While we are on house hunting tour in Asia ... our Italian home progresses ...

Angelo, my Father-in-law, has unpacked some stuff, and felt like interor decorator ...

So funny ...  Although these Shanghai style deck chairs don't belong into this room, I wish I could relax there NOW! 

And Angelo continues to paint wrought iron gates blue.

Even if I have posted this view before, I can't get tired of it (now with new blue balustrade).

Here we got a wooden 'battiscopa' - and please note the professional fresko cover protection. 

Yes, I confirm, these tiles are for the master bathroom's floor (pavimento) and not for the bathroom wall.

This one is hilarious :

Angelo o-tone:  'I have engaged a cheap and competent woman for the final cleaning and waxing of the master bed room'.   (Editor's remark: this cheap 'room cleaner at work' is my dear moterh-in-law)

Super finish : floor after final cleaning and waxing

Guest Blogger: pop corn flooring

The status report by Angelo that came in today:

We have now started the work on the paving of the salone at the ground floor. We are filling the paving with a light product called argilla espansa. The material is clay that has been processed in a way similar to the one used to make pop corn. The result is a very light product that is ideal for filling. The paving will be reinforced using steel wire mesh that will add further strength to the structure of the house.

(...)
Ciao

Shopping in Venice: VENETIA STUDIUM

In the heart of Venice you might come across a little shop that has beautiful silk lamps, handbags and scarf, elegant velvet cushion covers and table runners in modern and oriental style. The shop windows always magically attracts me and my husband. And you can read the magic Roman letters : VENETIA STVDIVM - which is the Venetia Studium company that has several showrooms all near San Marco square.

Fortuny silk lamp "Cesendello" on the rod and silk scarves.

We like the style of the lamp, that is influenced like all the Venetia Studium products by the "history of Venice and its links to the Byzantium and the East".  However, we have no idea (yet) where to use it. Actually we look at this lamp as long as we visit Venice together, since over 13 years!

Scarves, shawls, handbags and cushion covers made of silk or velvet - and the elaborated glass lamp Saraceno.

Another Venetia Studium shop with similar window display ...

... and another shop specialised in cushion covers and table runners

Here my friend from Bangkok needs to shop for a friend in Thailand (that's why I saw all the shops!)

Little detail: I especially liked the typical Venetian terrazzo floor

(and the interesting Italian shoes of an Italian male)

PS: Venetia Studium has a showroom in London and selected products can be ordered online

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Rough Luxe Style

Today I came across this beautiful living room featured by Remodelista :

Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts of New York based interior design firm Haynes-Roberts designed this living room for their summer house on Long Island.

I am not only impressed by the rustic, reclaimed flooring - that we could consider for our guest appartment in the vaulted cellar.

Isn't this an interesting mix of rustic old and contemporary elegance ?

If you want to read more about "rough luxe" style :
Remodelista points to a recent article by WSJ magazine that talkes about this maybe new trend - not only in interior design but also in furniture design and fashion.

To preserve the Old: Colorful Tiles

One day in the palazzo, I was wondering how the tiles under the layers of dust would look like... downstairs I found an empty plastic bag and opened the only water tap we had in the basement. Then I carried the water in the plastic bag upstairs and spread the water over the tiles in the future bathroom. With an old broom that workers had left I roughly brushed the floor, took pictures and went again to get water for the dusty tiles in the next room.

This is the flooring of the future bathroom, 'before and after':




The flooring of the master bedroom - before and after some rough cleaning:




The dusty floor in the soggiorno, living area - before and after some rough cleaning:




Only in these three rooms of the primo piano (first floor) we have this kind of colorful tiles.

The tiles of the future bathrooms (first 2 pics above) had to been taken out to install the piping and to reinforce the floor (full bathtub will be heavy). Also not all the tiles were in good shape. So at the moment we are not sure if we will lay the tiles with the flowers back into the same room or rather use them in another smaller bathroom downstairs. In any case:

I cant' wait to see these floors restored !