The Voice of East Bay Living

The Hillside Gardeners of Montclair making Christmas wreaths at the annual holiday luncheon. Founded in 1947, there are currently ~120 members who are involved with many volunteer projects, including the maintenance of public gardens in Oakland. Email Sheila at ssabine@grubbco.com for more details.

"Light is not just something we see, it is something we feel." Pam Morris of Exciting Lighting creates amazing works of art out of hand-crafted blown glass and forged metal and then does her magical touches with lighting for top restaurants like Post Trio in San Francisco and famous clients like Wolfgang Puck, Georgio Armani and Sugar Ray Leonard.  Pam is a creative force, distinguished as an avant-garde designer. She was selected as outstanding artist in San Francisco and has spoken and been published widely.  You can see her latest work, 4 foot tall "tectonic split" lights at Waterbar on the Embarcadero.  She also has an every Friday 7-8:30 installation in the tunnel across from the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate park. Battery operated light wands  t ransform a spooky dark space into a Lascaux like magical experience. For more information about Pam please visit her website    or email her at pam@pam-morris-designs.com

Featuring floral arrangements by Ron Morgan, local artist and owner of Loot.

"deep in their root,all flowers keep the light ."--Roethe Being a lover of nature  and Ikebana student, I always travel with my cutting scissors and accessories.  Having fond memories of an abundance of hortensias (hydrangea in English) filling the gardens of Le Guet de la Roche, I brought along powdered alum and gold Japanese ribbon. Flower tip-  if  you dip the ends of the flowers in alum they will last longer. The gold ribbon adds an elegant touch.  My French family loves to display my arrangements in various corners of their lovely chateau.

Over the past decade, wallpaper has had a huge resurgence around the world and with the comeback wallpaper and introduction of great modern wallpaper, it makes sense that a lot of these designers come from Brooklyn. Check out Flavor Paper located at 216 Pacific st. In Boerum Hill- it recently won the best show room award from Interior Design Magazine.

Dried palm leaf is a wonderful addition to any arrangement. It has a great texture, can be spray painted (as shown in the picture), and will last forever! For more blog posts about Design .

Do you want to landscape your garden? Do you need rocks or flagstone?  Check out American Soil and Stone in Richmond at 2121 San Joaquin near Central Ave. This fantastic resource specializes in high-quality soil products and natural stone from all over the world. They have an 8 acre site and will help you make your dreams come true!

When you have an empty front porch , you can create an interesting floral design on the wall with Curley willow and red Anthuriums. This fresh arrangement will last for weeks.

I truly believe that our listing at 856 Blair sold in one week because of the flax plants. The entire front yard is covered with these elegant plants. It is one of the oldest fiber plants in the world dating back nearly 30,000 years when it was used to create all kinds of textiles. I use flax a lot in my Ikebana arrangements and adorned our new listing with this lovely plant material . Visit GlassSabine.com  Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine@grubbco.com

  Decorating an empty space makes such a difference. This is our new listing in Bellevue Staten.   Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine @grubbco.com 

My interior design challenge this week was transforming a large warehouse space into a comfortable and elegant gathering room.   Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine @grubbco.com 

Before & After photos of our lovely Grand Lake home at 649 Mariposa. You will see living room, dining room, master bedroom and front door. Adding a bit of polish to make this house shine.  It closed escrow in 20 days-over the asking price.  Living Room - fresh coat of paint and furniture rearrangement. Dining Room - mirrors added to built-ins cabinets to create depth. Bedroom - new comforter set, pillows, and lights. Front Door - new color, brass kickplate, and brass numbers.