The quiet French village of Nolay is in Burgundy. Stone and timber houses lean slightly towards each other, like elderly aunts and uncles. I was enchanted by this house, with its profusion of geraniums. Trendy florists and garden designers might consider geraniums to be unfashionable and unimaginative. But this is a perfect example of how a massing of any humble object---geraniums, buttons, shells---can make an impressive design statement. As an American, I also recognize this scene as being quintessentially European. You can, at least in part, thank the geraniums for that.