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Perfected Peonies from the Little Flower School

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We don't want the flowers in the front hallway to look stiff and self-conscious, as if they're posing for a painting called Still Life with Peonies.

But we definitely want peonies in the hall. And in the living room, and on the nightstand, and in a vase on the ledge above the bathroom sink—and anywhere else our eye might fall. God, we love peonies. So does Nicolette Owen, a Brooklyn floral designer who teaches classes at the Little Flower School, which she co-founded nearly three years ago with partner Sarah Ryhanen. Somehow Ms. Owen manages to make peonies look natural and relaxed, rather than like preening beauties trying to catch a glimpse of their reflection in a shop window. With peony season fast approaching, she agreed to share her trade secrets.

Photographs by Nicolette Owen.

Above: "You're kind of creating a little landscape," says Owen, a fourth-generation gardener whose great-grandfather was a dahlia farmer. Lesson one at flower school: Mix two or three shapes in an arrangement. To offset the showiness of peonies, combine them with something leafy—ferns, perhaps—and something wispy.

Above: In the garden, cut peony buds before they've opened fully, but after they've started to crack. (For a white peony, try Paeonia 'Bowl of Cream'; it's $31.95 at White Flower Farm.) "The more foliage you strip off before you put them in water, the more the water will hydrate the flower heads and cause them to open quickly," Owen says.

Above: Don't be afraid to cut some stems short and to leave others tall, to create a layered look.

Above: Use a flower frog in the base of a vase, to hold stems steady. "Alternatively, a little ball of chicken wire will work," Owen says. Or use Double-Sided Waterproof Floral Tape, to make a crisscross support grid on the surface of a shallow bowl. A roll is $8.95 at The Cutting Garden.

Above: For more of Ms. Owen's peonies (and other arrangements), see Bringing Nature Home, a new book by photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo.


Restaurant Visit: Joan's on Third

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Whenever we're in LA, Julie and I head straight to Joan's on Third (it doesn't hurt that it's across the street from Noodle Stories, our favorite clothing shop in the city).

Joan McNamara founded her eponymous cafe and gourmet goods market in the 1990s, when her catering company expanded to include a sliver of a cafe. (At the time, Third Street was a much quieter affair.) Today McNamara's culinary emporium has grown to include deli cases packed with sparkling fresh salads, a bakery, a gelato bar, and a cheese counter. McNamara, who hails from New Jersey, spent a brief stint working for industrial designer Paul McCobb in New York before she moved into the culinary world. Her love of design has been a constant and is on display throughout the interiors of Joan's, from the all-white interior with black accents to the vintage finds she uses to display goods. We're looking forward to her next iteration; another Joan's is scheduled to open in Studio City later this year. For information, visit Joan's on Third.

Photography by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.

Above: The exterior features an antique, wall-mounted stone water fountain by the main doors.

Above: An antique communal dining table; white hex tiles cover the floor.

Above: McNamara's attention to detail is evident throughout: Silverware is stored in stoneware jars, vintage baking tins house sachets of sugar, and stoneware mustard jars hold flowers. We're always impressed by the array of simple, fresh flowers on display.

Above: Vintage dolly tubs (originally used to wash clothes) display popcorn and crackers.

Above: A marble-topped table under a vintage mirror (L). A wall of gourmet goods on display; note the vintage clock on the far wall (R).

Above: Vintage scales sit on a marble counter; white marble is used throughout the store.

Above: Pasta, cheeses, and fresh bread.

Above: The bakery section features a selection of goods displayed on cake stands. Vintage milk glass lighting hangs above.

Above: An antique cupboard serves as a station for milk and sugar.

Above: Black Tolix chairs in the outdoor dining area on Third Street.

Blasen Landscape Architects: Salt and Sea and a Garden

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Drive along Highway 1 north of San Francisco for 20 miles, until you reach that wide, foggy stretch of Stinson Beach where you can glimpse ocean out the driver's side window and Marin County's grassy headlands in your rearview.

