Paul O'Donnell

BROWSE BY COLOR

Paul O'Donnell

By Paul O'Donnell

When Tom Armstrong's house burned down, the only thing left was the garden. Rebuilding was his chance to let the landscape come first. Read More »

Tom Armstrong's Fishers Island home and garden

Tom Armstrong's Fishers Island Home, Slide Show

By Paul O'Donnell

On Fishers Island, off the Connecticut coast, Tom and Bunty Armstrong took the opportunity to build a house to complement their garden, after a fire destoryed their original home. Photographs of the stunning garden and the new house. Read More »

Reviving Jens Jensen

By Paul O'Donnell

Landscape architect Jens Jensen (1860 to 1951), designer of numerous parks in Chicago (and around the country), including the Garfield Park Conservatory (above), is the subject of a new documentary, Jens Jensen: Harmonious World, which will be shown on PBS this fall. Read More »

The Natural Home and Bringing Nature Home

By Paul O'Donnell

With spring bringing flowers aplenty, gardeners again have the pleasure of readily available blooms begging to be brought indoors. Two books—The Natural Home and Bringing Nature Home—remind us that living with nature in the house takes many forms. Read More »

Chelsea Fringe Festival

By Paul O'Donnell

Over on, well, the fringes of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is the Chelsea Fringe Festival. With community gardeners, "plant graffiti," and more, the Chelsea Fringe Festival is definitely worth checking out if you're already in London for the Flower Show. Read More »

Charles and Ray Eames' 1958 Aluminum Chairs

By Paul O'Donnell

An outdoor desk chair? In fact, Charles and Ray Eames’ 1958 aluminums chairs, now so ingrained in office culture, were designed for patios, moving inside only after the seat fabric they tested failed to stand up to weather. With advances in synthetics, Herman Miller is reintroducing the chairs for outside living—and, yes, working. “Mobile... Read More »

Faux Fleur

By Paul O'Donnell

Artist and florist Livia Cetti’s authentic artifice results in charming paper flowers and foliage, which are available for sale.

Rope Tricks: Not Your Average Basket

By Paul O'Donnell

Doug Johnston cultivated his quirky style by drawing from his experience as an architect and combining it with the technique of Japanese basket-making.