Designed in rows

The Royal Crescent in Bath, England

I love rows of things, the rhythm is soothing and I enjoy certain repetitions, especially with variations of different patterns or colors, there is an order to otherwise unstructured pieces, be it books or houses, columns or trees, fabrics or...
Rows of stone walls create patterns in a landscape. I love the terraced rice fields in Vietnam. I have often admired the long into the horizon fleeting rows of large poplar trees in my Saxony home country in Germany. They were bend by the winds. When I travelled the first time to Italy, old Roman temples with their incredible columns fascinated me as much as the high stretched cathedrals from Gothic times. I think, apart from the structural sense of rows to support, it is simply a very human way of managing space, of sorting and organizing. Patterns create order in an otherwise chaotic world. There is harmony in designed rows.


Old allee street in Mecklenburg, Germany



Reims Cathedral



Ithaca library








Tulip fields in Holland



Colonnade Row in New York

Lavender fields, France


Temple of Ceres, Paestum, Italy

Pictures via flickr (trees), National Geographic (lavender fields), Bath, England website, Wallpaper book, Ithaca library, my own...

A weekend full of sunshine

This is what I wish for you all and us here around after a little bit too much rain...

XX
Victoria



Picture by V.Zlotkowski

A perfectly designed day in NYC

My lovely niece (above in the middle) and her friend came to visit us from Germany and have been with us for a couple of days now and nothing could be better then to take the girls and show off the city...
The result for a first day was spectacular and we spend the day literally from dawn to dusk and enjoyed every minute together!
We went up the Empire State Building, down to the village, shopped, looked, ate and had simply a blast...We walked miles and miles!
One of the highlights was a visit to a shop I always enjoy visiting, since this place has magic to it and even my young and hip friends were taken by the splendor and riches. It's the 'ABC carpet&home' store and for years I have been following it's seasonal and themed changes. Not only can one find antiques and glorious fine pieces of jewelry, artwork, carpets, reproductions and well designed new furniture among much more, you get a magic in display, a fantasy world of lights, colors, a wonderland of creativity.
I have this aching feeling of almost seeing to much of beautiful things and yet can hardly pull myself away. Every time this place puts a spell on me. And now let me share some of it with you. I took so many pictures and to edit all was a tour de force.

Indian food in the village



Coffee break at 'Le pain quotidian', a wonderful Belgian bakery, before indulging in the ABC store's...six floors of spirited design!






























I could not have asked for more enthusiastic companions...but by now they are as exhausted as you are...




Now you can take a deep breath and say 'OHM'... I could not possibly have shown you all pictures, but over the next weeks I will sneak in this or that!




For now that's it, Good bye and Good night, New York, New York!

XX
Victoria


All pictures taken by V. Zlotkowski

Absolut green magic

I have been following the work of one of the great gardeners of our time - Patrick Blanc - for a couple of years now and finally wanted to show you his amazing creations. He is one of those renaissance man, being scientist, botanist and artist as well. And believe me, I would not be able to say which comes first. His knowledge about plants is unbelievable, he has researched extensively on plants, which grow under extreme conditions, especially vertical growth in humid, dry or low light conditions.
As a result he has created the most incredible hanging gardens all over the world and has changed the urban landscape with it. He builds green oasis where only concrete and steel existed before, indoors and out, from malls to private residences. His work can be found from Asia to Europe and, yes... in New York City, where he added his skills at the Marithe and Francois Girbaud Boutique in Soho. I could imagine a skyscraper in Manhattan covered in living green...
I just found his latest book and can only recommend to have a look!

http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/mainen.php

I admire his visions, persistance and imagination! In my dream life as a designer I would so love to work with him once....












All images from the book The Vertical Garden..