Turn left onto the dirt road. At the end of a cul de sac sits a beach house, built in 1968, that started out as a modest, L-shaped bungalow. During a recent renovation, SF-based architect Peter Pfau added 540 square feet of living space and collaborated with Marin-based Blasen Landscape Architecture to create a family retreat that welcomes the sea without capitulating to its harsh demands. "You have salt air and extreme winds," says Eric Blasen, landscape architect. "Trying to fit into the landscape was the goal, and it was a challenge." Here's how the garden rises to the occasion.

Photographs by Marion Brenner.

Above: The client's pickup truck is parked in front of a redwood fence that provides both privacy and a buffer against the wind. "Instead of building a solid fence, we left little gaps between the slats and in-filled with white, hand-blasted, recycled plastic," Blasen says. "Light goes through the fence, but you can't see through."

Above: A concrete threshold, with a tiny window that offers a peek of the grasses that grow against the side of house. To enter, push a handle on the right wall. The entire length of redwood will pivot dramatically, like a giant door, to invite you in.

Above: The view through the little window. The ornamental grass Jarava ichu produces flowers that look like silvery feathers.

Above: To your left, as you enter, is a sunken, wood-burning fire pit. A large concrete bench allows guests to sit up on the deck level, out of the smoke. To the left of the pit is the garage; the bench acts as a buffer, "so people don't come out of the garage and head into the pit," Blasen says.

Above: The bottom of the fire pit is sand. The concrete pit, faced with fire brick, is a neutral shade that matches the color of the sand. Light fixtures mounted in the pit's walls illuminate the area at night.

Above: A grassy dune makes the property feel bigger. Passionflower vines cover the fence, attracting butterflies and producing white flowers and edible orange fruit. The mounded Muhlenbergia rigens, commonly known as deergrass, prevents erosion and is drought tolerant.

Above: Beyond the garage, waterproof canvas miners' tents pitched atop wooden platforms serve as guest bedrooms.

Above: At the edge of the property, a path leads to a gate the family calls "the surfers' entrance." One house away is the ocean.

New Feist Chair from Casamidy

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Our ever-inventive friend Jorge Alameda of Casamidy was inspired to create the Feist chair after a recent trip to Amsterdam. "Feist means bike in Dutch," he says. "We couldn't help but notice that people in Amsterdam need to personalize their bikes, because there are so many of them."

The customizable chair comes in several options; with fabric panels or synthetic webbing (denim, white canvas, Sunbrella), it's $800, and with leather straps (saddle, black, or raw), it's $950 (N.B.: The frame can be matched to any Pantone color sample at no extra cost). Go to Casamidy for ordering information.

New Fiets Chair from Casamidy

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Our ever-inventive friend Jorge Alameda of Casamidy was inspired to create the Fiets chair after a recent trip to Amsterdam. "Fiets means bike in Dutch," he says. "We couldn't help but notice that people in Amsterdam need to personalize their bikes, because there are so many of them."

The customizable chair comes in several options; with fabric panels or synthetic webbing (denim, white canvas, Sunbrella), it's $800, and with leather straps (saddle, black, or raw), it's $950 (N.B.: The frame can be matched to any Pantone color sample at no extra cost). Go to Casamidy for ordering information.

Rae Dunn's Cycle-Centric Ceramics

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New from San Francisco ceramicist Rae Dunn, cycle-centric ceramics perfect for the bike enthusiast.

(N.B.: For more of her work, see our earlier post Tabletop: Salt and Pepper Cellars from Rae Dunn.)

Rae Dunn's Bike Plates

Above: Rae Dunn's Bike Plates are made of dishwasher-safe stoneware; $44 for the set of four (each with a different cycle design) at Nordstrom.

Rae Dunn Bike Mugs

Above: Rae Dunn Bike Mugs; $64 for the set of four at Nordstrom.

Rae Dunn Bike Mugs

Above: Clever text is stamped on the back of the mugs.

Steal This Look: Summer Biergarten Table

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Spring is here, which makes us think about outdoor entertaining, so while on The Martha Stewart Show today we are recreating the biergarten ambiance at San Francisco's white-hot Suppenküche Biergarten (good luck getting a table).

Create your own modern take on the classic German biergarten with the essential elements sourced below, and for more information on this Bay Area haunt, see Restaurant Visit: Suppenküche Biergarten in SF.

