Dallas Blooms!

You know it's spring in Dallas when the Arboretum opens for Dallas Blooms.

The gates open wide on March 6, showcasing over 500,000 blooming bulbs ! This year a 12’ tall Ferdinand the Bull topiary will delight guests, bringing the classic children’s tale to life. Ferdinand will be “smelling the flowers” accompanied by a honey bee topiary amongst a bed of blooming spring flowers.

By now you have a sense of how my mind works.  Pictures of Ferdinand gloriously happy, smelling the flowers makes me think of all the new floral patterns, both traditional and contemporary, that have arrived at the studio in the last month .  The design houses come out with new products in January and February, and we are still basking in the abundance of beautiful fabrics we have to work with...and florals are making a comeback in new, fresh ways.

Duralee, Highland Court, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Fabricut and more....

Of course, now I'm seeing flowers everywhere.  I love the new line from French Bull.  This company makes high quality "Melamine" dishware, aprons, bags and other items that have so much pizzazz and whimsey.  I have a few sets of the graduated bowls with lids that I use to store leftovers.  My frige always looks so happy when I open it !

These are my bowls.

Just a few of their tableware designs.  I'll bet the kids would even eat their spinach off of these plates.....I regress.....back to the idea at hand.....florals!

When you're thinking of flowers,  you have to be reminded of the classic works of art that had floral themes.

Monet's  Water Lilies,

which was really a series of 250 paintings depicting Monet's gardens in Giverny during the last 30 years of his life.  He even did many of the paintings with cataracts in his eyes....maybe that's where the "fuzzy" aspect of his paintings comes from....probably not.

And fabulous works from Georgia O'Keefe, the American master of the large scale floral.   I've always wanted to be like her when I grew up.

She has inspired many to immulate her work.

These painted doors used as art work are from Guildmaster. 

They do great painted furniture!

Love the painted wicker.

This is the Woodlands credenza.  What a statement piece !

I can hear you now....no, it's not neutral...no, you may not love it forever, but oh, how you will love it while you do!

Painted furniture has been popular for centuries as evidenced by this 18th century Italian corner cabinet.

  I've painted lots of furniture in my day, and flowers are always a favorite theme...(I like fruit too, but I'll save that for another post.)

Wallpaper has been making a comeback for the last few years, and florals are a consistent theme....but there's a few twists.

 

Wallpaper made of organic materials like grass, cork, leaves and even enbedded with swarovski crystals....no, it's not your mother's wallpaper!

In this room by Candice Olsen, floral appliques grace an accent wall covered in grass cloth for a unique and graceful wall treatment.

There's a lot of thinking out of the box in wallpaper design today.

The flower theme can go on and on, and we'll never get tired of them as a design theme.  After a VERY long winter (ok, I know I'm in Texas, but it was long and cold for us ), it's really nice to enjoy a spring day, almost 70 degrees with clear skies.....oops, I'm reverting to being the weatherman! Rain is forcast for the opening day of Dallas Blooms but, if you're in Texas, close enough to be there, then you know if you don't like the weather right now, then just wait a minute!