Sleepless in Beijing

The other night I could not sleep. I was awake until dawn. I was wondering through the rooms of the palazzo, the 'palazzo to do'. I was looking at the floor of a bathroom and picturing these old thick floor tiles that we recovered from another room. But what would we use on the walls? And if I come out of the shower, wouldn't it be better to have the heated towel rail next to the shower instead across the room? Or should we use the thick old floor tiles in another room? And where should we use the old terra cotta tiles? They could match with some glittery mosaic tiles from Bisazza. I was thinking and thinking instead of sleeping.

And I was thinking of what a reader wrote me the other day. She read my entire blog and said that she was first thinking that I for sure can't wait to see the house ready, but then realized that I do enjoy the whole renovation process as well. - Yes, so true. - And thinking of that (still not sleeping), I realize myself, that I might enjoy the process even more then the result. Actually I am afraid of the result!

Take the main facade. It has now that pale morbid charm. How will it look with that 731 make-up? I am afraid that I have been falling in love with a house that will soon look so different from what I knew!

And take these beautiful light blue tiles we choose for the balcony and the terrazzo. Will they be too much reflecting and deflecting from the beautiful sea view?

And what do I do when the house is done? Will I have the same empty feeling like after an examen that you have preparing for weeks and months? Well, I don't think so. With this house, we will always have tiny things to do, to change and to improve. And I am sure I will always have to post something about the beautiful countryside, inter cultural encounters or just an Italian recipe.

I am still not sleeping and thinking of what a beautiful spot on earth we found. This spot is just too beautiful to keep for ourselves. It needs to be shared. And not only with family and friends - maybe also with vacationer - or a "Gente di mare" film crew...?! My most favorite part of the house, the old garden level, the seminterrato could be available for vacationer. This will be fun to organize!

Happy sigh, good night from Beijing.

When the Plumber ...

The plumber, the milkman and the postman... can bring a housewife into trouble.

In my case it was a plumber.
I was told on a Saturday that the plumber will start on Monday. And I should think about where to position radiators in the living area under the roof (we start at the top floor). That was easy. I had time enough to communicate my storage concept that limits the choice…

So how can a plumber in Italy bring me into trouble in China? Meanwhile Tuesday, it was about a radiator that my husband, Angelo, the architect and the plumber wanted to install in the small bathroom under the roof. - Hey, under the roof, in Southern-Europe? It will never be cold enough to switch on a heater in the loo. And if so, you will be done before the heater is warm! - When I realized that it could be a chic chromed radiator like the one by Villeroy & Boch (left picture) with a second function to hold and warm bath towels, I was persuaded. I made a quick layout of the bathroom and indicated the position of the radiator (of course next to the shower). Only little later, I got a confused reply from Italy, if I have not seen their drawing? Yes sure, and here is my suggestion – as requested.

This was when I found out that the plumber already had done the complete bathroom plumbing on Monday. - ?! – I only had to indicate my preferred place for the radiator.

People always ask me: How can you renovate a house in Italy while living in China? That is so amazing! – Yes, it is, indeed! Now we see how it works.

Luckily the plumbing work somehow corresponded to what I had in mind (there were not that many possibilities to squeeze in a shower, a WC, a bidet and a sink into a room with a large window and two doors).

Both sides, me in China and the palazzo team in Italy, were irritated about the miscommunication. What had happened? Apparently one email attachment was incomplete and I replied late and the palazzo team was fast ... And for them a loo is a loo and not an interior design project. (mmh, I am curious about the comments I am getting now from Italy)

Sigh, yes, we should be on site. I know. And we are going to be there! Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in China. All Chinese start to escape back to their hometowns starting this weekend. And some will take three weeks off or even longer. A lot of shops and companies close. There is no domestic help in town, no drivers… so we are urged to flee from Beijing as well. Italy in winter is not the first option for a holiday when you live in Asia. But it is for us because we are awaited to indicate positions of electrical plugs and switches to start with – to decide on the color of the facades (yes it is on hold for us) - to get a feeling for the restructured space – and to decide on more plumbing work (this is on hold since the housewife got into trouble).

View from a different angle

I received emails from Angelo and Pitt, the architect. They saw my earlier post about my granite association issue. They both tried to calm me down. The granite stone's surface is rough and not polished. Only when it is wet the dark spots are a bit bold. Otherwise it looks natural and elegant like in the above pictures. The window sills at the front facade are new. They have not been there before. I have to say, I am relieved. It looks good. Thank you Angelo and Pino Pitt for keeping me posted regularly and dealing with my concerns! Also thank you Suzy (Studio Annetta in Hong Kong) and Cheryl (From the Pines in France) for mental support!

ta ta ta taaaaaa - Fanfare !!!

"Al piano terra i muri sono tutti demoliti.

Stanno portando via le macerie
ciao Angelo"

 

Today I got an email from Angelo, my father-in-law, who is on site in Pizzo since a couple of days. Since Monday we have the permission! The GO! And the workers started right away. They took down the walls in the piano terra , the ground floor. The first picture is taken from the living room showing the dining area and the new large space of the kitchen. The old bathroom is gone, the bathtub is out. And the former bathroom window will be part of the new kitchen. It is great for me to see the new space. Even if it's just from that photo. I try to "feel" it. Sounds funny. But being so far away, I have no other option. I am looking at this picture and try to imagine how we will prepare breakfast or lunch - in order to find out how to arrange the kitchen.

Ah, and the second picture shows the dumping of the debris. But not only that. You can see the first furniture we 'inherited' with the palazzo: a pink plastic chair. And you see our  quiet narrow alley. No truck will make it through here...

Grazie Angelo. I am looking forward to more pictures soon.

PS: I learned that the spots on picture number 1 are not spots on Angelo's lens, they are ORBS! A sign for good vibs, good energy! And it is so true, this room feels fantastic!

No News

We are still waiting for the permission by the commune to start the renovation work. As I understood we are not delayed.

The tiles (the amazing blue ones) for the balcony and terrace are already delivered and need to be stored.

The question about how to restorate the facade seems to be cleared (at least in between the family). I want to conserve the antique 'patina'.

Here an example of how I prefer to do it (left part) and how I do not want to do it (right part) - click on photo to enlarge:

(picture above shows a house in Pizzo Marina)