Photography by Janet Hall for Remodelista.

Above: The snack bar features open Douglas Fir shelving and pendant task lamps.

Above: Utensils and napkins are corralled in stoneware mugs.

Above: The sunny courtyard. For similar lighting, consider 48 feet of Outdoor Commercial String Lights; $89.97 from Amazon.

Above: Vintage German blankets are available to take the chill off the night air; the Bundeswehr Wool Blanket from the German Bund; a set of four is $159 at Deutsche Optik.

Above: The Biergarten Folding Wood Table and Bench is available in natural wood (shown) and in orange for $549 from Oktoberfesthaus.

Above: Illuminate your table with Recycled Bottle Lanterns; 8.5 inches tall and $26.50 at Aha Modern Living. Another hanging lantern option is the battery-powered Soji Solar Lantern in white; a colored LED inside is responsible for the amber glow. We'd hang a cluster in a tree at the far edge of the garden. (N.B.: Happily, the price has been cut to $17 since the last time we admired it.)

Above: The Six-Piece Beer Tasting Set from the Martha Stewart Collection includes pilsner, tulip, and pub glasses; $29.99 for the set at Macy's.

Above: This Bavarian-style Stag Horn Bottle Opener adds a hefty Germanic note to the table; it's $110 from Jack Spade.

Above: Straub's in New Hampshire offers a variety of brew mugs perfect for storing utensils; the Spaten Stoneware Mug is $14.50.

Above: We like to use Elly Dish Towels as napkins; $3.99 for a pack of four at Ikea.

Above: The Olivier Flatware Set features olive wood handles and is made in France; $69.95 for a five-piece place setting from Crate & Barrel.

Above: The round 16-inch-diameter Galvanized Steel Tub is perfect for chilling bottles of pilsner; $54.95 at Vintage Tub.

Above: Banish the bugs with this soy Mosquito Repellent Candle, free of citronella and DEET, for $56 (the concrete container is reusable) from Hillhouse Naturals Farm.

DIY: Leather Napkin Ties

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For a casual table setting, and particularly for outdoor settings, it's nice to have an alternative to napkin rings.

A while back I spotted some leather ties at San Francisco's Bar Bambino and decided to recreate them at home. I sourced some leather laces, doubled them, knotted the ends together, and voilà—an instant napkin ring.

Above: A dark navy napkin is secured with leather at Bar Bambino. Photo by Eden Hensley Silverstein, via Flickr.

Above: The leather napkin tie keeps an oversize linen napkin in check.

Tandy Rawhide Lace

Above: Check your local leather supplier for remnants; a fabric store also should carry leather lacing. Amazon offers 20-yard spools of Tandy Rawhide Lace for $21.99.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original ran on November 9, 2011.


Lap Blankets for Outdoor Dining

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The proprietors of Suppenküche in San Francisco are opposed to heating lamps ("So ugly," they say) in their biergarten. Instead, they provide stacks of scratchy WWII surplus wool blankets to ward off the Pacific chill. Here's a roundup of blankets for your own domestic biergarten.

Vintage Swiss Army Blanket

Above: The Vintage Swiss Army Blanket is $298 at Sundance. A similar Swiss Army Blanket is €155 at Manufactum.

Berg Blanket

Above: Berg Blanket by Anderssen Voll; featuring a color gradient displaying the complex weave of two different types of fibers (50 percent cotton and 50 percent wool); CA $250 at Mjolk in Toronto.

Alpen Club Swiss Cross Blanket

Above: We've also like the old-world look of the Wolldecke Schweizer Alpen-Club Blanket; €143 at Manufactum (only available in Europe).

Rustic Striped Throw

Above: The Rustic Striped Throw is made of heavy organic linen backed with cotton flannel; $148 at Terrain.

Senovinis Blanket

Above: The Senovinis Blanket from Japanese company Fog Linen is made of 100 percent cotton; $140 at Horne.

Design Sleuth: Wheat as Decor

Stealth Retreat: Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley

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A five-star resort with sheep, bees, and vines—welcome to Northern California.

