November 25, 2009

My husband loves antique shopping

November 25, 2009/ - Susan -

A while ago, when we still lived in China, my husband was on a business trip to Europe. Over the weekend he went to see his parents in Venice, Italy. One of their favorite activities is "antique shopping". Sometimes they just stop by their friend's restoration warehouse in the industrial zone of Mestre to say hello and check the "new" arrivals and lately restored furniture. And sometimes they would drive to one of the monthly antique markets in the area.

Anyway, while I was not around, my husband found antique chairs and beds for the "palazzo". He bought four chairs which his father wants to refurbish himself. The "beds" were only header and footer for one or two beds.

Well, not a bad habit, isn't it ?!

November 16, 2009

To preserve : the green room

November 16, 2009/ - Susan -

The green room of the palazzo was the only room that was not over coated with white paint when we first inspected the house. We have not changed the green colour, but we have changed the layout of the room. Since the old kitchen was too small we had to sacrifice the old bathroom which space today belongs to the (future) kitchen. Hence, in need of a new bathroom the green room had to give away part of its space. The other part remains side entrance area.

the arch in the middle, with no function, had to go

the green room divided

remaining side entrance area (right) and wall with glass bricks for additional light in the new bathroom (left)

And since I want to preserve or restore as much as possible of the old atmosphere (that however I have never experienced myself) I thought we will colour the future bathroom that was part of the former green room in the same green shades. Although green is not our favorite colour the house is big enough to give different rooms different touches.

The colors for the new bathroom could be these:

(colours via Farrow&Ball)

maybe the ceiling needs an additional touch of light rose to go with the green paint and the white stucco

November 12, 2009

Inspired by Living in Argentina

November 12, 2009/ - Susan -

It is not Italy, but maybe the South American country with the most European touch. Many Italians came here to live and you can feel the influence.

walls : grey, floor : black, column : gold, lamps : 6, accent colour : coral

wow ! what a glamorous eclectic mix !

Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America

curtains used as closet door and room divider

countryside house in Argentina (reminds me of a "maison de campagne" around Fontainebleau)

All above beautiful images and many more can be found in this book :

available via :

Amazon.com (19.79 USD)

Amazon.de (19,99 Euro)

I browsed this book online here because my blogger friend N. was so excited about Buenos Aires after she spent a couple of weeks in Argentina. And I heard other people saying that Buenos Aires is a mix of Paris and Barcelona. So I got curious and checked this book by Taschen (language: German, English, French) which of course is not a travel book but purely about interiors. However, these eye-candies make me want to travel to Argentina right away.

And that's what the editor says: Argentina considers itself the most European of South American countries as Argentineans have a strong connection to the old world. When it comes to decorating, they have a great talent for bringing together the old and the new, with subtle touches of color and rich textiles.

FYI : in case you order this book or any other product via my amazon links I receive about 5% commission through their associate program. In this case about 50 cent ... so if you order 10 copies, it would buy me a coffee !! (ha ha! thanks !)

Photo source: Taschen

November 10, 2009

Creative Tuesday

November 10, 2009/ - Susan -

this morning I saw colours ... of course, when you have followed my last posts, no wonder ... 3 bold fundamental colours (red, blue and yellow) and 4 complementary colours (red-green, orange-blue) on my dining table ! Of course I had to take out my camera. This could be a motif to paint:

My painting class was right after (I am doing water colour every Tuesday morning with my neighbour architect, his friends and an art teacher). But we paint what the teacher proposes. Today we had to paint a frozen lake near our town. She, the artist, always brings a photograph and one or two versions she already has painted. Then she paints in front of us showing her technique and how we could compose the picture - and then its our turn. It is always interesting to see all the different results. Here is mine:

And after this post I can say, that I have been really creative today (photograph, painting, writing) !

November 09, 2009

Decorating with Colours

November 09, 2009/ - Susan -

Maison Jaoul (finished in 1955), Neuilly (Paris) by Le Corbusier

(photo from a book "Le Corbusier" by Taschen)

If you have a house with many white walls and surfaces and not that much art work to hang, the best way to decorate your house is to paint large surfaces with bold warm colours that are rich in contrast.

Lately I got inspired by my friends new house. She used a Feng Shui colour consultant and ended up with a colourful house that radiates warm and cosy feelings from the very first moment, although the moving boxes were still unpacked. The result is quiet interesting and I have to ask her if I could post some pictures. In some rooms walls were painted with three different colours. Seems too much to me, and many others. Lets wait and see until they have lived in there for a while. But also magic colour tricks made disappear corners and widen small windows.

And since I need to add 3 doors for buil-in closets in my (German) home, I think to use bold colours for the surfaces. At the moment I fancy a kind of lobster red for a single door for my bathroom. And around the corner, in my home office, I fancy some fresh green or blue or yellow for a double door. As the 3 doors are so close to each other (the sliding door to the bathroom is always open) they can create a fun colour contrast. A bit of "Bauhaus" style in my appartment...