A White Kitchen

Here now is the White Kitchen that I spoke of earlier in the week.  I will try to let the photos speak for themselves.

The kitchen is in a house build in the 1600’s and that makes it splendid.  Fireplaces, a small hand painted church (praying room), wooden “trave” ceilings, views to die for, terracotta floors, all set in among olive groves.

I hope this post will make everyone “rethink” how easy it is to change your kitchen.  That said, it was a lot of work and a lot of paint, yet the effect if grand.

Ready for the before shots it's a shocker.  Do you like it better? I do, it makes the dark narrow space so refreshing to me.

before photo

I sanded it, two coats of base coat, three coats of off white with a grey tint, a faux effect with oil paint on the corners and then finally two coats of polyurethane.

I painted over the glass motif with metal paint in flat white.  It made the etched glass design look cool and the amber colored glass punched up to look much prettier than before.  The roses on the glass before were a pretty bad, bright red with green leaves.

metal paint on glass

I also painted all the metal handles with metal paint, about three coats.

It is a roll up your sleeves kind of job.  But I did it all on saw horses in my studio, even resting the doors on little supports of blocks of wood or even with screws poking out of the wood to let air pass under once I have flipped the door to paint the other side.

This house has an amazing room right off the kitchen with a wood stove and lots of windows, here you can see the gorgeous antique ceilings that are the same in the kitchen.  This client has a good eye, very feminine and cozy with attention to detail.

I wrote this amore because remember love wins!

back roads of Umbria

Couldn't you be happy here with a cup of tea in hand? That villa looks empty to me waiting for love.  Natalie

I'm linking with:
French Country Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Romantic Home
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Between Naps on the Porch

Faux Painted Italian Bricks

 Good Afternoon from Umbria

I finished a job yesterday, painting a kitchen and I had done a lot of the work in my studio and then the client put it all the cabinet doors back on, when I went into the space yesterday I actually exclaimed wow, man oh man oh man- spectaculare!  I will share the work with you later in the week because it really is a good example of what a lot of paint can do.  Now I get to come back to my diario di design for a moment.  I have my 2^nd cappuccino (cappuch) by my side like a loyal dog watching me with loving eyes.

faux brick and olive green shutters

Today I want to share painted bricks on this palazzo.  Honestly I think it is kind of silly-crazy to paint fake bricks over a centuries old palazzo.  But I want to show it as an idea actually to use in the garden.  If anyone has an ugly concrete wall, or a side of the garage (or the neighbors house?) something that needs enhancing.  I think it could be quite cool with vines and bougainvillea growing over it.  This process of painted brick adds depth and can actually make the space seem bigger and also more intimate.  Painting always makes a space feel more special.

If you look closely you can see this is done simply with charcoal grey or black lines and then on certain sides they do a parallel white line, and this gives the perspective.  Imagine it done with grey and white or shades of brown, or taupe and cream something less graphic, subtler.  If you paint the wall in a couple of colors first as a base coat, note the 2-3 shades of ochre, brown here. Then I would suggest sanding it, or maybe painting on some bleach to eat away some of the finish to distress it a bit.

Here are some examples of real brick wall, vines, flowers and all.

Roman wall and a fig tree

If say your neighbor's house just isn't up to par then you might consider a James Bond 007 move and swing cable yourself on to their roof and plant a bunch of jasmine, a few years and it will be all covered up, like this gorgeous brick wall.

jasmine and brick

What do you think, is fake painted brick silly or gorgeous?  I do like it here in Italy when they have a brick Palazzo and they cover up a window with concrete, then they just faux paint the brick right over the window space, to match the rest of the brick.  This I love.  I believe they cover the windows to heat the space better.  I would rather be cold with lots of light, then warm and dark!

faux painted brick, I love the ochre and white

With affection,

Natalie

I'm linking to:

Romantic Home

French Country Cottage

Between Naps on the Porch

Bohemian Italian Bedroom

a little shabby chic a little Italian bohemian

The other day I woke up with a great idea, at least I thought it was just brilliant.  Normally I’m a believer that morning ideas are good ones and often the late night bright ideas, in the morning light just don’t seem so hot.  Anyway creative people actually process their bright ideas during the night as they sleep so that our subconscious mind is working over time for us.  Isn’t that just lovely!