Obscurely located in its own canyon, Calistoga Ranch is not easy to find: It's situated at the northern end of the Napa Valley, off the Silverado Trail. The upscale resort has managed to achieve an elusive balance of rustic-luxe; hence its popularity with LA celebrities in search of solitude (or anonymity, at least). Guests are housed in cedar lodges in an oak grove, where the architecture accommodates the trees. Patios with wood decks link the bedrooms to living rooms, and indoor-outdoor living is an integral part of any stay. The only resort in the valley with its own vineyard gives guests little reason to leave the grounds. For further information, visit Calistoga Ranch.

Photography by Mimi Giboin.

Above: A cedar wood lodge in a grove of oak trees, with stairs to a bedroom built around an existing bough.

Above: Guest lodges feature indoor-outdoor living areas with fireplaces for chilly evenings.

Above: Each bathroom has an adjoining outdoor shower.

Above: A pool in the spa area, overlooking Lake Lommel. The waters in Calistoga are renowned for their minerals.

Above: The Sotero Estate vineyard, located near the entrance to the resort.

Above: Local pottery from Calistoga is provided in the guest rooms and filled with water from the property's well.

Above: Cabernet Sauvignon vines are ready to bud.

Above: Overgrown grass in the vineyard is kept under control by Baby Doll sheep, who take about six weeks to chomp it all up.

Above: Hand-carved walking sticks wait at a trailhead for guests to use on one of the hillside walks.

Above: Just beyond the vineyard is a terraced garden with vegetable beds, a greenhouse, and beehives, where landscape manager Steve Ferrini also tends bonsai (Above). Last year, to celebrate Earth Day, guests received a small olive tree cutting upon departure. This year, they are taking home packets of Calistoga Ranch seeds.

Above: Wisteria growing on the grounds.

Above: Tea and honey for guests to enjoy in the spa.

Above: Thanks to the beehives, the spa now offers Bee Well Treatments that include honey. Shown above are small bowls of honey cream, organic lavender milk bath, honey rose body polish, and bee balm.

Above: The advent of spring at Calistoga Ranch, where the natural landscape plays a major role in creating the resort's ambiance.

Sonoma Farmhouse by Houseplans

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When our friends Stephen Williamson and his wife, Alexandra, stumbled on a half-acre lot in Sonoma, they saw potential: a location to use as a case study for building a modern Napa farmhouse.

Houseplans, Williamson's company, is based on a simple concept—it's an online source for architectural plans. As anyone who has ever built a house knows, construction is never simple. Here's where Houseplans comes in: clients choose a plan from the company's catalog; if needed, they can enlist the services of in-house architect Nicholas Lee to modify and refine the plan. For more information, go to Houseplans.

Above: The house is oriented to face the western hills of Sonoma, to take advantage of the views.

Barn Light Warehouse Pendant

Above: The overhanging porch is in keeping with the local farmhouse architecture. The Barn Light Warehouse Pendant is from Barn Light Electric; $99.

Simply White Paint

Above: The polished concrete floor extends to the outside breezeway; both the interior and exterior are painted in Benjamin Moore's Simply White Paint.

Above: The cantilevered wood hearth along the fireplace wall doubles as extra seating. Alexandra picked up the rug on a trip to Morocco; she sourced the chairs at a local thrift store and had them refurbished.

Rondo Pendant by Eglo

Above: For sourcing information on the kitchen elements, consult Houseplans' notes on the project, including the Rondo Pendant by Eglo; $70 from Lumens.

Above: The countertops are made of zinc, with marble slabs for prep work.

Above: The far wall houses built-in cupboards for storage.

Above: The plan includes skylights that wash the long hall with light, an idea inspired by Luis Barragan.

Above: Each bedroom opens on to the porch.

Above: The master suite features a bedspread from Sue Fisher King; Williamson made the oak headboard from leftover wood scraps.

Above: In the distance, one can see the steel container (reminiscent of a silo) used for water storage.

Above: The pool was inspired by Donald Judd's raised pool (admired by the couple on a trip to Marfa).

DIY: Instant Wine Bar

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Here's a clever idea we spotted at the Medlock Ames Winery in Healdsburg, CA: a picnic table as wine tasting bar.

