Design Post Update

While in Palm Springs I spent a few days outside of the 'city' at a newly renovated resort from the golden age of Hollywood, La Quinta.
Built in 1926 it was said to be as far from Hollywood as an actor in the studio system could travel while on call. And they did come; Garbo was a regular as was Gable.
Frank Capra spent many summers at the resort with his wife, writing scripts for many of his award winning movies including It happened one night (one of my favorites), Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life (which I can't stand).
While the Hollywood history is interesting, one comes for the weather and mountain views.
The rooms are all individual casitas interwoven through beautiful gardens and interesting public spaces.
41 swimming pools and 53 hot tubs make sure that everyone gets their own personal space with mountain views and plenty of sunshine.
I loved this pergola with climbing roses right outside of my casita. I'll have to go back to see it in full bloom!
Even though roses weren't in season, there were still plenty of fragrant hangers on to admire.
Beautiful architecture, luxurious gardens, swimming pools, and Palm Springs weather; the La Quinta Resort is wintertime heaven on earth to this weary Washingtonian!

Nestled into the ancient Alhambra is the Palace of Charles V which dates to the early 16th century Renaissance. This palace was modeled on ancient Roman architecture which was heavily influential at the time period. Later these Renaissance examples would come to rule and guide Classical architecture.
Lets start outside as that's what one encounters first.  The strong rusticated base exudes strength but instead of small openings as in a fortress the palace is flooded with large windows and natural light. Fortification is not the primary goal here.
 I love the ornate bronze rings that line the lower level. Notice the recent restoration to the stonework with the new stone crisp and clean leaving the weathered stone alone (the way it should be!).
Once inside the gardens make a complete 180. When in Rome....or Granada in this case.....cooling water features are the focus of the gardens. The gardens were actually already in place when the palace was built having been started in the 14th century (the Palacio de Generalife). They were later restored in the 1930s to their current day appearance.
Architect Pedro Machuca was responsible for the building of the Renaissance palace which took over 20 years.
 The enormous round interior colonnaded patio is what really impresses me.
 Notice the detailed stone work on the interior face of the wall and the beautiful Ionic columns.

 In this cold winter weather here in Washington these gardens are speaking to me!
 Symmetry, balance, and simplicity are key here.
 The gardens terrace down the steep hillsides taking advantage of the view.
Thanks as always to my Australian Penpal for providing us with this inspiration!

Why don't we have World's Fairs anymore? They provided us with some of the worlds great monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the entire City Beautiful movement. If you have any Beaux-Arts styled buildings in your city or town, such as a courthouse, museum, or townhall, you can thank the World's Fair movement!  I saw an exhibit on that at the National Building museum a few years ago and it was really an eye opening experience (read more about that and how it influenced modernism HERE).
Recently I was sent photographs of the Plaza de España in Seville, which was the centerpiece of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929, by my Australian Penpal which really took my breath away.
This enormous plaza designed by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier contains fountains and a Venetian-style lazy river complete with boat rides, surrounded by a semi-circular building which now houses government offices.
At the base of the building designed by architect Anibal Gonzalez which surrounds the plaza are 48 alcoves which represent the provinces of Spain, seen in the image above. These have provided great photography fodder with Spanish tourists posing in front of the alcove representing their home province.
In true Spanish tradition albeit with an Art Deco twist, the ceiling of the loggia is beautifully patterned.
Lets step inside the main building to the central staircase, setting of many Spanish weddings. The image below shows why!
The tilework of painted encaustic tiles is beautiful and lends human scale to the otherwise massive stair.
As if one needed another reason to visit sunny Spain, be sure to check out the Plaza de España in Seville!

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of hearing Charlotte Moss speak for the Mid-Atlantic ICAA in Georgetown at the historic Dumbarton House. The Federal styled house, built in 1800, has been a museum since 1928 when it was bought the the Colonial Dames of America.
The house is kept accurate to the time of its building and is a hidden gem here in Georgetown. Not to be missed are the beautiful gardens which are somewhat eclipsed by their famous neighbor up the street, Dumbarton Oaks.
 Moss's appreciation of gardens has changed over the years. She started loving the classic English Garden, which is so influential here in the USA because of our climate. She loves their beautiful flowers but found the style to be high maintenance; difficult for a city dweller who only visits her garden on the weekends. Even with help in the garden she prefers to be very hands on.
After giving up on her dreams of a English styled garden, she moved onto the more formal French gardens, famous for their symmetry. She was also drawn to the style for their love of the sculptural tree, 'No one can shape a tree like a Frenchman' - except perhaps Bunny Mellon whom Moss spoke about at length.  The third favorite garden type she spoke about was the Italian, rare in the USA where our climate is not hospitable to the plants, but if one learns abundance from the French, one can learn ease from an Italian garden.
Collaboration in her gardens in East Hampton are important and Charlotte designed hers with professionals -namely Lisa Stamm and her architect husband Dale Booher. Garden festivals are one of Moss's passions and she travels the world exploring these functions. She may not be able to bring the plants home but she can talk to the gardeners and pick up tips and ideas. They're also generally hosted in some of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
Charlotte spoke personally about her love of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, which she visited first as a 4th grader in Richmond, Virginia, and fell in love with the house and gardens. That love continues to this day as she is on their board of directors and helps in the care of this important site. She believes in historic preservation as one of the most important cultural institutions we have, as do I, because it preserves how people have lived through different times. We can always learn from the past, and as it turns out, from gardens. One can also learn from Charlotte, who encourages us all to ' Do something mad... you can do anything you like with your own house, who cares what anyone else thinks'!
I highly encourage you to grow your collection of Charlotte's inspirational tomes, with the addition of Garden Inspirations and go out there and do something MAD!
Images from Garden Inspirations by Charlotte Moss.

Adjacent to Cleveland Park is a little wooded area which when one enters feels like the street that Washington forgot.  Springland Lane and the beautiful houses and gardens which have grown into it is a tiny alcove nestled just north of Cleveland Park that until recent times was a farm and vineyard (right near the heart of the city!). On May 23, 2015 the Cleveland Park Historical Society is cohosting a garden tour of the area which is an exclusive look not just at the 16 pretty houses and private gardens but a look at the not too distant agricultural past of the neighborhood. Tickets are available on the website HERE - I hope to see you there!

Following a reception, Charlotte will speak about her latest book, Garden Inspirations.  Afterwards she will sign copies of her books. It should be yet another great event sponsored by the ICAA here in DC!
Hope to see you all there; be ready to be inspired by this fabulous taste-maker and don't forget to bring a copy of your book to be signed!
Tickets are available on the website HERE.
Images via Veranda Magazine and Charlotte Moss.

Queen Elizabeth has her own monogrammed terracotta planters with her Cipher at her Sandringham Estate ; this makes my beloved Guy Wolff pots seem downright plebeian!
Image courtesy of Neil, my penpal