ADD COLOR TO YOUR HOME

Inspired by an innovative Sydney home here are some great ideas to help you add colour to your home!

Garden “We loved the colour and patina and wanted to use this as a garden backdrop,” says David of this back fence. “You can see this green wall as soon as you enter the front door.” The NSW Architecture Awards jury cited the “clever use” of the wall and its scene-setting presence in the garden when honouring the home in its 2012 Residential Architecture category. It evokes the area’s industrial past, too.

Tip: In an urban setting, opt for sculptural plants.

 Artwork A love of art is key to this home’s build. “I needed maximum wall space for the artwork, so there are skylights and high windows,” says owner Courtney. “Every time architect David Boyle came to me with a new window in the design, I’d scowl and ask him for more wall space.” The deck’s 4.2m roof allows the thick-glazed windows to remain uncovered to maximise light.

Tip: Protect artworks from direct sunlight with UV frames and careful positioning.

Books “Colour-coding books is entirely unoriginal and a bit design-nerd tragic,” admits Courtney. That said, it’s a system that works: “Now that I know which books are where, by dint of the colour of their spines, I can’t bring myself to go back to any other way of shelving them.”

Tip: Custom 2.5 metre-high storage maximises space and becomes a decorative feature

 Bathroom “It’s like a folly and I love it,” says Courtney of the kids’ bathroom. “I decided to not only go the bright yellow, but to go all yellow. David liked the madness of the idea.” The tub was painted in Dulux’s Golden Marguerite and her “sparky” even found a yellow power point cover.

Tip: Opt for custom Laminex wall panels for a seamless look with minimal grout lines.

Art A clever mix of ‘salon’ and ‘New York’ hangs gives a gallery sense to artwork displays throughout the home. In the master bedroom, pieces are applied straight into the wall.

Tip: “Have the discipline to leave tracts of blank wall,” says Courtney. “Otherwise it’d be like living inside the pages of a stamp album.”

Clever storage “Storage was an important part of the brief,” says Courtney. And, though her home was completed in 2010, “the built-ins are still going in, even now!” David designed the daybed nook at the end of the built-in desk in her office, and his wife upholstered the seat using Courtney’s vintage fabric.

Tip: Tame open-storage chaos with patterned boxes, such as these red and blue polka dot patterned ones.

Small spaces You can still decorate outdoors, even if you’re limited to weatherproof objects. Courtney has used sculptural baskets by Lorraine Connelly-Northey and seashells to create a comfortably jumbled look.

Tip: Use found objects to create inspired and personal displays.

http://www.homelife.com.au/homes/galleries/11+ways+to+add+colour+to+your+home,23745?pos=9

 

PERFECT ARCHITECTURES

Weaver birds nest – Namibia.

Weaver birds get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds). The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf-fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like the buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The sparrow weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.

Sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) nest in a quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma), Fish River Canyon, Namibia.

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SOUTH AFRICAN DESIGNERS WEAVE A TREE HOUSE FOR ADULTS

Maybe we’re crazy, but we’ve always wondered what life as a little baby bird would be like, all safe and cozy in your handmade nest. Which makes this new “Organic Lounger” designed by Animal Farm, a Cape Town design firm, so fantastic.

Inspired by a weaver-bird’s nest, the cubby has a steel frame, and walls made of woven branches. It can hold two adults and a small child, and you access it through the bottom, via a rope ladder.

The chief designer, who really does insist on being called Porky Hefer, says he’s currently working on a larger nest that’ll seat four lucky adults.

 

http://inhabitat.com/animal-farms-cozy-human-nests-hang-from-the-treetops/

BLUE MAJORELLE

In 1919 the French painter Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962) took up residence in the Medina in Marrakech (then a French protectorate) with which he fell in love. Majorelle was the son of the Art Nouveau ébéniste of Nancy, Louis Majorelle. Though Majorelle’s gentlemanly orientalist watercolors are largely forgotten today (many are preserved in the villa’s collection), the gardens he created is his creative masterpiece.

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In 1922 he purchased a palm grove just outside Marrakech and in 1931 he commissioned architect Paul Sinoir to build him an Art-deco style workshop of astonishing modernity. He set out his primary living space on the first floor and made a vast artist’s studio on the ground floor to paint his huge decorative works.

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Fond of botany, he created a botanical garden around his villa structured around a long central pool, with a variety of over 1800 types of cacti, 400 species of palms and other rare varieties of the time. Different environments, planted with lush vegetation in which hundreds of birds nested.

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The garden is a living and evolving work of art made up of exotic plants and rare species that he brought back from his travels around the world: cactus, yuccas, water lilies, white water lilies, jasmines, bougainvilleas, palms, coconut trees, banana trees, bamboos…

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Embellished with fountains, ponds, water features, ceramic jars, avenues, and pergolas… This bold action revolutionized the way in which gardens were to be viewed.

