Hi Vivian,

Yes, I do realize and agree that our cultures are very different. My wife and I would like to learn a lot more about yours. She is an interior designer.

I think it is safe to say that your culture is very much older than ours. If you think about it, the history of "Settled America" is only hundreds of years old. Asian cultures are thousands of years old.

Americans have managed to put together some "history" like craftsman, Georgian, etc.. but for the most part it is probably a modified version of something older. If you want to get into the old stuff, that would be Asia, Rome, Greece, Italy, France, etc. I really like a lot of these. though I truly admire the beauty, I probably least understand Asian design. I have a feeling it takes years and years of work to truly understand it. Forgive me if I am wrong to generalize "Asian Design". I know that many cultures exist in Asia.

You mentioned contemporary. For me, I only really enjoy contemporary when it is paired with very native, rough, rugged, exposed, woven, or naturalistic materials. The ultimate example of this would be the resorts you see in Bali.

Eventually your own "style" is going to be a product of all that you have learned. That is why I say "Learn History" until you breathe it, dream it, and ultimately design it. A good landscape architect will always have good "design sensitivity" in that we are careful about our interaction with existing environment, but I also believe that each mastery level designer will eventually have their own style, tweaked off of something old. Other designers might disagree with me.

great pictures vivian!

Vivian, every project has different design requirements. To reach your full potential, you should be able to offer complete detail, but studying history is equally important. When we learn what came before us, we then have a platform to design something new from. I say pursue history, beauty, and thematics first, but never ignore how things are built. Pursue your passion and the details will come with the time invested in your work. I hear rescently that it takes 10,000 hours to master your gift/talent. God bless you. The eye is where it all begins. I see that you have that gift.

These garden photos are absolutely beautiful.

Hi Vivian. Thank you for the friend request.

Yea absolutely anytime, you really have some awesome photos!