Blue garden chairs
The other day I visited the lovely Allied Arts Guild and strolled through their colorful gardens. I’ve been spending a lot of time in our garden and wanted to look for inspiration. The Allied Gardens were displaying spectacular spring flowers to include vibrant iris, cascading roses and gorgeous wisteria.
Despite all of the plant distractions, I was struck by the vibrant blue of their garden chairs. What a bold use of color! In reviewing the history of Allied Arts, this choice of blue for the chairs originated with one of the owners, Delight Merner back in 1929. Mrs. Merner, a self taught decorator, insisted that all of the garden furniture be painted blue. She believed that blue was a difficult color to use for interiors, but was the perfect color for outdoors where it could set off the green foliage and reflect the blue of the sky.
Garden chairs definitely set the tone for a garden. I remember really noticing the garden chairs in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. Instead of a contrasting color, they are a soothing sage green which blends effortlessly with the surrounding gardens.
It’s fun to think about your outdoor furniture as a true extension of your garden, both in style and in color…..
A special place.
Situated about 20 miles north of where I live, the Allied Arts Guild is a breathtaking garden oasis which is home to open artists’ studios, a wide variety of unique shops and a lovely restaurant. The history of this place is fascinating, and since 1929 Allied Arts Guild has consistently supported a rare combination of priorities to include; providing an inspiring environment for working artists, maintaining beautiful gardens and historic buildings, offering unique shops showcasing handmade goods, and perhaps most significantly, supporting critically ill children via donations to the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.
The grounds are simply spectacular, and the buildings are the old California Spanish style architecture which is my favorite. I feel incredibly proud to have californiablue jewelry being sold through Allied Guild’s Artisan Shop and to support such a unique and admirable combination of priorities.
