Italian Farmhouse

Good morning to all of you. Starting summer or winter? Winter here, not too cold yet but I'm looking forward to cuddling by the fire. Let's go to Italy now. Great bones for this Italian farmhouse with all its stone walls and floor. The interiors are mix of classic and contemporary styles with a rustic feel all over.















All images from here.

Restored Home in Sicily

We've been living in Lima, Peru for three months now and last night we had our first earthquake. I guess I shouldn't call it an earthquake as it was only a slight tremor that only lasted about 2 seconds, and it felt as is a heavy bus was rumbling by in our garden. Not frightening at all, as we had been warned about these tremors which are quite frequent here, but new to me!

Haven't taken you to Italy in a long time, have I? Well, here we go then to Sicily. Italian architect James Cavagnari and his American wife, interior designer Erin Quiros, renovated a residence dating back to 1700 on the Aeolian island of Salina. A combination of modern, rustic and minimalist styles.

The couple with their daughter Evelyn.











Photography by Scott Frances
All images from Architectural Digest.

Celebrity Home: Sting's Backyard

Today we are visiting Sting and Trudie Styler’s farm in Tuscany, near Florence. A terrace with stunning views of the vineyards and the Chianti hills beyond. The landscape design is by Arabella Lennox-Boyd. How I wish we could see the interiors as well!


Sting and his wife bought the property in 1997.

Typical Tuscan architecture. The 16th-century villa was built as a hunting lodge for the dukes of San Clemente.


Chinese wisteria covers the 118-foot-long oak pergola.


An antique marble fountain rises out of the boxwood parterre.

Clipped boxwood frames beds of lavender, santolina, and white oleander.

An ancient cedar of Lebanon overlooks the parterre, formally known as Il Giardino dei Limoni, or garden of the lemon trees.

Sting came up with the idea for the oversize chessboard.

Lunch on a gravel terrace in the shade of an oak tree.

The pool, installed by a previous owner, overlooks the Valdarno Superiore valley.

Photography by Giancarlo Gardin

Portrait by Jaime Travezan

All images and information from Architectural Digest.

Renovated Barn in Italy

Located near the Gulf of Grosseto, in the Tuscany region in Italy this barn has been completely renovated by architect Daniele Bedini with local materials such as the stones from Mount Labbro and chestnut for all wooden parts. The original small windows were kept but there are so many other big windows and doors that there is plenty of natural light inside. It is basically furnished with flea market finds and items that used to belong to Daniele's grandmother. Lavender and sunflower yellow are the colours that dominate throughout this warm rustic house.








The kitchen table belonged to Daniele's grandmother. In fact, all of the kitchen was designed to resemble her grandmother's kitchen as it brings back fond memories of her childhood.




Rustic bathroom with an antique stone sink.


The small window above the bed shows the thickness of the walls.


In the porch a typical Tuscan countryside table and chairs were painted white and lavender. Wicker chairs and coffee table for the seating area. Weather proof curtains provide sun protection and shelter this cosy space.


Photos Andrea Vierucci
All images from here.

Farmhouse in Italy

Second post today takes us to a farmhouse in the Alps. After living and studying for 10 years in Milan and Zurich, Chiara came back to Italy to live next to her mother's house. Like most Italians, she wanted to be near her family so she built an annex to her mother's home. Chiara kept the stone floors and country style but created an open-plan space and mixed modern styles with the old. Dark red walls are traditional to Alpine cottages in this region.

More colour for you today, dears!

All images from here.

Stone House in Italy

Today we are going over to Italy. I spotted this very interesting stone house called a trullo. Its conical shape, traditional to south-east Italy, keeps warm in winter and cool in summer. It used to be belong to the owner's grandparents who used it as a summer house, but now this family lives here full time.






























Happy weekend to all of you and I'll be back tomorrow.
All images from here.