A. Maris Design

02/14/2026

It’s more than just a Hallmark Holiday… spread the love!

💕 Who was Saint Valentine? The sweet (and brave) story behind Valentine’s Day 💕

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about candy hearts and roses… it actually comes from a powerful love story.

Legend says Saint Valentine was a priest in ancient Rome when marriage was banned for young soldiers. The emperor believed single men made better fighters — but Valentine believed in love.

So he secretly performed weddings for couples in love. 💍
When he was caught, he was arrested and later executed on February 14.

His courage and belief that love is worth fighting for is why we celebrate today.

Pretty amazing to think this holiday started with someone risking everything just so people could be together. ❤️

Love really has always been stronger than fear.

04/15/2024

Final canvas from the weekend plein air workshop at Manifest Drawing Center with Christina Weaver. Not thrilled with the results, but I learned about color mixing, light/shadow, and brush stroke techniques. And scraping paint off the canvas when the tulip position moved in the wind! The best part was sharing the experience with sister-in-law Emily Balch!

04/13/2024

First day at an oil painting workshop with Christina Weaver hosted by Manifest Drawing Center. Not my usual style but I’m happy with what I learned!

01/12/2024

A blessing for historic preservation. Having been there, I am truly grateful that I will be able to go back!

Mackintosh at the Willow has now been made a heritage property.

12/20/2023

Beauty in traditional design and craftsmanship! It is always thrilling to see when historic architecture is preserved.

Timber framed buildings stand out as notable features in many of England's towns, villages, and farmsteads.

11/16/2023

If you had a dog…

Barkitecture

📸ctto

10/07/2023

I’ve been to Hill house and Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of my favorite designer/architects. So pleased that this masterpiece is being conserved … and educational to boot! It will be interesting to follow the progress of not only the drying out process, but what will be done to treat the building envelope for future generations.

04/21/2023

Lovely to see a young man investing in his community and adapting a garage/storage building (not a cottage) into a livable space.

"The floor was basically just ground and mud. There was no concrete floor," he said. "The windows were bad. The roof needed quite a lot of work."

08/31/2022

Love the vision…and the “green” elements!

Even the architect was shocked by this homeowner's vision.

08/24/2022

Make sure the contracts are clear!

Sir Ben Kingsley is locked in a £60,000 court fight with interior designers who he says left his luxury London apartment like a 'building site'. The Oscar winner is suing two designers after a high-end makeover of his South Kensington apartment in 2019 left the property 'uninhabitable' and luxury i...

07/14/2022

Now you know the real story!