Think Naturally.

Surrounded as we are by the wonders of our natural environment, everyone should be grateful for the inspiration nature offers indiscriminately whether our home is rented or owned, an apartment, a townhouse or a single family house located in a brisk northern climate, a milder southern one or a softer tropical one. Regardless of the season, nature's bounty is plentiful and free for our enjoyment.

Whether our location is urban, suburban or rural, we can always find nature framing our life. The sky and clouds floating there offer an oasis of shape and color. The city park preserves nature amongst our man made concrete jungles. A splendid mountainous vista offers magical power to dazzle anyone.

Today granite is perhaps the most coveted of the natural stones available for use in interior design projects. When thinking of granite, we think in terms of colorful counter tops for our bathroom cabinetry or highly utilitarian decorative kitchen counters. Only in nature would we be able to find a material that is at once naturally decorative, colorful and utilitarian.

In this photograph, mud and stone underpinnings for a large shingle style house in New England are enhanced by a hot tub set against a bold granite ledge indigenous to the area. What better way to utilize an easily forgotten space.

What a creative way to attack an unfinished basement!

Design tip: The most mundane spaces are an opportunity for creative adventure.