Valentines is just around the
corner. I love to make valentines
for the ones I love. In America it can be a message of love for anyone who might be important to you. In Italy Valentines is viewed as something
you do just for the “one” you love, not your mother or child or best friend.
Showing posts with label design idea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design idea. Show all posts
A Simple Valentines Idea
Labels:
Color,
design idea,
inspiration
Architectural Elements - Corbels
I love the idea of architectural
elements lying around in interiors and in the garden. Rome is full of them with ancient Rome present in daily life. You might be walking down the street
and come across a dirt space and a huge Roman head or column just there –
gorgeous and shocking.
I once drove over the boarder to
Mexico from California with girlfriends to go shopping and what did I come back
with but a huge concrete ball. I
kept it for years lying around my various apartments. I wish I still had it now here in
Italy. If you put a piece architecture in your space it makes the space look interesting instantly. Corbels, columns, architraves, pieces of stairs, a newel or chunk of a banister, capitals, arches, leave them on a beautiful floor or lean them up against a wall, put a bowl of floating flowers and candles and there you have a scene of tranquility and antiquity.
If these Corbels were for me I
would have painted them a great color like sapphire blue or ruby red. In San Francisco I had a pair that were attached as a true architectural support under a square archway and I painted them a chalky rich pink. Man did they look great! In this situation I must do what the client wants alas.
There were previously messed up
in an electrical fire blacken with smoke, but no real damage done. They are made out of terra cotta.
Corbels before shot |
I painted them taupe in acrylic
and then dry brushed over them in oil color (raw umber).
The project took a few days for
drying time, but the actually working time was minimal. It was fun because it was such a quick transformation.
Corbels as book supports |
I am wishing a Happy Sunday to all
my lovely readers around the world.
Kind regards,
Natalie
I'm linking with these fun parties:
Labels:
design idea,
faux finishes,
painting techniques
Shabby Chic Italian Library
Now that it is the new year
doesn’t it make you want to clear everything out and start fresh? Here is a job I did recently that is a
good example of new beginnings.
Sometimes it is hard to paint
over the dark wood especially in a library setting.
Here is the before shot.
First I painted the ceiling an
antique rose. I believe that
painting the ceiling a color is way hip, especially here in Italy where the
ceilings are often so high that it makes the space seem empty and cold. Color above right away makes the space
glow with warmth.
Then I painted the walls a
creamy white that had a tiny hint of pink in it. You can’t really see the pink on the wall, but I could see
it in the paint bucket and once the walls dried it gave the effect that the ceiling
was reflecting pink onto the walls.
Which it was, but I helped it along.
This room really shows the
changing light of the day. Under
gray skies it has a splendid effect of tones of white and off white. Then with the sun out a blush comes
over the space.
the doors are almost an oyster off white (not green tinted) it's the light |
here I left the wood of the desk natural |
the glass is definitely half full |
I painted the bookshelves the
same color as the walls only in acrylic paint with a satin finish. I didn’t prime them since I wanted the
wood to come through easily. Here
there is 4 coats of off-white, one to two coats of polyurethane.
Then I sanded just the edges of
the bookshelves, painted on some brown wax, waited a half an hour and rubbed it
off with a piece of wool (an old sweater). I left the wood of the desks as it was, touching it up some
with Mordente (wood stain) and the white shelves ethereally rise above.
I love this apricot color tile floor |
Shabby Chic bookshelf |
Shabby Chic distressing detail |
This client was going relocate the hat collection and put the books back in, plus some colorful art on the
walls.
Isn’t this Italian Library just
reeking of a fresh start with hope permeating the air? I love the view of the secret garden ensconced inside our crazy city.
With affection,
Natalie
I'm linking with:
Miss Mustard Seed
Miss Mustard Seed
Labels:
design idea,
faux finishes,
painting techniques
Houseboats - Alternative Life
Hello everyone, Happy New
Year!
As promised I am going to show
you some wonderful Houseboats outside San Francisco, California. In a little hillside town called
Sausalito.
I get all silly headed when I
think about living an alternative life.
I think my fantasy has to do with something about beating the
system. What system, you may ask? Well that is still unclear (I said
silly headed), maybe the world of pressure and conservatism, the rat race,
paying ridiculously high energy bills (as we do here in Italy). Becoming trapped by a mortgage.
I love loft spaces, organic
gardens, solar panels, making your own things, tiny cottages/sheds, big old
rambling houses that need love.
I go crazy for color and I love white and gray and brown too. I like the idea of living off the grid
and then I also want to be able to go to a café and have a good cappuccino,
often.
Houseboats and Mt. Tamalpias |
Sausalito, Ca Houseboat |
this one is quite huge, because they are all bigger than they look |
When I went to Design School in
Brooklyn I really wanted to move into one of the architectural masterpieces
that were burnt out in that ghetto which was then my neighborhood, Clinton Hill. I really wanted to be a squatter, but
not a homeless type, more of a well-designed squatter. I was also very scared of the rats I
knew would be living in abundance there. I’m not tough. During that time and even now I know in
my heart that I would like to own a pink cashmere coat. Do you see my dilemma?
this houseboat the roof is a deck garden |
I understand that to some our
life here in Umbria Italy living in this huge Gothic Palazzo is already a bit
alternative. To me having two feet
thick stone walls is still weird.
Interesting that for me girls it probably normal.
this guy is even further off the grid, she has to row out |
Do any of you out there know of
blogs that seem to be about an alternative life? I love and follow the blog Soule Mama www.soulemama.com. Soule Mama is homesteading in Maine and
knits and has a garden and makes honey.
She understands the simple life.
I also like the Tiny House Blog http://tinyhouseblog.com. I am so impressed with these people who
can live big while living small.
it's a long pretty walk down the dock |
this lavender paint job is fantastic, the color is blinding in it's perfection and hue |
My mother lives in a houseboat. I left my mother's house out of this post to respect her privacy. I will say that her space has lots of windows and skylights, it is quite modern and airy. The front door enters into one big room that is the dinning room, kitchen and living room, then the bedrooms are downstairs at water level.
I love this tiny houseboat full of color |
What is your alternative life
fantasy or are you already living it?
Interesting that alternative is just a perspective.
Un bacio di Umbria,
Natalie
Labels:
color inspiration,
design idea,
simple life
Paint Studio- Design Studio
I’m pretty excited because I
actually cleaned and organized my Studio.
Now I call my friends and even
my daughter’s friends (when they come over, I’m not stalking them on the phone
yet…) and I say want to see what my paint studio? Of course
everyone says yes, not only out of courtesy, but out of sheer joy and
curiosity!
So wanna see my studio?
I'll start with the before shot.
Here it is cleaned up.
I feel very inspired to make
this next year kick!
Lucia my 14 year old says, “Hey 2014 equals 7”.
2 + 0 PLUSone +4 = Sette Design 7.
zero is a start 2 is a pair seven is heaven or a place to keep paint brushes and paints |
Do you dashing ones out there
have a good space to work or play or create something that makes your heart go
thump?
do you think this sign functions? |
Isn’t it funny about us in world
of design, how our hearts go thump just to see a pretty space.
My studio cleaned up and organized
and filled with candles and pink roses and white tables gets my heart thumping
and leaping.
And here we are on the eve of
the eve of the new year.
Wishing you some cheer swirling
in and out of your studio.
Cheers,
Natalie
I'm linking with:
Labels:
design idea,
painting,
simple life
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)