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In 1937 the artist created an ultramarine blue that was both bright and intense: known as blue Majorelle, he used it to paint the walls of his workshop, and then the entire garden transforming it into a living tableau which he opened to the public in 1947.

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The power of the blue Majorelle is long lived and permeates the essence of what it means to live and see color in Marrakech.

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Following a car accident, Majorelle was repatriated to Paris where he died in 1962. The garden then fell into neglect. In 1980, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent acquired the garden to save it from property developers and to bring it back to life.

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Following the death of Yves Saint Laurent in 2008, Pierre Bergé decided to donate the Jardin Majorelle to the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent.

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The Garden welcomes over 600,000 visitors each year, tourists and locals alike.

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Mr. Frédéric Mitterrand, in the presence of Mr. Pierre Bergé, placed a plaque engraved, “Maison des Illustres” (‘House of Honor’), at the gate of the Villa Oasis, where Mr. Yves Saint Laurent came and worked throughout his life.

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Yves Saint Laurent said “A visit to Marrakech was a great shock to me. This city taught me color”.

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http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2011/12/jacques-majorelle-1886-1962-france.html

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http://www.travel-exploration.com/

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http://gardentoursmorocco.wordpress.com/majestic-gardens-of-morocco-tour/

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ETT HEM HOTEL

Ett Hem was a private residence built in 1910 for an official and his wife. This structure has a great history, surrounded by beautiful things. They left their mark on this townhouse, located on Sköldungagatan, in Stockholm’s upmarket Lärkstan district. The original lady of the house had a love for the aesthetics of Karin Larsson – the wife of the famous Swedish water-colour painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) – who collected objects, textiles and furniture from all over Sweden. The Arts were a great part of the couple’s lives and the residence incorporates this through truly unique ‘objèts’ and artwork. Yes this house had the privilege to be brought up amongst true eclecticism. The designers behind it, British interior designer Ilse Crawford of Studioilse and Swedish owner Jeanette Mix, have renovated the 1910 Swedish building originally designed by architect Fredrik Dahlberg, converting it into a hotel where luxury resides.

Transforming the house into a hotel has been a delicate process: its personality had to remain intact. Yet it also had to offer all the services required by modern travellers. The result is that Ett Hem is again filled with the best collection of furniture, Scandinavian antiques and design. Things that frame moments in life.

Staying at Ett Hem is like being a house guest in somebody’s private home. Guests are welcome to do as they please but will be taken care of, down to the last detail. Ett Hem means “a home” in Swedish and it does what it says on the tin.

Comfortable living spaces come from the array of tactile materials – sheepskin, leather, brass, glass, cane and felt furnishing.

In winter you can curl up in front of the sitting room stove, retreat into the library for a quiet read or have a cocktail by the piano.

There’s a short menu of dishes using local produce available around the clock, which can be served wherever you prefer. Eat in the kitchen or more formally in the library, or look out at the garden from the Glasshouse, a great place for breakfast.

A brass chandelier and brass cabinet hardware add a note of warmth.

There are many historical references within this heritage building. Antique chandeliers, lit by real candles, were sourced by Studioilse. Ceramic ovens were added to those guestrooms that did not have one
already.

The reception room  (here below) features an original stone fireplace and alongside Pierre Paulin’s Chair.

Nomad floor lamps by Niclas Hoflin and a vintage flat weave rug sourced by Studioilse, as was the antique cabinet to the right.

The twelve rooms at Ett Hem are all different, as you would expect in a private house. Some are more spacious, others more compact, but all have a warm domestic feeling created by a Swedish sensibility using tactile materials such as oak, Gotland stone, and sheepskin. Several of the rooms in this private hotel have open fireplaces or tiled stoves.

This guestroom scheme includes Lamp Pascal floor lights by Vico Magistretti
and a custom-made desk and headboard designed by Studioilse. The art on the wall above the desk is a piece called ‘Next door Nebula’ by Jonas Nobel, one of many of the clients own artworks displayed throughout Ett Hem.

Bathrooms are clad in locally sourced Gotland limestone and have polished brassware fixtures.

A daybed for quiet moments.

A soaking tub carved out of a single piece of marble-framed Victorian-style.

The hotel’s fitness area includes a sauna and a large, well-equipped gym.

In fine weather, guests may read on chaises in the walled garden.

The hotel sits behind a brick wall, surrounded by a small garden.

Ett Hem, Sköldungagatan 2, 114 27 Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.etthemstockholm.se/EttHem_press.html

http://www.studioilse.com/

http://www.carllarsson.net/

THE LIGHT OF PROVENCE – Château de Moissac I

Built in a hill-top village, a refuge for lovers of ancient stones…In the early 17th century, the Château de Moissac-Bellevue was a residence dedicated to relaxation, owned by a noble family from Provence.

Sobre, patrimonial, remarkable, with its monumental entrance, vast drawing-rooms and dining-rooms opening out to the gardens, its imposing kitchen, its bedrooms and bathrooms extending upwards to the attics, the building was rewarded for its exemplary restoration in June 2008 by the “Prix des Vieilles Maisons Françaises” sponsored by Emile Garcin.

Terraces and ponds extended by soothing landscapes as far as the eye can see.

http://chateaudemoissac.fr/life_at_the_chateau.html

ROMANEIRA

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Deep in northern Portugal’s Douro Valley on the banks of the Douro River, on 400 hectares of sprawling private vineyards is a place that only exists in one’s dreams. Drenched in lush green pastures, vineyards and continuous birdsong is Romaneira, or  Quinta dos Sonhos (Place of Dreams), and here, the dream has become a reality in an expression of peace, tranquility and utmost beauty. If you have not been to Portugal and it is on your bucket list, this quinta is a must.

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You will never forget this experience and you will relive it often in your real life, when the stress starts coming, the memory of Romaneira will lift you out of it and lighten your load, i promise. Only recently have the locals discovered that that their ancient local grape varieties can be used to make not only excellent Port wines, but increasingly outstanding unfortified wines that are finding their place among the great wines of the world.

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13 rooms and six apartments set across two houses, 2 pools, one indoor and one out,( which boasts the most spectacular view of the river and vineyards); a chapel, a restaurant with an incredible wine list (duh), a hammam (massage room) equipped with Moroccan robes and slippers and a library filled with design books. Owner Thierry Teyssier has done a great job with the interiors, handpicking antiques and objets d’art from around the world. The result is utmost serenity amongst a beautiful, chic and inspiring environment.

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http://www.quintadaromaneira.pt/en/

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PARENTHESIS

This lovely little country cottage looks like a dollhouse. Simply perfect for the next weekend!!!!

Source: from the web

THE FRAMED STORY

My journey to  Amsterdam was exciting. This old lady is very intriguing with its impressive architecture, lovely canals crossing the city, great shopping, and friendly people. I spent a week going around as much as possible. There is something for every traveller’s taste here, whether you prefer culture and history, serious partying, or just the relaxing charm of a classic European city. In the South district you find the Museum Quarter and the Vondelpark, the most popular park here. I was walking around the park, when I found this fantastic frame (here below) . How can people throw away such lovely things! Without hesitation, I picked it up and it was a real challenge to go through custom to bring it to Italy. Once at the Eindhoven Airport, it was like smuggling hot stuff.

This kind of ornate antique frames are not usually made of carved wood. Instead, the frames have a wooden base with an ornate plaster veneer added to the top of the wood. The finish is then added to the entire frame so it appears to be a single carved piece.

Step 1

Press plastic clay into an undamaged section of the frame that matches the damaged section. Carefully peel the clay off the frame and roll the edges so that it will hold liquid plaster. The purpose of this step is to make a mold.

Step 2

Mix the plaster and pour it into the mold carefully trying to avoid air bubbles. Let it dry and then remove it from the mold. You now have a duplicate of the detail that was damaged.

Step 3

Sand the rough edges and the excess of the casting until the pieces fits into the spot that was damaged.

Step 4

Paint the entire piece of plaster with gesso. This will seal it and prepare it for the final finish.

Step 5

Glue your plaster segment into place.

Step 6

Paint or gild your final finish so that the new segment matches the original color and finish. Now the frame is finished and ready to be rehung!!!!

VILLA PATCHWORK

I collected some inspiring pictures from different sources and I made a “Patchwork” of different places. The villa here below doesn’t exist, at least as a single place. It is an imaginary mansion and it has not been easy to make it look coherent and with a balanced style.

 

http://www.shabbychicmania.it

A GARDEN ABOVE THE SEA

The Origin

As we sailed along the coast in 1995, we discovered this old ruin. The physiognomy of the construction was fascinating as it stood isolated amidst a wide-open space, slightly sloped towards the sea. The land around the ruin was unique for the area and flowed into a rocky coastline, which appeared to be less steep and rough than the land preceding or following it.

Retaining something of the original impression of the place became quite a challenge. At first, we envisioned it as being a holiday home, but once all the rooms had been laid out with their own bathrooms, we realized we could not keep the place all to ourselves. So we set out to make it accessible to our friends.

The Amalfi Cost

Garden

The opportunity to spend the entire day outside is one of the great advantages of life by the sea. The garden serves as an extension of the house. In this more than 5000 square meter space you can enjoy the great coastal panorama while wandering around sculpted hedges, greenery, fountains and stone benches. The sights and smells that you experience whilst walking around here have been thought out by the award-winning Belgian landscape architect Jacques Wirtz. It is yours to explore and see where your senses take you.

Herbs, spices, fruit and vegetables from our working estate are used in our recipes and remedies – cultivated on the day, every day, for ultimate freshness. Most of the ingredients our kitchen uses are the fruits of our good position and climate, grown organically in originally abundant gardens.

Private Seaside

From the house the sea is close enough to recognize every ripple and wave, yet it is as vast as a great plain. Passing ships are the actors on an extravagant set of islands and mountainsides.

Dream away to the sound of the Mediterranean sea kissing the rocks while being able to make a refreshing jump off the cliffs if you wish.

http://www.casaprivata.it

W LA FRANCE!!!!!

A 17th and 18th Century chateau located in the heart of Lower Normandy, in the Orne Region. This vast family residence has been artfully restored and furnished by its British Fashion Designer Owner. All rooms are light filled with pale natural stone colours and have high ceilings and two or three large double windows opening out into the surrounding gardens, grounds and woods.

A spacious main hall with cream and peach cabochon stone flooring kitchen with original stone. Open fireplace, small adjoining preparation kitchen, dining room with large French double doors with access through to the main hall. Grounds and kitchen, salon, bureau, pannelled sitting with a  secret door leading to an adjoining small cd and video room. The four masterbedrooms have adjoined en-suite bathrooms with roll top baths and marble or wooden floors.

The front courtyard has an antique original cider press and is flanked with beautiful cream stone outbuilding and stable block. There are two post and rail paddocks adjoining and belonging to the chateau which are rich in wild flowers. Grounds also include a ruined 11th century chapel, walled vegetable garden, summer house with enclosed laurel hedge garden, woodlands and ancient elm avenue, jardin a la francais with fountain stream.

The summer house

 

 

http://www.jjlocations.com/locations

 

OUTDOOR ROOMS

The African Palm

The Pear TreeThe Door Bell

Tool Shed

 Plastic Buckets and Garden Equipment

The old Bird CageThe AgaveThe old Wide-Mouthed Frog, called Galileo, is gazing at the stars.

“ROSES” my favorite flowers

The Historic Italian Roses

” Le Champagne Roses”

“The Passion Roses”

“The Modern Roses”

Roses have a long and colorful history. They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics. The rose is, according to fossil evidence, 35 million years old. Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, probably  in China. During the Roman period, roses were used as confetti at celebrations, for medical purposes, and as a source of perfume.

Sometimes we see gardens that are so out of this world beautiful that we are left speechless, this happens to me especially when I am in front of some roses. It is possible to make a sublime garden with roses. I come to think of a quote from  the movie “American Beauty”; it helps me remember…and I need to remember…Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, my heart’s is going to cave in.

During the winter a roselover like me longs for the summer where the sweet fragrance of roses fills the air. I hope these pictures will inspire you when you’ll plan your garden.

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.  (Roald Dahl)

ITALIAN COUNTRY LIVING

A great sense of satisfaction, comfort and security comes from the place we call home. It is a self-contained space where everything works if enriched by a series of personal details which contribute to that feeling that makes you say: this is the place I want to be. This blog is meant to provide you with inspiration and ideas within reach. We live in the time of frugality. The end of excess  is bringing most of us to a more considerate lifestyle.

The old Spring – Bell

The white Wisteria

This is the ideal place for who want to escape from everyday pressures.  You will discover corners that radiate a natural tranquillity. Here my husband’s family  come to spend their weekends and a part of the summer in this lush green environment. The house rests on a unique location. It is on a hilltop surrounded by vegetation but you can still see it from the plain. The house has been restored  completely thirty years ago.  The two sides of the house date back  from 1800, but the “heart”  of it  is much older, in fact it originally was a mast of the 12th century.

The Rosemary

The old  and wise Sophora tree is standing  quietly in front of the house. She  looks like sculptured by the wind waiting for Spring.  Yes this blooming Old Lady  is a marvelous amulet but mostly it is the house’s symbol.

In the summertime it becomes a real  green waterfall of leaves and under its canopy you can enjoy the fresh air.  You can stop for hours  thinking about whatever you like. I  go back to the past where I find a little girl that imagines how nice should be to be a little colored singing bird in the nest. For sure this is for me one of the best way to relax.

The Sophora produces, once every two years, intoxicating and, apparently, hallucinogenic pale green berries. I never tried them, though.

If you walk  barefoot in the vineyard at the end of August the sensation is wonderful and you will have the chance  to see and smell the beautiful grapes before the harvest. After it, grapes rest for 4 months  in the drying loft before being squeezed and fermented. The old vineyard still produces a noble wine that is simply called “The Red”.