A Stone’s Throw From the Garden

January 13, 2011 by


Ronel Jordaan’s felt rocks.

When in Paris last year, I posted about similar felt rocks I saw at Maison et Objet that blurred the boundaries between exterior and interior. I love influencing a room’s design with elements from the garden as much as I like bringing outdoors the softness of the interior.


Inspirations from Maison et Object 2010. Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton.

The stone and pebble throw cushions, pillows, and throw rugs from South African textile artist, Ronel Jordaan offer some “natural” whimsy. Available at VivaTerra.

Jordaan’s felted stone mat flows in natural curves as though she laid the stones on the floor.

Inspired by river stones, a manufacturer of eco-friendly children’s furniture, IglooPlay‘s Throwing Stones (below) stacked cushions are slip-covered in 100% wool over bamboo/poly fill and encased in an all-cotton liner.

Softer on the feet that actual stone, there are some stone-like rugs and floor mats:


The wool felt pebble rug, above,  from VivaTerra offers the illusion of stones…


…as does this color-fast faux river stone floor mat from Fo Flor (above) that’s machine-washable and dryable, can be cut-to-fit with scissors to fit your space, and the rubber backing makes it skid resistant. Put it outdoors and you can hose it down. They come in a variety of faux stones, woods, and other textures. (We had one from barnboard collection in our Creative Garden Retreat installation.)


Fo Flor’s stones set in grass…

Stepping outdoors, I wrote a while back about Tuffits pillow stepping stones after reading about them on Sarah Kinbar’s cool blog, Good Garden Ideas. They look like they’re soft on your feet but are actually made of durable concrete:

8 Comments »

  1. Vanessa thompson said:

    I can’t wait for Maison&Objet 2011, is’t a great event, full of good design. And I really want to see BOCA DO LOBO there!

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boca-do-Lobo/209429936585?ref=ts

    — January 14, 2011 @ 07:51

  2. Victoria Lyon said:

    I LOVE the concrete tuffets for a garden path! Especially in bright colors. It would be fun to do a patio of them too, except that tables and chairs wouldn’t be able to stand on them without wobbling.
    BTW I first saw the felt rocks and pebble rugs at Amaridian in NY, so there’s another venue to purchase them.
    Victoria

    — January 14, 2011 @ 09:54

  3. Annie Haven/Authentic Haven Brand said:

    Art in the garden or garden of art either way what a fun post this is! Wonderful work Thank you so much for sharing Annie

    — January 14, 2011 @ 10:51

  4. Delightfull said:

    We, at Delightfull are delighted to announce our presence at Maison & Objet, in January 2011. It is our utmost pleasure to be showing once more at this wonderful event! We can’t wait to 21th to come! See you all there!

    DESIGN UNIQUE LAMPS,
    Delightfull.eu

    — January 14, 2011 @ 10:52

  5. Barbara said:

    Ah… NO.

    I know that art is art and that someone’s art is just not someone else’s cup of tea..or whatever the saying is

    But as a major rock lover. with a table in the living room of my best of my collection, well…..

    — January 14, 2011 @ 10:55

  6. gilly said:

    Ok ……….. please help me , I’m going crazy trying to locate TUFFITS pillow stepping stones , can anyone help me ………….. Gilly ..Thank’s

    — October 25, 2014 @ 15:15

  7. Robin Plaskoff Horton said:

    Hi Gilly! Hate to deliver the bad news, but I think they are no longer in production. Maybe someone is selling them on Ebay?

    — October 26, 2014 @ 23:55

  8. NICOLE MACKEY said:

    I clicked the “good garden ideas” to see more about the cushion stepping stones & it filled my screen with a lot of naked people doing xxx rated stuff. You might want to check that link ?

    — November 6, 2023 @ 09:00

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