Splendor in the Grass | Beautiful gardens are a border-blurring tapestry of strategic design, strong silhouettes, and thoughtful palettes. They elevate the architecture of a home as much as they enhance the lifestyle of its residents. Professional landscaping services in the U.S. alone is a multibillion-dollar industry. From backyards to balconies, and from classic gardens to modern vertical ones, these spaces allow homeowners to outwardly personalize their surroundings.

Ferragamo’s Tuscany | When Tuscany comes to mind, we might imagine Chianti’s lush, rippling fields, Florence’s abundance of Italian Renaissance art, and perhaps even the 2003 romance-drama Under the Tuscan Sun. But this region in central Italy, beloved for its quaint villages, rugged coastline, and world-class wines, signifies much more to Salvatore Ferragamo, grandson of the eponymous fashion-house legend and CEO of Il Borro Toscana, an alluring estate in the Tuscan countryside

Natural Beauty | Ornamental grasses, lavender and echinacea sway with the breeze in the weathered-steel planter box fronting the work studio of landscape designer Joel Loblaw. The rusted metal’s warm orange, the earthy browns of fading perennials, errant red and gold fallen leaves — the planter is in sync with the season and it looks perfect, perfectly natural.

Truly Eppich | mong jaw-dropping properties, every so often, one defies categorization as a residential home, making the leap to “landmark” instead. Case in point: Eppich House II. With its dazzling expanse of glass walls and revolutionary cascading steel-beam frame, this architectural wonder appears like a mirage high up on a West Vancouver hillside, nestled between mountain and sea, yet invisible from the road. Water elements add to its mystical quality — a shimmering koi pond, fed by a redirected creek, and an infinity-edge poolthat blends into the landscape.

Creating Miami Style - Anywhere | Miami interiors have a look and feel that you just know when you see. The aesthetic takes its cue from the climate and from nature. A pale palette with sleek flooring and finishes tempers the tropical weather, while touches of ocean, sand, and sky—reflected in hues of pastel peach, seafoam blue, and beige—bring the outside in.

Clients come because they crave the water and the warmth, says Jacqueline Gonzalez Touzet, principal of Touzet Studio, an interior design and architecture firm in Miami. “Because our senses are stimulated constantly, it’s key that interiors are a bit calm and serene.”

The 1960s. In the golden age of Hollywood where glamour reigned supreme, decorating ones' home to feel as luxurious as a high-end hotel was de rigueur. And that aesthetic continues to inspire the interiors of homes today. After all, who doesn't love a velvet couch in the palest pink?

Sotheby’s Celebrates 275 Years | This year marks the 275th anniversary of the Sotheby’s Auction house. 2019 also denotes the 70thanniversary of our company. While sharing significant anniversaries is something to celebrate in itself, today we’re blogging about more than that. We’re writing to celebrate the very DNA that our company shares with Sotheby’s, namely, a heritage of innovation and dedication to continuously evolving.

Paint it Black | Shading your walls in black may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re considering paint colors. But black has a daring all its own that can bring character and chicness to your space.

“The result is both unexpected and incredibly sophisticated,” says Andrea Magno, a Benjamin Moore color and design expert.

“Black has an interesting effect on the walls of a room because the corners and shadows are obscured more than if a midtone or pastel color is used,” Magno says. “This can be used as a visual trick to give the space a less-defined appearance and can make a room feel a bit more expansive.”

What's New in Art, Architecture, and Design | The year 2019 is bringing in new technologies and old techniques to create beautiful spaces and objects. Below, some of the latest trends in art, architecture, and design.

What’s New in Art, Architecture, and Design | Whether we’re talking trends in art, architecture, or design, it’s all about seeing the beauty of traditional materials used in new ways. It’s looking at ordinary objects in a different light. It’s rethinking the purpose of conventional spaces. But most of all, it’s about being open to possibilities.

Designed to Inspire: Philippe Starck’s Island Home | In the midst of a juniper orchard, a rustic, waterfront property perched on top of a cliff on the Cap de Barbaria—only 60 miles from Africa’s Barbary Coast—is where designer Philippe Starck works and plays a few months out of the year.

