Design Diary- Painting Techniques- The Simple Life in California and Umbria, Italy
DIY - Subtle Blue Sky Wall
Before I get into the post I wanted to tell EVERYONE that my Painting Techniques for Wall, Art and Furniture is now available for anyone truly inspired to up their game and skill level for painting.
I've been painting a brick and beam ceiling white, the work is grueling but the effect is uplifting.
For years here in Umbria I have wanted to paint these Umbrian ceilings white. I find some of the rooms dark and heavy. Other clients in the past have wanted me to do it too, but the project is messy, costly (pure labor and lots of paint) and time consuming. It is hard to live in the space when the ceiling is being painted. This is the practical part of the work. If in fact you have a new space to paint I would suggest renting a spraying machine and spraying all the wood and brick, then you could paint the walls with roller or brush. The whitening finished effect is just stunning, to me it looks so much more Northern European.
Abandoned Garden
Do you love an Abandoned
Garden, we have one right out our window here in Spello. The view from the window is magical
because it doesn’t look like Italy it feels like some other place I have never
been too.
Do you find that with gardens
left alone you want to go and fix them up or just sit among the chaos of
nature. I find that when I look at
the huge swaying palm trees I waver between wanting to trim the dead furans off
and then the next moment I relish in the beauty of the neglect. It is silly because my mind has battled with these thoughts all summer long.
Adriatic Sea
A couple quotes today to make you think. Two serene photos of the Adriatic Sea, note the splendid blues and greens. This is inspiration enough for me, oh how I love blues and greens.
I hope it inspires you today to do something with calm and courage.
Living in Umbria, Italy/Mixed Styled Chairs
I’m excited to show you the
house of my friends and clients Jessica and Filippo here in Umbria, Italy. I love their home because they
integrate all the important elements to make a home alive and full of love,
amazing food (lots of parties) books galore, art all over the walls, music hard rock, rap, jazz and classical and Filippo and their twin daughters all play
musical instruments.
My Walk to Work
The Simple Life
Recently while working in
California I have been getting jobs where I need drive out of Napa Valley and
into San Francisco or the county before.
It takes about an hour and a half and there is often bumper to bumper traffic. Leaving the Valley early in the morning
I drive through the vineyards and feast my eyes on spectacular views of the valley floor, sometimes I will even see a fleet of
hot air balloons. I don’t mind the time driving because
it is alone time when I can be in my own mind….ahhh.
Umbria Italy, Napa Valley California
The Simple Life
We are in Umbria, Italy
now. The moment I stepped off the
plane in Rome I could feel the Italian air, it was just heaven, warm and
inviting, thick with possibility.
My girls are so happy to be back, Italian flying off their lips with
confidence and ease. I’ll always
sound like a foreigner and I find it funny when people even women say they love
my accent.
Magnolia and Tulips Inspiration
The Simple Life
End of May beginning of June.
I can't believe it is actually June tomorrow. This means crazy end of school activity, exams and ballet recitals and my little family heading off to Umbria for the summer. We are all overwhelmed and thrilled.
End of May beginning of June.
I can't believe it is actually June tomorrow. This means crazy end of school activity, exams and ballet recitals and my little family heading off to Umbria for the summer. We are all overwhelmed and thrilled.
The Perfect Blue Door
First off I would like to preemptively apologize for not showing you the inside of this barn. Believe me I would like to see the interior. I'm just "stalking" this art studio. I don't know the people who own it, use it (rarely) or live here. I visit it often and dream of how amazing it would be to have it as a place to paint furniture and do all my projects. I love this space because the blue door is perfection. Perfection as a design choice is rare to find, simple and decisive, this point just thrills me.
Here are my other points of inspiration.
Espresso con Panna
The Simple Life
Once the mercury hits 80 degrees
(27 Celsius) I feel the need to make espresso with whipped cream. I even believe in having a spray can of
whipped cream for a topping on the hot espresso. Honestly the cream in a can is gross but the girls love to
spray their mouths full. In our
city in Italy it is quite easy to get homemade whipped cream at the bar and when it is a hot summer
night that Panna just magnetically pulls me helplessly toward the bar.
Here in California I use this
simple recipe.
A Still Life of Flowers
The Simple Life
Decorating
I’m quite infatuated with the
trend of massive amounts of flowers displayed in a still life with many framed
paintings of flowers shown behind.
To me, it evokes a past era when people studied and painted flowers.
“If you could say it in words
there would be no reason to paint.”
-Edward Hopper
What Makes You Feel Good Lately?
The Simple Life
Good Evening Everyone
I am excited because I am in a very creative phase in
my own life and work and somehow this is translating into not much creativity
for my blog. I’m sorry about that,
today’s post may not make up for this lacking either, but I’ll try to get
better. I do believe that
creativity is endless and the more we use our creativity the more it grows.
Painting on Leaves - Inspiration for the Table
I have seen someone paint on dried leaves in Italy very intricately and just gorgeous. Today I thought it would be inspirational to show how I painted on these fresh citrus leaves very simply, to use as a little touch of creativity for your table setting or just as a vase of leaves and bloosoms.
Hope
It is raining out and I’m
drinking peppermint tea and I have just turned on the white lights that are
strung high above the garden courtyard.
Sometimes when I’m feeling blue,
it is so silly (or desperate?) how one inkling of hope can give me that jolt to
the heart. It is enough to wake me
up, at least for that moment and I become utterly certain that-- to quote Prince “joy
lives round the corner”.
Embellishment at Sette Design
The Simple Life
Embellish
Verb (used with object)
1. To beautify, by or as if by ornamentation; ornament; adorn.
2. To enhance, (a statement or narrative) with fictitious additions.
Rise Early Quotes and Mustard Fields
Good Morning Everyone
I’m on a new plan to try to wake
up early and start to work on my business before my girls or the sun has risen.
This morning for me the sun rose at 6:56 am so each day there will be a little
bit more light in the sky. Does
anyone want to join me and give it a try? I already feel kick-ass and I only
began this morning. Laugh with me
not at me o.k.
Red Walls
Probably all of you at some
point have considered painting a room in your home RED.
Maybe you already have… congratulations! I have not, shameful as it may be. Right now I’m obsessed with the right shade of blue.
I believe that there are many
ways to make a red room work. Here
is what made it work in my opinion in this space that I painted in San
Francisco.
Winter Bouquet Inspiration
I’m back in California and the
rain won’t quit. We have little
breaks and the sun tries to come out, but the air and ground are always. We are all thrilled, after 4 years of
draught, the rain is a big celebration. I like to go for long
walks and then scavenge for a winter bouquet. It is easy just to pick up Lichen, branches of Rosehips or fallen
Camellia blossoms. They are often
covered in dirt or mud. At home I
rinse them off and put them in a crystal bowl and an old olive oil bottle. Even if they faded or browned at the edges the effect is
still stunning.
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