Architect Luke Wade and builder Andy Bannister (the designers of Medlock Ames' tasting room and outdoor area) started with a wooden picnic table, then replaced the middle slat with a gutter. The result? A table cum wine cooler, perfect for accommodating the winery's guests.

N.B.: For more on the Healdsburg winery, see Restaurant Vist: Medlock Ames in Sonoma.

Above: To create something similar, remove the middle board of a slatted outdoor table and substitute a gutter of roughly the same width. Photo via Dwell.

K Style Galvanized Gutter

Above: A 10-foot-long K Style Galvanized Gutter is $20.20 at Gutter Supply. You can source hardware (to hold it in place) and a saw (to cut the gutter to the same length as the table) at your local hardware store.

High/Low Opaque Globe Lighting

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Admiring the white globe lights in today's Sonoma farmhouse kitchen? Here are two options (at opposite ends of the pricing spectrum) to achieve a diffused glow.

Above: Two white globe lights hang in the kitchen of today's Sonoma Farmhouse by Houseplans.

The Globe Pendant by B.Lux

Above: The Globe Pendant by B.Lux is made of mold-blown Murano glass; $1,097 from Y Lighting.

Rondo Pendant

Above: The more affordable Rondo Pendant is made of frosted opal glass; $92 from Lumens.

The Buzz: Beekeeping in Napa

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Beyond the pool, nestled in the woods by the greenhouse, is where the bees live at Calistoga Ranch.

About a year ago, the first honeybees arrived at the rustic Napa Valley resort. The original two colonies—including bees that are indigenous to Northern California and Italian bees—have since expanded to four. They make honey and beeswax, and have inspired such spa treatments as a lavender honey milk bath and a honey foot treatment. “I believe it’s the backyard beekeepers who will help the honeybees survive,” says Rob Keller of Napa Valley Bee Company, whose apiaries provided the bees that populate the Calistoga Ranch hives.

Photography by Mimi Giboin, except where noted.

Above: One of the four beehives at the ranch. Each hive accommodates up to 50,000 bees: drones (males), worker bees (females) and one queen.

Above: The ranch's landscape manager Steve Ferrini visits the bees every day to make sure they are happy and thriving. "You have to approach beekeeping with no fear," he says. "They don't sting unless provoked."

Above: Ferrini filled a livestock trough with water and floats corks on the surface, "for the bees to land on, so they don't have to travel far for water," he says.

Above: "The payoff is worth it, when you taste your little friends' bounty," Ferrini says. Image via Napa Valley Bee Company.

Above: The resort's Bathhouse Spa offer "Bee Well" treatments, with honey as an ingredient.

Above: To amateurs considering backyard beekeeping, Ferrini says, "It's an easy and low-cost way to help the bees and our food supply. Every year, the honeybee population dwindles. But bees don't just make honey; they play an incredibly important role in the pollination of our fruits and vegetables." About a third of our diet comes from insect-pollinated plants; honeybees are responsible for more than 80 percent of the poliination.


The Romantic Picnic Basket

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The act of picnicking is inherently romantic—for occasions requiring perfect presentation (think Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief), consider Heath's special edition, hand-plaited ash picnic basket from the Peterboro Basket Company, lined with fabric from South African design house Skinny Laminx.

Large Natural Picnic Basket

Above: The Peterboro Basket Company, located in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, teamed with Heath to create the Large Natural Picnic Basket; $72 at Heath Ceramics.

Large Natural Picnic Basket

Above: The basket features a printed cotton lining from Skinny Laminx.

Large Natural Picnic Basket

Above: This picnic basket is for the ages; note the sturdy hinged hardware.

10 Easy Pieces: Eco-Friendly Paints

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No longer does "going green" mean a sacrifice in paint or color quality.

The eco-friendly paint market has grown and evolved since we last looked at this topic: the paints we feature here perform like premium conventional paints (offering good coverage, vibrant colors, durability, and longevity) but without harmful odors, chemicals, or added solvents. For a quick primer on the definitions of paint toxicity and the like, see "What is the Greenest Can of Paint?" by one of our favorite paint experts, Philip Reno of G&R Paints in SF. One tip: Look for products that are low- or no-VOC in both the paint and the colorant.

