Porch Living with James Farmer

 

The antique wooden and bamboo porch furniture is rustic yet refined, in keeping with the natural surroundings.

James Farmer is an accomplished landscape and interior designer; chef; florist; author; and contributing editor for Southern Living. Talented at a young age, James was a college student when commissioned to design the flowers for an Atlanta wedding.  He used my mother-in-law's garage as his impromptu workshop, spurring a wonderful friendship that was reignited on the porch of the Cashier’s Designer Showhouse during our recent visit to North Carolina.



Small scale centerpieces provide just enough interest without taking away from the mountain view.



James has written several books, and his most recent, Porch Living, shows off his fresh ideas for making outdoor spaces as inviting and comfortable as interior rooms.  We had the chance to see his ideas come to life at the show house where James decorated the wrap around porch.

Wild flowers arranged by James as a hostess gift.

After the spending the afternoon on the porch chatting with James, we were not prepared to part ways, so we invited James to a family dinner that evening. In true James fashion, he arrived with a bouquet of fresh wild flowers, a few bottles of champagne from his favorite vineyard, a signed copy of his book A Time To Plant, and his infectious energy!

Chef Anne Roane Hennessy and James Farmer making profiteroles.

James will be touring with his books over the coming months; stay tuned to James's website  www.jamesfarmer.com and blog www.allthingsfarmer.com to find out wh en he will be in your city!