Inspired by nature: when designing for indoors, a renowned style setter looks outdoors

Sunset, Nov, 2004 by Mary Jo Bowling

Plants, colors, textures, light: Not the usual stock-in-trade of a home store, but then Alta Tingle is not your usual store owner. Twenty years ago, Tingle, a former landscape designer, opened the Gardener in Berkeley, California. It's a store where every item is inspired by nature, whether it's a pillow, picture, or bar of soap.

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Since then, Tingle has expanded the original store and opened two more, in Healdsburg and San Francisco. But the steadfast link to nature hasn't changed, proving that although some home styles change from season to season, using the outside world as the basis for interior design doesn't date.

"I've always been interested in the transition from the garden to the home," Tingle says. "I found that using the feeling and look of the garden inside creates a sense of harmony and peace."

Her Healdsburg home is a proving ground for her style. There and in her nearby store, she has blended the look of the rolling hills, vineyards, and gardens of the Sonoma wine country seamlessly.

Tingle says her style isn't hard to achieve, and she shares some of her ideas for bringing the outside indoors.

Everyday touches

Each morning Tingle goes into her garden and selects something to bring inside--a flower, a leaf, a stone--creating a natural display that changes with the seasons.

And for a fresh touch, Tingle will often opt for a blooming plant over cut flowers. "When I'm having a party, I'll go to the nursery and see what's blooming," she says. "You can bring in a blooming agapanthus or begonia, and either drop it in a pot or wrap the nursery container in fabric." Later, she'll plant the flowers in the garden.

In Tingle's home, even manmade accessories like plates, walls, and upholstery have the color and texture of natural materials. She keeps the walls behind these accessories and furnishings neutral in color. "A simple backdrop is like the dirt in the garden," she says. "All the color and forms start from there." She also chooses finishes and materials that change over time. Soft wood floors and zinc countertops develop a patina and new colors as they age, mimicking the weathering that occurs outdoors. (For resources see page 167.)

Scent is also important to her. Tingle grows fragrant herbs such as lavender, rosemary, and lemon verbena, using them in the bathrooms, alongside naturally scented soaps and candles. In every room in her house, Tingle lets nature set the mood.

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INFO: The Gardener (www.thegardener.com) has three California locations: Berkeley (1836 Fourth St.; 510/548-4545), Healdsburg (516 Dry Creek Rd.; 707/431-1063), and San Francisco (1 Ferry Building; 415/981-8181).

RELATED ARTICLE: Five ways Alta Tingle brings the outside in

1 Add real fruit for decoration. Fresh persimmons in a bowl bring fall color inside.

2 Use natural materials as sculpture. Set against a simple backdrop, curly branches become art.

3 Select materials that age beautifully. The leather chair, maple floors, and table will develop their own patinas over time.

4 Play with light. This red resin table topped with a leaf catches light at different times of day.

5 Mix textures. The chiseled bathroom sink contrasts with the sleek cabinets.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERICKA MCCONNELL