By Katie McGuire, D2D Studio Intern

Why is it that humans desire so strongly to connect with nature? It is fall here in Colorado, and usually the trees will have shed their leaves by now due to the early frosts we are prone to in the mile high city. This year, though, we have been delighted with rich golds and oranges and the crunchy accumulation of spent leaves, as well as the softly waving tendrils of decorative grasses. When driving down the boulevard in my subdivision I am thrilled with the change in scenery. Although we don’t know why we desire to connect to our earth we can acknowledge the feeling and how it has been communicated in architecture and design around the world, in all time periods. Even now the most successful interiors incorporate natural features and materials, or create framework that showcases the surrounding landscapes. Now, for your enjoyment, some links to especially dramatic assimilations of nature into architecture:
1.       A room in the Conrad Hilton”

Those who know me well would call my personal style Eclectic Fusion. For years I called it Asian Fusion, a term that I hadn’t heard of until after Y2K, but knew in my heart and soul since I was a child. My Grandma Stella has been decorating her home in Asian Fusion style since at least 1960. Her home has grace and warmth, with inspiring details in every corner. I’m sure she understood vignette merchandising before Macy’s did. Maybe that’s an overstatement, but the truth is she has an innate design sense that has seeped into my bones over the last 34 years.

Grandma Stella and Grandpa Irving started out with a modestly sized Usonian style ranch in San Diego they built 50 years ago. The classically styled furniture has been gracefully aging under her diligent care. Accessories and art consistently get refreshed, as she acquires new treasures. All of the spaces in Grandmas’ home combine Asian touches, whether in the furniture lines, accessories or art. Her large Hindu Ganesha wall sculpture, Buddha statues, and Middle Eastern camel seats (beautifully reupholstered in dark leopard print) all complement the contemporary lines of the structure. I watched my Grandma elevate the term homemaker” to an entirely new level as I was growing up. Our shared love of Asian art and furniture has remained deeply ingrained in my personal style.  As I studied Design”