The French icon, known for creating avant-garde interiors, furniture, and household items, designed the six-bedroom, six-bathroom villa in Formentera, Spain, in the mid-1990s. Starck has since used the home as an escape, but it’s now listed by Ibiza Sotheby’s International Realty for 7.9 million euros (US$9 million).

Decorating Like a Parisian | There’s a certain chicness about a Parisian home that’s so effortless, even the most haphazardly strewn items seem decidedly curated. It’s that je ne sais quoi that comes second nature to the French.

Designing a quintessentially French space is about elegance, a sense of the spectacular, and creating a warm and cozy atmosphere, says Paris-based interior and furniture designer Aline Hazarian, who works with clients who are leaders in international business and finance, and who is known for her striking and sophisticated interiors.

Chapultepec Uno - Mexico City | Chapultepec UNO is a hybrid multipurpose project that has offices, residences, and the Ritz-Carlton hotel. It is located in Paseo de la Reforma, nearby the famous park of Chapultepec that has various outdoor attractions. It was designed with an avant-garde architecture and has sophisticated technology, such as domotic parking, last generation lifts, double façade system that allows freshness in the summer and heat in the winter.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Parisian Home | On design Lagerfeld says "We are at the heart of a Russian doll: first the clothes, then the apartments and houses. Even the streets and the cities are part of the evolution of our preferences and our taste."

“So many people reference Dior. He’s one of those people in fashion: everybody knows who he is, everybody knows the silhouette he created,” says Oriole Cullen, the curator of Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, a major new exhibition at London’s V&A museum devoted to the influential French fashion designer and the powerhouse he left behind. The retrospective is the biggest Dior show ever staged in the UK, and one of a string of exhibitions around the world that reveal Dior’s extraordinary popularity right now.

Lighting and shelter are often intertwined, as they evoke the warmth and familiarity of home — the porch light as a welcoming beacon or, perhaps, seen from the street through the windows, a glow hinting at the lively gathering inside.

Evocative as it is, lighting design has been garnering more appreciation recently. “While lighting will always be an essential product in both residential and commercial applications, it’s morphing into a powerhouse category of its own,” says Karen Kang, national director of the Interior Design Show (IDS), which showcases innovative new products and design concepts in Canada and beyond. “Canadian creatives, such as Matthew McCormick, Anony and Guillaume Sasseville, are making a significant impact on the world stage where they’re presenting lighting, not just as a necessary form but [also] re-imagining it with technology, provenance and design that push the boundaries of innovation.”

7 Tips to Warm up your Home in the Winter | Imagine, if you will, the perfect winter home. What does it look like? Is it a classic colonial with a foot of snow on the roof and smoke spiralling from the chimney? Perhaps the interior is crisp and bright, with sunshine streaming through the windows, blankets to warm cold toes, and a hot drink steaming on the stove. - Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

Photographer and multidisciplinary artist David Drebin on the transitory nature of home. When we speak on the phone, David Drebin is at home, sort of. It is early July and the New York–based photographer and multidisciplinary artist is spending the summer in Toronto, where he was born and raised. But, he stresses, he is not here for R&R, taking it easy or chilling. “I don’t really relax and unwind, or take a break, because I love what I do,” he says. He’s working on post-production in Canada. Then he hits the road again.

Mexico City has long been a center for the arts, but it has recently grown into a global destination for culture. For the past decade, the city’s contemporary art scene has rivaled the rigorous programming and sophistication of European and North American destinations, says Anna Di Stasi, director of Sotheby’s Latin American art department.

Filling your home with art is both a way of expressing yourself and curating the mood and atmosphere of your space. Think of your home as your own gallery, a blank slate with endless possibilities to surround yourself with artwork that inspires. Perhaps you consider your art collection in a methodical way, procuring only a few pieces to fill white walls in need of a focal point; or maybe you’re an art lover, eager to diversify your collection with oil paintings and sculptures alike. No matter your goals or methods, collecting and displaying art in your home is a personal endeavor, but there are a few things to keep in mind once you have an established collection.