When it’s 30 degrees outside and the trees have lost all their leaves, and nothing is blooming, Colleen Duffley, artist, photographer and proprietor of Andiamo Lodge in Mentone Alabama, turns to magnolia leaves and bamboo. She keeps the cozy lodge in sync with the seasons year round, by bringing the outside in and using items that grow on the property. Here she arranges hearty magnolia leaves in a basket that hangs on the wall for some welcome green in winter.
“One of the things I love most about Andiamo Lodge is how the outside is never really outside.
We’re surrounded by the most beautiful natural landscape here, and as a photographer, I’ve always been a lover of light. I crave it. I chase it. Even in my own home, you won’t find heavy drapes or closed-off windows—I want to see out, to let the light move freely and change the room throughout the day.
At Andiamo, I bring that same philosophy indoors.
Large branches gathered from the property. Flowers cut straight from our gardens. Nothing curated from a florist—only what’s growing, reaching, and alive right here and it changes with every season . I love the way it blurs the line between inside and out, making the lodge feel like an extension of the land itself.
It’s that inside/outside energy—organic, effortless, a little wild—that creates the ambiance. Rustic, yes. But always luxe. Thoughtful. Grounded.
Nature sets the tone here. We just invite it in. ” Colleen Duffley
