Designers, a few of my favorites...

I love Design Books, Magazines and most printed or audio material that features "Designers". These talented folks have shaped the world of Interiors, Gardens & Architecture over the past century and their work continues to influence design today. Design has shaped not only how we look at our world but also how we live in it. Imagine a Chicago that Frank Lloyd Wright had never affected or New York city without the influence of the doyenne of Interiors and high design, Elsie De Wolfe. I have always loved reading the stories of designers because there work still continues to inspire Designers and design aficionados today.Real design principals never go out of style. Designers by nature are eccentric, devoted to design and implementing their craft.
When visiting the gardens of Madame Walska in Montecito,California I can always feel her palpable presence even though she created this extensive garden decades ago. Walking through "Lotusland" is like reading a biography of this incredibly amazing woman. Each garden room opens onto another, her personal story unfolding as you stroll through each space. Telling her story not with words but with plants, trees, lotus blossoms, shells, stone and rolling lawns. The most interesting part of her story and garden is her Cicad Garden. She decided to sell all of her diamonds and create this primeval and quiet, almost hushed space. It is magnificent but the story of selling her diamonds for plants, well it is something that only an eccentric would consider a normal coarse of action!

I also admire the Garden Designer Beatrix Farrand. She was Edith Wharton's niece and quite talented. She was responsible for many premiere gardens near Bar Harbor, Maine. Her work was so timeless that you can still visit some of her gardens today.
Beatrix was a fan of structure, texture and stone. A very different approach for the time.
Another favorite would have to be the over the top designer Tony Duquette he was a Hollywood favorite. His magic was evident in all of his work. Chandeliers in the garden, inside & outside, mixing interiors and gardens were his signature in this crowded world of the creators of all that is beautiful. He also was a highly sought after production designer in Hollywood, he would not only decorate movie moguls homes but would also conceptualize and facilitate the designing of their movie sets and often times the costuming as well.

Frederick Law Olmsted was never formally trained however his outdoor public spaces were and still are some of the premiere properties in America. When Mr. Olmstead was commissioned to create Central Park, in NYC he had never done such a formidable project, as a matter of fact it was his first big job! He excelled and was later commissioned to create public and private gardens up and down the Eastern seaboard. One of my favorite gardens to visit is the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, NC.
I love to research the Designers of yore, I always learn alot and absolutely appreciate the fine attention to detail, scale space and the ultimate sense of place.