I’m having a little glamour
moment at work. I’m painting a
restaurant right in the main Piazza of our city Foligno, Italy.
I’m must say that the space is
gorgeous with vaulted ceilings and a stone wall and beautiful old wooden
tables.
Design Diary- Painting Techniques- The Simple Life in California and Umbria, Italy
Showing posts with label design thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design thoughts. Show all posts
Plethora of Apricots
The Simple Life
Good Morning my sweets.
It is beautiful warm blue sky day in Umbria.
I wanted to just pause a moment and show you these photos of apricots that I took.
I must say I want to learn to make Jam and be one of those woman who know how to make preserves and I'll even wear a white apron when I do it. The white apron will not have paint smeared on it.
Red White and Blue Interior Scenes
Happy Fourth of July
In America it is our independence day. It is also my mother and Louis Armstrong's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! My mom is as cool as Loui. I know that is hard to be, she is creative and artistic and very funny. She does not sing anything like Loui.
I came up with the great idea to post up some photos for The Fourth of some scenes I took of Red White and Blue.
I came up with the great idea to post up some photos for The Fourth of some scenes I took of Red White and Blue.
Summer in Italy
I won’t mention the Mafia or the political or economic
situation. I won’t even mention what went down in the World Cup. We are so thankful this is a design
blog.
Medicine Bottles and Flowers
Do you ever have a simple little design obsession that just
makes you so happy to think about it? O.k. you probably have a thousand little
design ideas going around in your head and this is what makes life pretty when
times get tough, escape into the world of gorgeous – for the moment, do not
think about … all that troubles you.
Then once you have added a little “bellezza” to your home, things begin
to improve. I understand it all has to do with perspective.
Blood Red Orange Color Inspiration
Today, just a little color inspiration, I go crazy for the
color of Blood Red Oranges. I feel
like it is almost impossible to duplicate for interiors. I always have clients trying to find
the right red. Yes the juice is very good with Russian Vodka!
California Cottage - Gothic Italian Palazzo
A Lesion in Paintbrushes
The Simple Life
I have a friend and mentor who
is a master painter, she recently gave me all these gorgeous paintbrushes. She is in her 80’s and is still going
strong with a passion and love of life that is not found often.
Soon it will be Summer
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| summer in Italy |
Soon it will be SUMMER
It will be so hot that you will
walk around barefoot.
The streets will be empty
because you could fry an egg on the pavement. YOU WILL SEARCH FOR SHADE.
The idea of turning on the oven
will disgust you.
You might decide to eat only ice
cream for dinner.
Imagine, you will come home from
work and instantly want to take all your clothes off and pour yourself a cool
cocktail.
You will be so suffocating hot
that you will look forward to winter, to see your breath in the air and wrap your hands around a mug of hot chocolate
smothered in whipped cream.
You will be begging for the cold
blue air of Winter and think it will never arrive.
Well guess what it has arrived!
 |
| storm clouds |
With affection,
Natalie
Above Splendid
I just go crazy for a cappuccino
in a jar. Then I can take it to
the job site or move it around my big Gothic apartment. If I get a phone call or distracted I
can just close the lid and come back to it.
Also above splendid is:
The fog in deep and riding on
our bikes with our bike lights glowing in the grayness.
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| this is not me, but I wish my bike was this red |
Sleeping with a hot water bottle
at the bottom of my bed.
A tower of blood red oranges on
our kitchen counter.
Going for a run with my black gloves and cashmere hat on.
Having a moment to freely put
down some ideas.
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| coffee, charcoal pencil and a paint brush - heaven |
A presto,
 |
| can you see the sideways hidden heart? |
Natalie
Napa Valley Winter Garden
The simple life
I’m back in Umbria after our
trip home to California. When we
arrived to our city there was thick cold fog socked in deep. It was so pretty, I thought
to get fog in San Francisco and didn’t and it made me feel so happy and that Christmas was on it's way.
We got the heat on right away and it lasted a couple hours, then broke down. It
had been left off for three weeks and let me tell you if you have any romantic
ideas about how we live in this Italian Gothic Palazzo that is 800 years old you can
give them up, because Gothic equals bone chilling cold, two feet thick stone
walls are very good at keeping the cold in. Those Medieval princesses suffered in more ways then one.
 |
| persimmons and a candle |
The heat is now fixed I have a
glass of red wine by my side and a few candles lit and I am ready to show you
the Napa Valley Winter Garden that I talked about. When you think of Napa Valley you probably think of the grand
rich wineries or fields of grapevines and mustard flowers. Since I love the simple life I just want to show you some of what I consider to be peace.
A winter garden brings peace
because often there just isn’t much work being done. Bareness can also feel peaceful and sleepy.
I love how persimmons remain on
the tree while the leaves fall off.
A t-shirt drying on the line is
hoping the sun will come along. Plus I think that is the compost pile. I saw a funny sign on the gate in another town outside S.F. that said, "trespassers will be composted".
My nephew is Walker Ryan and he
is a professional skate boarder, they stuck the old decks of his skateboards onto
the garden fence. I think it is a
nice tribute to all the hard work it takes to become a professional athlete.
I like the one blue tile as a
step into the shed and that it isn't in the middle.
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| garden shed in Napa Valley |
Inside the shed the walls and
ceiling are painted Pompeii red.
 |
| corrugated tin roof and Pompeii red door |
I absolutely love a corrugated
roof. It makes me knees weak.
I know my painting studio space
here in my home is fantastic and I do appreciate the space, but I have always had the fantasy of having many
sheds that have different purposes. If I had property and I lived in the U.S. (because you sure couldn't do it in Italy) I would love to
build sheds all over the garden and make guest bedrooms, a paint studio, a music
room shed, maybe even a library and one big cozy chair to read in.
