ISLAND LIFE

Gone on vacation.  At least, my mind has.

The tropical islands have been my inspiration for a new design project.  But contrary to an idyllic retreat, the past few weeks have resembled typhoon season.  Tossed sketches overflow in the waste bin.  GPS routes trace a maelstrom.  Unattended laundry floods the hamper.  Even my neglected hair was a tsunami of overgrown layers.  (That is, until yesterday, when I could stand it no longer and took to the scissors.)

Inspiration: island living
I never dared sparkly, blue toes before but dreaming of turquoise waters spurred me on!

In other words, it's been great fun!  I love creative whirlwinds.  And the tempest is primarily caused by my deadline -- next month's vacation.  Looking so forward to seeing family and friends in the island archipelago we call home.  Like I said, my mind is already there.

Selecting possible materials for the bathroom remodel:
Pebbles, glass mosaics, and textured porcelain tiles.

Ahh, you can take the girl out of the tropics but you can't take the tropics out of the girl.  All my design visions begin with clean, modern lines.  But often, my Asian sense of the organic seeps in to soften the edges.  Perhaps that's why thoughts of pebbles and stones and a hint of turquoise waters have trickled into this re-modeling job.  

Nature is barely kept outdoors here, so it's made sense to continue the theme indoors.  And I know I'll be scouring the woods outside to find just the right bare branches to lean against the tiles.

A willowy Peppertree presents swaying branches
outside the two bathroom windows

Would you call that Modern Exotic?  Or Contemporary wabi-sabi?

At home by the trees and water.
I was running around town in 95-degree heat!

Either way, shouldn't we all design with our roots in mind?  Or at least, reflect who we are in our surroundings? Otherwise, there's no context or connection.  Just like purchasing some mass produced object from a Mall.

Last week, visiting friends were asking about objects in the house, from furniture to daily wares.  I shared how most have a personal meaning -- picked up from our travels, passed down through family, created by a friend, and so on.  I savor an everyday life infused with memories and sensations.  And, whenever anyone asks about something, there's usually a story to tell ...

What materials do you like to surround yourself with?


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An aside:  For the young ones who think Mathematics has no bearing on daily life, think again.  Euclidean Geometry is profound.  It's the best way to calculate if a round tub fits in a corner, or if an oval one can rest diagonally across it.  Both calculations for this project yielded "no"!