Most of the brands featured offer large painted color cards and/or small sample pots, a low-waste way to test the color in your space.

arrow & Ball Paint

Above: One of our favorite paint companies, Farrow & Ball, has moved its paint to a water-based formula, significantly reducing the solvents in its products to low and zero VOC. Colors are derived from natural pigments, as well as other natural ingredients such as china clay, lime putty, and linseed oil. And the company doesn't use harmful ingredients like ammonia and formaldehyde. The price for a standard One Gallon of Farrow & Ball Paint is $85 from Farrow & Ball.

Marston & Langinger Paint Range

Above: Developed by UK-based Marston & Langinger after the company found most paints were too toxic to use for its greenhouses, the Marston & Langinger Paint Range ($75 for 5 liters) offers 72 shades available in matte and eggshell for interiors, and in eggshell for exteriors. Marston & Langinger architectural paints are water-based, non-toxic, non-flammable, and virtually odorless—and when dry, completely safe for pets and children.

C2 LoVo Paint

Above: C2 LoVo Paint is a premium, non-toxic, low-VOC paint with infinite color options. The only pigment system in the United States to use European colorants, C2 Paint can be customized in any color, and is available in the full range of Philip's Perfect Colors (see Paints & Palette: Philip's Perfect Colors). Last year, C2 Paints introduced C2 Studio, a low-VOC, value-priced paint available in all 496 C2 colors. Both paints are available at G&R Paints.

Yolo Colorhouse Semigloss Interior Paint

Above: Portland, Oregon-based Yolo Colorhouse offers premium no-VOC interior and exterior paints with a user-friendly color palette. One gallon of Semi-Gloss Interior Paint is $35 from Home Depot.

Ecotrend Collagen Paint

Above: Returning to methods used before the advent of petrochemicals, Ecotrend Collagen Paint is a no-VOC, odorless paint that uses collagen (eggshell lining recovered from commercial bakery waste eggshells) as the paint's binder. It is rated very high in coverage.


Old Fashioned Milk Paints

Above: Another historic paint formula with casein (milk protein) as a binder is used in SafePaint from the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Both organic and bio-degradable, SafePaint is a zero-VOC, newly formulated milk paint designed for use on walls. Milk Paint is environmentally safe and non-toxic (there is a slight milky odor when it is applied, but it is completely odorless when dry). One gallon of Safe Paint for Walls is $45.95.

Natura Zero-VOC Interior Paint

Above: Natura Paint is Benjamin Moore's zero-VOC, non-toxic, most environmentally sensitive paint offering. The waterborne paint is available in all Benjamin Moore colors; $56.99 per gallon.

Mythic Non-Toxic Paints

Above: Mythic Paint is a non-toxic, ultra low odor paint that provides the durability and coverage you expect from a premium paint, without emitting the VOCs or cancer-causing toxins that continue to be released into the air for years after application. Made by Auro, a German company that now distributes in the United States, Flat Mythic Paint is $43.99 per gallon.

Stark Paints

Above: Stark Paint, with colors by British designer David Oliver of Paint and Paper Library, is a water-based paint with no VOCs in the paint and colorants. All colors are available in three paint finishes: velvet emulsion, porcelain shell, and lacquer gloss. A Sample Pot of Stark Paint is $9.75 each.

Devine Delicate Wall Finish

Above: Devine Color is an Oregon company founded by artist Gretchen Schauffler. The paint is low odor and meets the strictest green standards, requires only one coat, and creates a luminous surface. We especially like the Northwest-inspired palette. Devine Delicate Wall Finish is $59.95 from Devine Color.

Premium Interior Flat Paint

Above: Green Planet Paints are zero-VOC paints that have moved away from petroleum, a truly sustainable product made from plant resins and mineral pigments. Available in three finishes (flat, eggshell, and semigloss) and 120 mineral and clay-based colors. One gallon of Premium Interior Flat Paint is $52.99 from Green Planet Paints.

Eco Satin Paint

Above: For exterior or interior woodwork, consider Eco by Fine Paints of Europe, an American-based company that makes its paints in Holland. The Eco Satin Paint is $50 per liter from Fine Paints of Europe.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on January 28, 2009.