A simple tribute to life in Napa
Valley is an old dried grape cluster draping a birdhouse roof.
Cheers,
Natalie
I'm linking with these lovely parties:
California Coast
 |
| long hallway with five tiny bedrooms on the sides |
This San Francisco girl living in Umbria has made it home with her girls and we are lavishing every moment here on the California coast.
Oh how I love the smell of the Pacific Ocean, the twinkling orange lights of San Francisco.
I have so much already that I want to share with you, but I am limping along with other's computers, as mine is having problems, it makes it hard to work and to write. So if I disappear for a while you will know that I am unable technically to handle much, but also we are enjoying the much needed time with friends and family.
 | |||
| this is not our house, I do love the faded hydrandea |
I hear that it is snowing in Umbria. Life on the California coast is supreme, people in the sand, in the shower, chatting on the deck, the hills settling into water, American coffee, something cooking, the holidays are brewing. I am excited and filled with gratitude just to be home and breathing in the air.
I am also so thankful for all of you, my friends and readers around the world. I want to inspire you all to slow down and savor the moments that bring you joy and peace. To keep your creativity going, and take time to relish in it.
To those in America Happy Thanksgiving and to everyone else I wish you tranquility and happiness.
Simple as that, embrace it.
 |
| how cool is this house, I couldn't find this in Umbria cheers! |
Natalie
Eye Candy
Eye Candy - The Simple Life
I think Eye Candy is supposed to
refer to looking at yummy boyz, or girls, whatever your desire, yet for us
freakers in the world of design eye candy can be so much more. Do you find you walk around in a daze
sometimes feasting your eyes on the small details of life? This is what I love
about this simple life I am trying to live and enjoy here in Umbria and the
world, the eye candy is everywhere.
Hot pink azaleas with moss green
velvet yum! The crystal vase is
really a wall sconce that I turned into a vase. I love it with the silver leaf table.
 |
| silver leaf and azaelas |
Some days the eye candy just
jumps out at me.
 |
| who doesn't love pink columns and cobblestones |
 |
| this side mirror is beyond fabulous 1964 Ford in Foligno, Italy... strange culture time warp |
If this table and stools were
mine, I would like to move them inside put felt all over the bottom to not scrape
the floors and then make velvet cushions in slate blue to go on each stool.
 |
| way cool as your dinning room table |
 |
| Umbria in the fog |
And the fog and mist makes life
mysterious and romantic.
 |
| I love going to work by train |
A surprise birthday candle for a
friend?
Remember to slow down and enjoy your own eye candy -whatever it may be or wherever you might find it, that is the simple life embraced.
Cheers,
Natalie
Colorful Cities
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| Juzcar, Spain gorgeous blue! |
If you follow this blog at all you know that I love
color. I have this wonderful
friend, whom I will call Jo, he has an original and creative mind and he knows I go crazy for color. Jo sent me this
article on Juzar in Andalusia Spain.
They painted the whole town a light shade of blue, for the Smurf movie
and the town’s people loved it so much that they voted and decided to keep it
blue. The mayor Fernandez said, it has given a "Boost to the local economy, it’s increased
our happiness, our dreams and our levels of employment. "
 |
| Juzcar, Spain from a distance plus 4,000 litres of paint |
 |
| here's the before shot |
Man, I just love
that!
The uniformity of the color makes the design splendid.
 |
| "La Bocca" Buenos Aires, Argentina immigrated by Italians and modeled after Genoa |
When I was in Art School at Pratt in NYC, it was deep in the
ghetto of Brooklyn at that point and I wanted to get involved in painting
something that would help the community.
My roommate who was a tough, reality type girl from the South Bronx
said, “If you do that the people will just go and pee on it”. I was pretty deluded about her comment
at the time, but now looking back I think well they might pee on it happily and
then eventually they might stop peeing on it. Back then I wanted to do something small. These cities show, do the whole town in
color and it will have an impact.
When I first went to Lucca, Italy, I remember being so impressed that the whole town could agree to paint their shutters green.
 |
| Lucca, Italy ahh such tranquility |
 |
| Lucca, Italy |
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| Bo-Kaap Cape Town South Africa this shows all colors can work together British and Dutch influenced architecture |
 |
| Williamstad, Netherlands |
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| Williamstad, Netherlands |
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| Guanjuato, Mexico |
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| Lima, Peru Spanish Baroque, French Neoclassism, Art Nouveau Buildings |
“Reform the environment, stop trying to reform the
people. They will reform
themselves if the environment is right.”
Buckminster Fuller
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| Izamal, Mexico in the Yucatan "The Yellow City" |
I have a Norwegian stepfather and from the moment he came
into our lives he started painting the rooms in our house, soft shades of blue and pale green, lavender. Of course, I had already painted my room by myself by the time I was 10! Our house was very open and you could
see all the varying colors through archways and doorways, it brought such peace
and joy to our family.
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| Longyearbyen, Norway |
 |
| color works in the cold and the hot climates |
 |
| Bryggen, Norway I love all the shades of red |
Now, I believe that color can be felt and have an influence on
the tiny personal scale of life and on the larger environment of a town that leads to
confidence, a strong sense of identity, pride and happiness.
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| Jodhper, India in the barren Thar desert known as the "Blue City" |
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| Wroclaw, Poland Gothic Architecture and a Roman Catholic affiliation |
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| Riomaggiore, Italy The Italians put color everywhere they can |
Isn’t that just simple and lovely!
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| Chefchaoen, Morocco a refuge for Jews during the Spanish Reconquista and my favoirte cornflower blue |
With affection.
Natalie
P.S. Note to grammar freakers, I don't seem to have an accent mark on my keyboard, thus accents are left out.
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