinciales to rework an indoor/outdoor chair. The objective was to build a chair that was easy to assemble, inexpensive and fun.

The result was clever, minimalist and influenced by Italian design. The parts were stackable and the chair was sturdy and waterproof.

Here is the chair as shown on IEL’s website.

I prefer the original which looks like it has less plastic and smoother lines for the steel legs.

We are too quick to throw things away. This is still a “modern” chair. And if you can get your hands on one of these chairs I think they would be great for Israel’s lifestyle, climate and space considerations. The Solair chair is comfortable, rain-resistant (that is if we get rain) and easy to disassemble. And best of all says Eisen: “…people look great sitting in them.”

Three Toronto dealers sell the revived Solair: INabstracto, EyeSpy (who ship Internationally) and SMASH.

The chairs retail for $120 (Cdn) and are available in original as well as new colours: tropical orange, tan, white, aquamarine, lime green, hot pink and yellow. Fall ’09 may see grey and black as well.

I mentioned on Monday that I took a lot of photos of Tel Aviv potter Ziva Hasson’s amazing apartment. As such I couldn’t stick them all in one post. Well, this is part 2 – the front and back balconies, guest bathroom, and office / guest room.

The slate gray tile of the apartment is continued straight out onto the front patio. Notice the size of the tile is quite large. Having the tile continue outside gives a flow to the apartment and turns the front patio into an outside room.

The back patio is decked – which breaks up the space, but also gives it a more intimate feel as the wood is a warmer tone. There are wires going along the sides of the back where the climbers are strategically placed – eventually the view will be pure green.

I especially liked the sailing tarp over the back patio. It has a sculptural element which is both artistic and functional.

By the time I got to the back patio people started to come into the house (it was Houses From Within after all).  So I took the last of my shots (anything I missed the first time around) and ran out.

Next to the bedroom, in the back, is the guestroom / office. The room is clean, simple. The art is very avante garde, but somehow fits the space. I loved the different fabrics making the love seat.

And I’m assuming that if you put one cushion in front of the other on the ground you have a double size bed. I just wonder if the piping is a problem? By the way, that isn’t four mid size cushions – that’s two huge ones. One cream background and one red background. All of the patterns (including the two front sage throw pillows on top) are of the same pattern in different colors – then the two back throw pillows are the same colors as the front – but a different pattern. Loved this – truly. It would be so simple to have made, and yet it’s such a nice burst of color and really adds a warmth to the space.

Notice the floor in the guest room is wood – the apartment is split-level (one stair) and the upper level has wood floors. Hence the back patio keeps the feel of the upper level, even though it isn’t the same wood.

The whole house was like this bathroom, ultra-modern mixed with antiques and it’s done really well. Everything is just so gorgeous that they compliment each other. Look up and notice the old school window in the mirror. If the wood still works – why replace it? Just because other windows have been changed for aluminium ‘Belgi’ doesn’t mean that you have to replace a perfectly fine window. (Belgium aluminium is what it’s called in Israel – why? No clue. But it’s the aluminum windows that open like a door rather than sliding to the side and it’s more expensive than normal windows.)

Love the tub. Really love the tub.

The ceramics were everywhere (which makes sense in the home of a potter). These were some of my favorites.

I don’t get garden-envy very often. We have a nice size backyard and while it’s not the poshest place in the world, we did it ourselves and we love it. However, this garden has some elements that I would definitely like to encorporate into my backyard.

The step in the back with the flowers is nice. I would lose the flamingo – but that’s just me. Pink flamingos remind me of a rather disgusting John Waters movie…

This is where the ‘elements I would like to encorporate’ come in. We still have Keter plastic tables and chairs in our backyard. Not the sexiest stylings I can assure you. This would be much nicer to come back and see.

I love this. The built in chairs with the multi-colored cushions beg you to lounge outside. 

In fact, when I went out there originally there was a guy just sitting there. His family eventually came out and forced him to leave (I originally thought he lived in the house – nope). 

See the colorful lampshade – funny how you see them everywhere. 

Now imagine you went through the living room over to the master bath… 

It’s a little funky, but a lot of fun. 

The nude above the necklaces reflects another nude above the bath (not pictured). Not my taste, mind you, but it’s an idea for the bathroom. I do like  the jewelry holder. What a wonderful way to accessorize both yourself and a room.

The bedroom had a lot of storage, but it was all very well sorted. The wall opposite this antique armoir had a built in closet and drawers in an off-white shade which blended with the walls. (You can see my husbands reflection in the glass.)

Another armoir anchors the master bedroom. Notice the built-in headboard and ‘side tables’ (the shelves on the side with tchochkes on them).

More storage is set into the wall, hidden away. 

Heating and shelving combine.

A reading corner next to the window.

The bedroom leads out onto the back patio.

Someone had asked me once about how to transition a tile floor to a wood one. Well, this is about as good as it gets. I’m not nuts about it – but I could live with it in order to have wood flooring.

The Gerbers actually renovate houses for a living, and I would have loved to have given their information. However, the person from Houses from Within hasn’t written back to me regarding this information and I lost their card. Sorry folks.

That’s one “GREEN” bed!

I came across this photo on the HGTVwebsite.  Now come on, who plants grass on the top of a bed?  Granted this is a rooftop garden and the bed is meant to be seating, but I still think this is one bizarre design idea…

 I wonder how they mow this bed?!