Tabletop Garden of Succulents

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If you think you'll never have a garden—maybe you don't have even an inch of outdoor space, or the tiniest inkling of how to care for plants—I have one word of advice. Succulents.

Get a bunch of the little ones. Arrange them in a container on a tabletop—yes, right there, in the middle of the room—and back away. Instant garden.

Succulents

Above: Succulents are extremely low-maintenance plants that retain water. All that moisture they're hoarding is what makes them look so plump. You can ignore them for long periods of time without offending them. You can even root them, in a little sandy soil, in a crevice of a branch (as Above). Image via Flora Grubb.

Succulents

Above: They thrive in extreme climates, such as deserts or the tropics, so succulents are not going to blanch at a little neglect at your house. A set of three potted Succulents is $22 to $31.50, depending on size, at West Elm.

Deep Oval Bowl

Above: An undrained container can be planted with succulents if you water very carefully. For a similar look, start with a Deep Oval Bowl; it's $24.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Put a layer of pebbles or Tan Gravel (a jar is $8 at Terrain) in the bottom to aid drainage. Image via Flora Grubb.

Above: For an entire garden that fits in the palm of your hand, try small-leafed or creeping miniature sedums; visit Simply Succulents for a selection. Image by Michael Graydon.

Venice Beach's Favorite Restaurant

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There are two ways to pronounce "Axe." One you know; the other is Ah-shay, which is how they say it in LA (and in the West African language Yorùbá).

Venice Beach restaurant Axe, which takes its name from a word that means "go with the power of the gods and goddesses" in Yorùbá, derives its own strength from its farm-to-table menu. Chef and owner Joanna Moore, who studied fine arts, designed the simple, almost monastic space herself as a backdrop for her "California soul food." For more information, go to Axe.

Photography by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.

Above: Subtle design, to complement the uncomplicated food.

Above: Inside, most of the wood is congona or black acacia.

Above: Striped kilim pillows and linen cushions, for bench seating.

Above: Moore, who studied fine arts, also designed the counter.

Above: Simple materials: black wooden stools and a concrete floor.

Above: Open shelving separates the kitchen from the dining room. The jute pendant lamps are also a Moore design.

Above: Axe was one of the first restaurants in Los Angeles to use dinnerware from Heath Ceramics.

Above: A popular menu item is the nine-grain pancakes.

Above: A recent addition, the patio garden features rosemary, jasmine, figs, oranges, and olives.

Above: A blue ceramic curtain divides spaces in the backyard.

Above: Guests can sit on the patio while waiting for a table.

Above: For chilly nights, a wood burning stove.

Above: The restaurant, on a quiet stretch of Venice's Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

The Modern Cabana

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My father-in-law, a man of many hobbies, understood something important: Everybody needs a shed.

He had an empire of tiny buildings dotting his backyard: one to store tools, a second for metal work projects, and a third for woodworking. On Saturdays, the sound of sawing (or a smell of soldering) wafted out. He emerged at lunchtime with his latest project—a wooden marionette, doorknobs stripped of old paint, a set of legs for a kitchen island—and a look of utter satisfaction. Here are some clever, pre-fabricated sheds from San Francisco-based company Modern Cabana that my father-in-law would have enjoyed assembling, after the flat pieces arrived on a truck. He would no doubt have poured the foundation himself.

Above: Prices for Modern Cabana's wood-sided, pre-fabricated sheds range from $11,500 (for the smallest, unassembled shed kit) to $38,400 for a 12- by 25-foot shed fully installed on an existing foundation. A bathroom will cost about $6,000 more.

Above: Cabanas also can be customized with electricity, or with heating and air conditioning. The standard roof is designed to handle a snow load of 40 pounds per square foot.

Above: Designs require standard sizes of materials, which eliminates much of the waste of conventional construction.

Above: Custom bamboo flooring is standard on upgraded and custom models. If you want to put it together yourself, you'll need: a screw gun, a four-foot level, a chalk line, a staple gun, a hammer, a caulk gun, and two eight-foot ladders. And someone like my father-in-law to help. (A six-foot ladder and circular saw are optional.)

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