I am very excited to bring you first hand coverage of the world renowned Chelsea Flower Show this year in London. The show, which opened today, is as good as ever and one of my favorite new things for 2012 is the Artisan Retreats. The Royal Horticultural Society asked five of the UK's most creative and stylish people to decorate a garden retreat, and each of the results are full of inspiration. More

Name: Anna  & Ed Chipperfield 
Location: Oxford, England
Size: 2000 square feet
Years lived in: 3.5 years; owned

This beautiful townhouse in Oxford, England is home and workplace to Anna and Ed Chipperfield. Over the last few years, they have lovingly restored the house, maintaining its period details while adding contemporary elements like the spiral staircase and a modern kitchen. This melding of old and new is also reflected in a lively mix of antique and modern furniture. The Verner Panton chair sitting at a vintage writing desks sums the look up perfectly.

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A British sugar company has created a candy hotel. Seriously. The windowsills in the Soho, London, hotel were made entirely of fudge, flower arrangements were made of sculpted sugar, the cushions on the beds were actually cakes, and there was a carpet made of 1,081 meringues that would actually not look out of place in my own apartment, except for the whole “made of meringues” thing. 

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If you find yourself thinking, as you browse through these photos, that this home seems a little too good to be true, you're exactly right. This beautiful Georgian townhouse in London is leased for photo shoots through UK firm Light Locations, and it's perfect in the way only a house no one lives in can be. 

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Name: Sophie and Nick with Ivy (5) and Sylvie (3)
Location: Stretford, Manchester, England
Size: 4 story, 5 bedroom house
Years lived in: 6 years; owned

I love to see homes where people have fun and aren’t afraid to experiment with their decorating. This colorful family home in Manchester, England is exactly that, as each room is a riot of color and pattern. The living room features wallpaper with sprawling green leaves by William Morris at Sanderson, one of the children’s rooms is accented with canary yellow woodwork, and a rainbow striped stair runner winds its way through the entire house.

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Project by: Linda Levene of LLI Design
Location: Hampstead, London, UK

This beautiful family home in leafy Hampstead, North London, close to the wide open spaces of the heath, needed to be brought back to it’s former glory. The clients wanted to maintain the art deco features but bring them up to date, whilst adding a contemporary feel to the house.

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Snowden Flood is an interior accessory designer with a studio/shop that houses her range of products which include mugs, plates and platters, glasses, trays, candles, washbags, soap, stationery, and textiles. Her own products are juxtaposed alongside products handpicked from a range of UK designers. More

London mayor Boris Johnson has selected Zaha Hadid Architects to design a new major airport in southeast England. Johnson stressed the urgency of a swift solution to London's air traffic woes, charging the famed architect and a team of top engineers to “[deliver] a fulsome examination of the most realistic solutions to our aviation crisis in the shortest time possible.”

In other news, a 3D printing pen raises $2 million on Kickstarter, and an artist uses junk to create Tetris-like art. See the headlines after the jump.

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Eliza Kesuma, a graduate of Heriot Watt University School of Textiles, set out to create wallpaper patterns that she would want to find for her own projects. Amid a market of floral prints, Eliza handcrafts wallpaper and textiles with modern patterns and prints from her Edinburgh studio. 

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Name: Katharine & James Howard (and daughter Amelie, 1 year)
Location: South London, United Kingdom
Size: 1600 square feet
Years lived in: Owned; 2 years

Before I ever set foot in Katharine and James' south London home, I knew that it would be beautifully designed to the last detail. After 13 years spent working for UK design bible The World of Interiors, Katharine certainly knows what she likes: a stylish mix of classic British and French country style, with lots of pattern, sparkle and shine.

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