International Herald Tribune: Expatriate Bloggers Chronicle Details of Home Renovation

“Writers’ tales seem to impress audience with their exotic setting”

— Roxana Popescu

the paper edition

Our renovation and Palazzo Pizzo was featured in International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times! (I blogged about it here). The story about several home renovations (half page) was published in the Properties Section on Friday, May 4, 2012.

Here the extract about Palazzo Pizzo:

extract of the article

You can read the full story online at nytimes.com. Additionally to the online version, the printed paper edition of the IHT features also a "renovation blogroll" with some more expat bloggers who write about their renovation projects in Europe: 

The International Herald Tribune says about PalazzoPizzo.com :

The Crosetto family renovating a palazzo in Calabria, Italy. Lots of photographs and a detailed description of structural and aesthetic decision making.

(May 4, 2012)

My post about hardwood flooring - when I asked the readers to make suggestions - was mentioned in the story and can be found on this blog here:

How to lay the parquet - please advise and quote!

source: photo and scans by me / Palazzo Pizzo

New York Times: Expatriate Bloggers Chronicle Details of Home Renovations

How exciting, Palazzo Pizzo, my blog and our renovation story got featured in The New York Times !!

The New York Times on May 3, 2012 (extract)

The full article can be found online at nytimes.com

I was contacted by freelance reporter Roxana Popescu in February 2011. She wrote an email to me saying:

Hi!

I'm a reporter, and tonight I came across your great blog and photos, and it gave me an idea for an article: expats who are renovating lovely old homes and blogging about it. I just got my editor's green light, so I'm wondering: Are you available for a phone interview sometime in the next few days? My deadline is Friday, so we'd have to talk soon.

And she added:

This would appear in print in the International Herald Tribune, and online in the NYT real estate section,

Me: Of course, I am available for an interview for a story in NYT and IHT! - I was quite excited!

We did the interview via Skype soon after and she met her editor’s deadline. That was Friday.

But then ... nothing… It took over one year (!) until the editor gave the final green light. Which was okay for me, since I had time to take more photos of Palazzo Pizzo and clean up the blog a bit for this highlight!

A couple more expat stories made it into the article. The home featured with photos is from British blogger ‘MamaB’ in France. It was exciting to discover some new fellow bloggers that way!

One day later, on May 4, 2012, the article was also published in the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times. The printed edition contains an additional "renovation blogroll"  with more expat bloggers to discover.

My post about hardwood flooring that the reporter mentioned in the article can be found here: How to lay the parquet - please advise and quote!

update: It was only over a year later, in August 2013, when we welcomed our very first guest, a young American couple at Palazzo Pizzo Residence.

Our Renovation Project in The New York Times !

(...) When Susanne Crosetto and her husband, who is Italian, took a vacation to southern Italy in 2006, they were searching for a pied-à-terre with a terrace and a sea view. They ended up falling for an 18th-century palazzo.(...)
via nytimes.com 

Our renovation project and my blog are mentioned today in New York Times.com  in the Real Estate - Great Homes and Destination Section along with other expatriate blogger.

The article "Expatriate Bloggers Chronicle Details of Home Renovations" can also be found in today's print edition of the International Herald Tribune (Friday, May 4, 2012).

It is very true that this blog helped me to communicate with readers and other blogger on interior design, and to find inspiration online. Thanks for all your support !

My blog even became a "communication tool" to discuss our renovation project online with Angelo, my father in law. While he was most of the time on the construction site, we were, most of the time, thousand of miles away. Editors always cut some parts, so I am adding this here.

Since the Skype interview for this story was over a year ago, I am really excited to finally hold in hands the printed story in today's International Herald Tribune, and - wow! - how amazing to have a back link from the New York Times!

Welcome to all new readers of New York Times and IHT who are visiting this blog today!
And thanks for the mention of Palazzo Pizzo.

 

The Guest Residence is coming along

The guest residence - as we do call our seminterrato with the high vaulted stone ceilings - is coming along. It is a very charming apartment with private garden terrace and stunning sea views. And it is ready to be tested:

Palazzo Pizzo Guest Residence

Who will do the test sleep on the new mattress ?

And who will test the rain shower under the vaulted ceiling with sea view?


For sure, we will test the gas stove and brew a coffee ... 

 ... and test the morning sun in the garden – and there we might notice, that a garden chair or stone bench is still missing.

We came a long, long way!

vaulted cellar before renovation, August 2006

Before and After, compare these photographs! - Stunning!

This is mainly Angelo's work, my father-in-law, who was working here hundreds of hours. How he preserved the stone walls and ceilings, how he elevated and insulated the floor, what special techniques and material he used, needs to be posted in another story.

But now, since everything is so pretty (and after another repaint of the walls), CC and I would love to welcome guests. We would like to host not only friends and family but also travelers who are looking for some peaceful days in a small sea side village to rest from their travels.

So this is my new project, to find out how to implement accommodation availability checks on my blog and credit card payments. In the meantime, if you are interested to become a test sleeper between July 7 and July 28, please contact me via email at writing(dot)suzie(at)yahoo(dot)com and check what can be arranged.

For further information go to Guest Residence Page or read the about the renovation.

more pics: