My Favorite Part: Merrilee Challiss

Merrilee Challiss, one of my favorite artists and owner of the infamous Bottletree Cafe, has been so kind as to share with us her favorite part of her home.  She and her husband Brian share in my love of mid-century modern, have an affection for cats (just noticed the cat tail in the photo), and have a keen design eye which is evident in the photo and description below.

One of my favorite things in our home is this retro globe terrarium.

This is the second one I've had -- the first one, which I found at an estate sale in East Lake for five dollars, bit the dust after repeated attacks by our cats and then a short, ill-advised stint as part of the BottleTree decor (note: brittle plastic doesn't last long in a rock club).

I am crazy about plants - succulents in particular - and I have about twenty that winter here on this table by the windows with the light pouring in. I love the stream-lined, rounded silhouette of the globe and the whole idea of encasing a "world within a world," which is a recurring theme in my artwork.

The current resident of the globe is a jade plant and, despite having endured a few scars from curious felines' paws, the plant seems to be really happy in its home.