a chic and refined Halloween decoration of a mirror, a skull and skeleton hands can be DIYed for your space

Started my day by drowning my Keyboard in coffee. via Halloween costume idea: French Kiss via My dad told me it might be hard for me to find him at the airport because he looks so much different after losing weight. via It happens to us all.. via Patient Discharge. via Indognito via I guess

Hatta Byng visits the young dealer in tribal art, who built up an impressive collection and started selling antique pieces online from his Dorset home while still at school

Can you guess what year this photo was featured?

The skeleton crew got right down to work today to prepare the yard for upcoming ’humerus’ antics. I hope they do windows! Skeletons always practice ’Safety First’ wearing ear protection and high visibility shirts. &qout;Aim the blower at the leaves, not Me!!!&qout; Did you remember to ’Call before you Dig’?…

Discover unique indoor Halloween decor ideas and make your home spookier than ever this season! Make your Halloween Haunted House!

Do you know how to place your Halloween Skeleton Decorations for best effect? Here are the best tips and tricks to make your yard look awesome this year.

An antidote to the hustle and bustle of modern life

These fall activities for adults and kids alike are the best way to take advantage of the crisp weather and beautiful foliage all season long.

November, almost. It is October 28th as I’m writing this and we have yet to have our first frost. Many of the trees are still green. It is a year for lingering I suppose. I have been trying to fully understand in my head and my heart that it is indeed autumn in order to enjoy all the fruits of the s

Every year I try to do my small part to support garden themed events for worthy charitable causes. One such garden tour is the annual Pond Tour for the Hospice, which raises much needed funds for the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice for Palliative Care in Hamilton. The hospice is a non-profit organization that provides supportive care to patients who are facing a life-threatening illness. A portion of the hospice's operating budget comes from the government, but the rest must be raised through special events like the annual pond tour. Amber Downes of Clearwater Ponds, who helps to organize the tour each year for the hospice, emailed me the other day to let me know that they have set the dates for this year's tour. This summer the two day watergarden extravaganza will take place on Saturday, June 22nd and Sunday, June 23rd. To coincide with this announcement, I thought that I would showcase one of the prettier ponds from last year's tour. I have already shown you a few sneak peaks of this terrific garden. Today, I will place them back in context and show you the full garden and pond. Before we head into the back garden, we'll pause for just a quick second and admire the colorful container plantings at the front of the house. Now let's go down the pathway leading to the backyard. Beautiful blue-grey stones edge the stone path. As we round the house, a mix of trees, shrubs and perennials partially obscures the view, making what comes next a bit of a surprise. Looking back the way we came. If you like your garden to be neat and tidy at all times, this is a good example of what you might want to consider planting. Provided they are well watered and the slugs are kept at bay, this planting combination, which includes magenta astilbe, mixed hostas, pale pink spirea, pyramid-shaped boxwood, assorted hydrangeas and a Japanese Maple, are going to look great for the full gardening season. As we round the corner, we get our first glimpse of the pond. As you can now see, the pond is quite expansive and takes up a good portion of the back garden. Amber Downes of Clearwater Ponds tell me that, "When Clearwater Ponds first met these clients, they had a brand new pond built by another contracter. Unfortunately, the pond was not functioning properly. The pond had good "bones", but not enough "muscle" to keep it functioning properly." A stone patio runs along the back of the house and overlooks the pond. To get the pond functioning properly, Clearwater Ponds increased the pond's filtration and improved the pond's circulation by adding an additional pump and a surface skimmer. They also reinstalled the existing filter properly. Amber says, "The clients are so happy with the final result. Their pond is beautiful to look at and is always crystal clear." The waterlilies in this pond are quite colorful. One final project that Clearwater did was to redesign and rebuild the previously existing waterfall. The newly installed waterfall is much more natural looking and visually pleasing. For those of you that live in the GTA, mark your calendars for this year's pond tour. It is a wonderful event for a great cause. To see more ponds from last year's tour, be sure to check out this virtual Pond Tour for the Hospice on Facebook. There will be a different pond each day for the next few weeks.

I cry a lot over fictional characters - ̗̀I track the tag #perrfectly ̖́-

Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful time of year! Sorry I have been slow to blog -- getting ready for a new little one to join our family in a few weeks! all images via Best wishes!

