Work Progress in Pizzo
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Angelo decided to give his new light sky blue ceiling an apricot framing
The sixth and last bathroom will be a blue bathroom - it's the one in the guest residence
waterproofing of last bathroom floor (seminterrato)
Ceilings: Some lighter blue paint
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Angelo tries out a lighter blue in another corridor
(all three panels are painted in the same hue)
the light sky blue in comparison to the other recent bright blue
for comparison of hues and for orientation - both are corridors
The story behind:
This morning, very early around 6.15 am, I saw these pics in my mailbox. Angelo had written last night and was asking about how I like the new light blue, that he had tried out (surprise!), and which colour I would like better.
Remember, he is addicted to blue colour paint and obsessed with painting the walls and ceilings colourful - and then surprising us with the result.
First, I had to ask back - via mail from Bangkok - whether the light blue in the first pic is one or three different hues (I could not tell). Later, Angelo confirmed from Italy, that it's only one light blue hue and that he and Tonino, his co-worker, like the new sky blue. Also my husband, on business trip in London, joined the discussion by mail and said that he likes the new colour too, but I should decide.
Due to the time difference between Europe and Asia, I was busy with other things (egg cleaning the fish pond) and for some hours not at the computer, while, meanwhile in Italy, Angelo, probably waiting with a paint brush in his hand, couldn't wait any longer and just sent me a SMS text message on my mobile phone:
"I am still waiting for your reply. See my and CC's mails."
Wow, now, a new medium got introduced to our long-distance-renovation-project: SMSs.
After a quick look into my mails, I wrote straight back: "Light blue! Va bene. Grazie e buon lavoro!"
I did not even know that I can send a text message from my prepaid Thai SIM card to Italy.
It worked. Only a few seconds later, his reply : "Good choice!"
The tiny overhanging bath or former outhouse needs the perfect sink
/Can anyone tell me how they called these overhanging shithouses people used to have in the medieval times in European cities ? (and elsewhere ?) I do not even know the Italian expression for these tiny outhouse loos.
Anyway, we have one! And it is going to be our son's bathroom.
In my previous post I gave a sneak peek into the ongoing renovation. It is another green bathroom. We have ordered all appliances, except the sink. Advise is welcome!
But look and read from the start:
front facade of the house with the overhanging former outhouse on the right
a closer look at a BEFORE photo (we came a long way!)
above drawing by the architect shows the former privy on the right
the layout says the WC is 1,90 m x 1,40 m
above and below is the BEFORE bath,
there were a WC (left corner), a bidet and a sink
we took out everything (please note the "big" window)
with the help of an AFTER pic (note the former big and now shrinked window!)
I made some tiles planning
Shower tray, shower faucets and tiles are installed. Walls are painted. But what about the rest?
You may have noticed that the before bathroom had no shower, but a bidet. Now, we have decided that a shower is more important than a bidet. But we have another solution for "butt hygiene". We opted for one of the smallest WC, the Starck 3 compact model (360 cm x 474 cm), and will have a hose on the side of the toilet (like you often can find in Asia). This is simple, clean and space saving!
After all this, we still have not decided on a sink !
I have some tiny space saving sinks in mind and Angelo wants the largest sink possible.
Okay, I used to have a tiny Happy D sink (see pic below, no. 1) in my guest toilet in Germany where you almost only could have washed one hand after the other.
But the above Happy D (no 2) could do. It is 345 cm deep and 460 cm long - and it has soft round corners - ideal for a tiny kid's bathroom. But of course I can't decide just like this, quickly. There are other options by Duravit (and other manufactures for sure, that I have not checked), especially I thought of using the sink from the same series as the WC since we are in such a small room, it might be best to stick to the same design:
This sink comes in many sizes, but ours could be 450 cm wide x 320 cm deep (2 cm less wide and 2,5 cm less deep than the Happy D) or 550 cm wide x 370 deep, a compact version.
My sister has in her kid's bath room the above Starck 3 sink with metal console (480 cm x465 cm). Now, she lives far away from me and I cannot check if I would like it for our son. Not sure, the almost square sink and the metal console seems a funny match. But maybe a funny match is ideal for a funny bathroom?
once more the site : which sink matches best ???
Since we use no longer the service of an architect or interior designer, just Angelo and me are thinking of sinks. Actually, it is only me. Angelo would buy a big sink. So, it was me who asked for detailed measurements and Angelo came up with a rough excel sheet. He added the shower tray, which is 80 cm x 80 cm. And a WC (not delivered yet), that I corrected to the given size. Then I added different sizes of different sinks. It all seems quiet tide to me. Since Angelo hates tiny dwarf or smurf sinks, we agreed on the following: we wait until the toilet is delivered and he is mounting it. Then he would do some test sitting on the toilet and check possible sink shapes. From this test he would send pictures to me which would help me to make a good decision.
Mille Grazie !
Bathroom: Can't take my eyes of subway tiles
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A beautiful mix of three different shapes of white tiles, separated by a thin border of black tiles and finished with a pastell mint wall paint - I am impressed by this composition !
Not sure via which blog I found the above picture, but the photo below is from another blog and it shows the the same bathroom! So, I proudly present both pics together in one blog :
I just can't take my eyes of subway tiles
Subway tiles (on walls) are often combines with hexagon tiles on the floor. Here above with tiny, mosaic type hexa tiles.
But you can do it easier and cheaper, but not less interesting with square tiles :
Just another bathroom of ours ...
Rectangular subway tiles on the walls and square tiles, diagonally layed on the floor
Since we had not made any further specifications than "green" wall colour, our son (7 y.) actual favorite colour, Angelo used the leftover paint from downstairs and added a border of his choice. I think it looks super good, especially when you see the "matching" green leaves through the bathroom window and ....
.... a bit of sea view
More about this bathroom later with before & after pics.
Blogging Dilemma: When Virtual Visitors Become Real
/Is it a dilemma or is it not, when virtual visitors to your blog become real visitors to your life?
It depends. It depends on the intention of your blog and it depends on the visitor. It is not a dilemma when you want to sell something or rent something. And it is also not a dilemma when someone who became a "blogging friend" after a while of emailing back and forward agrees with you to meet in real life.
Yesterday, Angelo sent me an email saying an American couple stopped by and asked if they can see the house. They "knew" it via my blog. He showed them around and they said they will leave a comment on my blog about that visit.
So what would you say? How would you feel, while sitting thousands of miles away?
I can't blame Angelo, he is just proud of showing his work to someone who is interested. Not many visitors in Pizzo anyway at that time of the year. He is open minded and not chicken-hearted like me. And we have not yet had the situation that someone totally stranger would ask permission to have a sneak peak inside.
Then of course, this question suggests itself : "what is the point of blogging about all this ?"
The best thing of blogging about our renovation is, that we are getting some fantastic feedback and valuable input from readers who are interior designer, architects or interested, creative people with great taste and ideas like some family members and friends. Also family and friends are kept updated that way, as the renovation takes ages. Another very important aspect of keeping this blog alive is, that this blog helps us to document the whole work process and to get the best photos, manufacturers, inspirations etc. filed with tags.
My Italian family is very open about my blog. However, my German family does shake their heads about it: What if some crazy guy gets jealous and burns the house down? - While this is a bit exaggerated, a crazy guy might not look up the Internet for potential houses to burn down and travel far ... it might be a neighbour, however, looking for an opportunity to sue us for something.
That's why I am very wary and careful myself. And shy. I have only one blurred picture of myself, no pictures of my son, one picture of my husband from behind and very few from my Italian in-laws. Most personal pictures are from Angelo as he seems okay with seeing his picture and name in cyber space. Actually, I think, he even enjoys it. However, I am very discreet. Very selective with pictures. Very thoughtful with words, information, names and other details. (Did you realize, I did not mention from which US city these visitors came from?)
Of course, Angelo and CC cannot understand that I make all this thinking about this little incident (virtual visitors to my blog becoming real visitors).
So I asked Angelo to handle the next tourists who show up and request a tour of the house, to show them our semiinterrato, the beautiful basement and garden that will be available for rent one day. The upper parts, although not decorated yet, are private. I hope everyone understands and respects my protective reaction. Maybe just in time, before our house becomes a tourist attraction ...