So my problem is I have a really ugly bed, I think it is even some famous Italian design.  I did not buy this bed.  But hey they do not do everything right over here let me tell you. 

penso e' bruto, I think it is hideous silly design

My bright idea was that I would cover my headboard with Italian lace embroidery and safety pin on and hanging all over from the headboard crystals with with sheer blue ribbon.

Alfredo (my darling) came over later, as I was obsessively working on this project.  I got some of the crystals on there and I must give him credit he didn’t say anything derogatory, he did make a face like let’s wait and see and then instead he took me out and away from my project for a prosecco in the warm evening air.  He did make the joke that the blue ribbons were a little like I had just had a baby boy.  In Italy when someone has a baby they attach a huge bow, blue or pink on the front door of the house to tell everyone what sex the baby is.  I love this tradition and sure enough when we went out for our walk we kept running into big blue bows everywhere!

bohemian italian mixed style

Later when we came home, the prosecco had cleared my mind and I could see it was not a wonderful idea, it did not look cool.  It just looked weird.  I was even able to show my girls how it is important to fail, in order to simplify the idea to the point where you like it.  

rumpled old bed linens and faded shabby chic design

Here's what I did do.  I covered the metal headboard with an old baby crib runner.

here's another before shot

Then I covered that with a cotton sheet.  Then I lay an embroidered lace work table cloth over the cotton sheet and fastened the the sides with 1 crystal and 1 blue ribbon.  

crystal and italian lace

It feels simple and pretty.  What do you think?  Could you live with a bed padded with an old baby crib runner?  

Cheers prosecco anyone?

Natalie

I'm linking with these link parties:
Miss Mustard Seed
French Country Cottage
Romantic Home
Between Naps on the Porch

Styling Empty Frames

candles, little bottles and pink flowers 

It is going to be a gorgeous day here in Umbria.  I’m silly about the weather and think about it way too much.  When I was young I wanted to be a meteorologist.  I’m really glad I changed my mind.   I have one friend who thinks what you wanted to be as a child does reflect who you become.  He says, "I should have known I would be gay when I was always rearranging my bedroom at 8 years old!"  He became a photographer.

I go crazy for the this pink and gold 

if only  I could have an armoire or dresser
 in the same chippy style

Today I want to do a post of showing how I love empty picture frames.  I have done this for years way before it was in style (hasn’t it always been in style?).  Well before people used to come into our home and say, “What’s going on?”  I would respond, “There you can see the future”.

old antique frame from from the 1700's
with little mirrors and chalk drawn on the wall

this is where we leave our keys

cool reflection

and reflecting the painting in front of it.

Plus I love the massiveness of empty walls and I believe in lots of good art and beautiful photographs. 

This gorgeous little gold frame I brought in Ecuador with the same friend who became a photographer.  He was such a jerk, when I said I didn't want to buy it because I would have to carry it all the way home.  He said, "You can enjoy it for the rest of your life, or regret it for the rest of your life".

gold frame and hand painted walls

painted olives bring peace

Sometimes I put this little photo I took of Elisa, she was so tiny then.

To me empty frames are just fun to play around with.

here's in my studio with a inner frame,
photo, plus wire, crystal and ripped velvet ball

that's me at 13.  I'm glad I didn't become a meteorologist
or a ballerina

Empty frames they may be temporary and on their way to becoming part of something more important.

Cheers,

Natalie

I'm linking with:

Between Naps on the Porch

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

French Country Cottage

Romantic Home

Something One Creates

One simple thought today.  While looking for something to entertain you I came across this quote, I know me and my quotes.  But I hope that you are here reading this Diario di Design maybe trying to expand your mind a little too.  I know I am on a daily basis, oh let's just say hourly basis recently!

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself.  But the self in not something one finds, it is something one creates.
Thomsas Szasz, 1920

Now go out and in and get creating and working on your creations too, because the creations can help with the creating.  The creations help you to further understand the self you are creating.

I like that quote because it is empowering.

Natalie