Explore Fraser Downie's 591 photos on Flickr!

The Main Staircase. Detail of above. Baron Alexander von Stieglitz (1 September 1814, St. Petersburg - 24 October 1884, St. Petersburg), Russian financier and philanthropist. Born the only son of Ludwig von Stieglitz - a Jewish German-born banker who immigrated to Russia and converted to Christianity, and who became court banker to Alexander I and was made a baron - he took over his father's banking business at the latter's death in 1843. He became Russia's leading financier, the first governor of the Bank of Russia and, in addition to contributing to many other charities and institutions, was founder of the Central College of Technical Drawing (now the A. L. Stieglitz St. Petersburg State Industrial Art Academy). The Main Staircase - second view. Detail of above. His Renaissance Revival mansion on the English Embankment in St. Petersburg was constructed on the site of two older buildings - and at the enormous cost of 3.5 million rubles - from 1859 to 1862, to the designs of architect Alexander Krakau. After the death of Stieglitz in 1884, the mansion was inherited by his adopted daughter, and then purchased by the State Treasury in 1887 as the intended residence of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich shortly before his marriage to Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, daughter of King George I of Greece. (The building is sometimes referred to as the palace of Grand Duke Paul.) After the death of his twenty-year-old wife during the birth of their second child in 1891, the Grand Duke did not return to live in the building. For a long time afterward it stood vacant. Eventually it became home to various Soviet institutions, and was recently acquired by St. Petersburg State University. The university’s planned restoration is expected to cost fifty to sixty million dollars. The Ballroom. Detail of above. Study of Baroness Stieglitz. The White Drawing Room. Detail of above. The Dining Room. The Concert Hall. Detail of above. The Drawing Room. The Main Study. Detail of above. (I love that there's a billiard table in the alcove.) The Blue Drawing Room. The Library. Detail of above. (The object on the stand is a model of the celebrated Millenium of Russia monument, erected in Novgorod in 1862.) The Dining Room. The Supper Room. Detail of above. Recent pictures of the Stieglitz Mansion. The Concert Hall (2). The Ballroom. The Drawing Room (2). The White Drawing Room. *** Luigi Ossipovich Premazzi (1814, Milan - 1891, Istanbul), Italian painter, long resident in Russia, best known for his beautifully precise and atmospheric watercolors of grand, densely decorated interiors. He attended the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and then the private school run by Giovanni Migliara. Having moved to Russia in 1839 (or circa 1850, depending on the source), from 1851 he was a much-commissioned chronicler of the lavish palace interiors of Russia's aristocratic and Imperial families, and he became a teacher at St. Petersburg's Imperial School of Fine Arts in 1861.

This Monday, we channel our inner child through Animalium, an illustrated guide to museum exhibits of animals and nature

Pictures from the past that raise the question... WTF?

In Yuanxing Liang’s folkloric sculptures, the hair of his figures become their own whimsical landscapes. Liang, formerly a game character designer, is now a full time artist, often working within fantastical figurative sculpture. Many have noted the challenge of displaying his work, as each pieces comes fully realized and detailed, 360 degrees of intricate notes from the artist.

Vintage art, Surreal painting, Fantasy art, Vegetarian Vampire by Mexican artist Remedios Varo ART PRINT, home decor, wallart gifts, posters Vegetarian Vampires by Remedios Varo (1962) María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga (16 December 1908 – 8 October 1963) was a Spanish surrealist artist working in Spain, France, and Mexico. Museum quality digitally enhanced giclee art print. Materials: archival inks on heavy weight fine art paper. All fine art prints produced on large wide-format printer, using archival pigment inks, providing the vibrant colors and ultimate image quality. Please choose your preferred sizes in the size menu. Unframed ArtPink Originals homepage: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtPinkOriginals Contemporary modern art prints, art posters, paintings, sumi-e ink wash paintings, wall art, home decor Contemporary modern art prints, art posters, paintings, sumi-e ink wash paintings, wall art, home decor

Abandoned in the snow by lmldolz on Flickr.

