After sauntering around the upper East Side, Midtown, Soho and Nolita, looking for design inspiration this week, it all boiled down to Mother Nature as the great designer.  Sounds trite, but it is a fact…maybe it is the reassurance, in uncertain times, of leaves that change colors, winds that prevail from the north and chill the air, and  skies that go from brilliant blue to smoky grey, blending the two colors like no artist or colorist can do.

I have chronicled my Fifth Avenue design project by photographing the view through these windows for three full years of fall. From the 9^th floor of this matriarchal building, I have watched the colors parade from season to season.  I consider myself lucky to see life from this vista, from this vantage point. Having grown up in the plains of Texas, this became a sort of magical mystical tour for me.

The lone Japanese maple tree I spotted from the guest bath when I pulled the café panels aside-couldn’t help but wonder why one would always have this view hidden behind fabric-afterall, 9 floors high and no buildings in the forefront.

Ran into a curious building in the neighborhood-there are so many curiosities if you walk the side streets of Manhattan! The Alamo….I thought San Antonio had the only Alamo-wonder why there is one on 93^rd street in NYC???  Another Google exercise to add to my list.