The dramatic ‘Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House’ opens at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor October 18. This vivid show takes art and history lovers on an inside tour of Houghton Hall’s grand rooms hung with historic portraits. It reveals a great English country house with its fine art, eccentricity, beautiful collections, changing fortunes, and a new young owner who is determined to embrace, refresh and revived his inheritance. I was incredibly fortunate to spend a day at Houghton Hall last fall, when the great exhibit ‘Houghton Revisited’ presented an opportunity to see some of he greatest European and English Old Master paintings in a Palladian setting. Houghton Hall (pronounced HOW-tin) is a country house in Norfolk, England. It was built in the 1720s. Houghton is an approximately two-hour train ride north-east from London, to Kings Lynn. It’s quite near the Queen’s country residence, Sandringham, and not far from the new residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and his wife Rose 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley Uniform worn by 4th Marquess of Cholmondeley Cholmondeley Coronet Houghton Hall is now the family residence of David Cholmondeley, (pronounced CHUMly) 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley and his wife, Rose, and their twin sons. It was once the residence of Sir Robert Walpole, Britains’s first prime minister. Walpole’s fortunes changed and the art collection—Goya, Rembrandt, Rubens, Murillo, van Dyck, Poussin, Albani—was sold. In 2013 Houghton staged the once-in-a-lifetime exhibition: purchased a timed ticket to view ‘Houghton Revisited’, a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit, which reunited many of the works from Sir Robert Walpole’s magnificent collection, which had been sold to Catherine the Great in 1779. Sir Robert Walpole The original hang was recreated at Houghton Hall, with many of the Old Master paintings revisiting their old home, which had originally been designed to house the collection. Over 112,000 visitors from all over the world visited the exhibition. I spent the day walking through the rooms, viewing the paintings, studying the décor, gazing out the windows at miles of parkland with white deer wandering among old oak trees. In the grounds are mazes with art works by Richard Long and James Turrell. It’s thrilling that Houghton Hall is coming to San Francisco. After the stunning success of the 2013 blockbuster ‘Houghton Revisited’, everyone wants to view its collections, learn of its family and history, and study decorative objects from its rooms. “This is a wonderful opportunity for audiences in the United States to experience the delights of Houghton Hall,” says Martin Chapman, curator in charge of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Here the visitor can see the early work of the groundbreaking designer, painter and architect William Kent, as well as the art treasures that fill this great English house.” The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco present Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House, an exhibition drawn from the collections of a quintessential English country house. Built in Norfolk in the 1720s for England’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, Houghton Hall features suites of grand rooms conceived by architect William Kent as settings for Walpole’s old master paintings, furniture, tapestries and Roman antiquities. “Houghton Hall brings to San Francisco a wonderful array of objects and reflects the history of this magnificent estate across nearly 300 years, from the 18th century to the present day. It is particularly fitting that this exhibition is being displayed at the Legion of Honor, complementing our recently reinstalled collection of British paintings and decorative arts,” said Colin B. Bailey, director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House tells the story of the structure and its inhabitants through displays that convey key architectural spaces, such as the impressive double-height Stone Hall of marble, stucco and silver limestone; the grand state Saloon, upholstered in red velvet; and the more restrained wood-paneled library, which served as Walpole’s office away from London. Kent’s architectural drawings, also on view, will reveal the geneses of these interiors, which were inspired by both Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and the style of Baroque-era Rome. On my visit last year, I learned that the many doors of Houghton have an interesting history. Walpole, the original owner, acquired a very prized cargo of Mahogany wood from the West Indies (then a British colony). He shipped the timber to England and had it made into dozens of grand doors for the formal residence. The richly patterned wood, with its shimmering grain, is enhanced with bands of gilding. William Kent was the first British architect to design furnishings in concert with architectural interiors, and a selection of pieces that he created specifically for Houghton Hall will be exhibited. In addition there will be porcelain and silver objects and family portraits and other pictures by notable English painters such as William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds that reflect the aesthetic and historical significance of the house. Other works of art on view will include portraits by Pompeo Batoni, an Italian artist popular among British travelers on the Grand Tour (the traditional journey through Europe undertaken by members of the upper classes), and old master paintings, such as Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Philip, Lord Wharton (1632) and Carlo Maratta’s The Rest on the Flight to Egypt (circa 1650). Philip 4th Lord Wharton Three Waldegrave Sisters Portrait of Lady Sassoon Walpole’s death, in 1745, preceded a sharp decline in family fortunes. Houghton became occupied intermittently, and many of its old master paintings were sold in 1779 to Catherine the Great of Russia. The Walpole inheritance passed to the Cholmondeley family and Houghton was rarely used. Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley Head of a Gondolier Pope Innocent X Sir Robert Walpole The house came alive again in the early 20th century when Sybil Sassoon, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, took charge of Houghton in 1919, and worked to restore the house to its former splendor. Sassoon had connections with many artists, most notably the American painter John Singer Sargent, whose paintings she added to the collection along with art works and furniture inherited from her brother, Philip, and pieces of Sèvres porcelain collected by her husband, George Cholmondeley. More recently, the current inhabitants of Houghton have added further works of art such as Edward Burne-Jones’s The Prince Enters the Briar Wood (1869), from the Legend of the Briar Rose series. Visiting the Legion of Honor Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue & Clement Street, San Francisco, CA Open 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m. Tuesdays–Sundays; open select holidays; closed most Mondays Tickets are available at legionofhonor.org The Legion of Honor, San Francisco About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institution in San Francisco. The Legion of Honor was inspired by the French pavilion, a replica of the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris, at San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. The museum opened in 1924 in the Beaux Arts–style building designed by George Applegarth on a bluff overlooking the Golden Gate. Its holdings span 4,000 years and include European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; ancient art from the Mediterranean basin; and the largest collection of works on paper in the American West. HOUGHTON HALL Portrait of an English Country House By David Cholmondeley and Andrew MoorePrincipal photography by Derry Moore Published by Rizzoli, October 2014 Photographs, above, from ‘Houghton Hall Portrait of an English Country House’, published this month by Rizzoli. Houghton Hall remains one of England’s most admired Palladian houses. A collaboration between the two defining British architects of the age, Colen Campbell and James Gibbs, and with lavish interiors by William Kent, Houghton was built with an eye to reflecting the wealth, taste, and power of its owner. Guided by the present owner, the seventh Marquess of Cholmondeley the reader watches vivid personalities enter and depart, and studies each new acquisition. HOUGHTON HALL: Portrait of an English Country House is a highly detailed volume. Photography of the interiors are particularly atmospheric. Some images (there’s one with a dog sprawled on a sofa) suggest that the owners have just gone for a walk, and that the rooms are enjoyed and lived in by the young Cholmondeley family. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: David Cholmondeley is the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley and the present owner of Houghton Hall. Andrew Moore is the author of A Capital Collection: Houghton Hall and the Hermitage and Houghton Hall: The Prime Minister, the Empress and the Heritage Derry Moore has published his photographs in numerous books, including Rooms and In House both published by Rizzoli. CREDITS: All images of Houghton, and portraits from the Legion of Honor exhibit used here with express permission of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Photography of the garden by Diane Dorrans Saeks. Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House will be published by Rizzoli in October 2014. Visiting Houghton: Dash over quickly to visit Houghton before it closes for the year on October 19. It re-opens next May. I took the train from London: King’s Cross to Kings Lynn. Visitors then take a taxi to Houghton, about fifteen miles. Don’t forget to arrange for a taxi to return to pick you up. Houghton’s handsome and very uncommercialized setting includes a fine café and restaurant with a terrace overlooking the parklands. Happy travels! Website: www.houghtonhall.com

The October Mood on Home and Style shares living rooms along with inspiration to incorporate Fall décor elements into your own home.

Photo Journal: Romania. How the mist silently floats through the trees, a gentle wisp clinging to all that surrounds it, the changing shades from evergreen to the most golden tones, the Autumn season is mesmerizing, teaching us to embrace the change that surrounds us. We were lucky enough to visit Romania last Octobe

This recipe for soft and chewy Easy Espresso Caramels will soon become your favorite confection to indulge in yourself and gift to others. They're smooth and creamy and absolutely addictive!

Mosaiculture is an excellent art form for those among us with the green thumbs and the space to do it. An excellent example of this complex but beautiful process would be the “Imaginary Worlds” mosaiculture exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens – these elaborate and massive green structures create mystical and fantastic worlds that are lush with living foliage.

Halloween Costumes Ideas. That time of the year is here again. The best time of the year when the tree leaves

Explore dragonflydesignstudio's 3604 photos on Flickr!

Lumière s'il vous plaît grâce à un immense puit de lumière, une baie vitrée et de grands hublots dans lesquels on peut se lover pour regarder passer le temps...