Brillante choice: E' De Padova

Ottoman

A classic piece that can match even the most contemporary interiors. It recreates an atmosphere reminiscent of the elegant British ottoman, with a unique and decorative work of quilted leather typical of the timeless style of èDePadova collections. Very versatile as a wide square seat or a support for books and magazines, perhaps even taking the place of the usual coffee table between sofas.
ÈDePadova is one of my favorite stores in Milan. Maddalena De Padova, the owner, not only is an extremely smart and avant-garde lady but also lived for long time with another icon in the design world, Arch.Vico Magistretti. Here are a few pictures of her house in the center of Milan where light and greenery enter from every window. Magistretti changed completely the layout eliminating several doors and allowing the space to be more open and continuous. As you can see the interior decoration is quite minimalist, very clean, simple and airy, like in a Nordic house. Maddalena De Padova was the first to introduce to Italy many decades ago natural wood furniture, American designers, a totally new style of design and all this reflects in her house, which is also not a typical upscale Milanese house but more like a country house.

Unusual house exterior for Milan, a jewel hidden in a narrow and short street in the heart of the city, but inside a true Milanese understated elegant home.

Source

A challenge? A solution!

Smart solutions in a 360 square feet apartment allow space for everything. It was a big challenge for Interior decorator Daniela Zelli Vanoli, but with her magic wand she revolutionized the floor plan creating more light and functionality.

The whole apartment has the same woodfloor, which creates continuity and visually enlarge the space. Where the old kitchen was a new bathroom was installed and the bedroom became larger and more comfortable. Every inch was used and niches were discovered inside the thick brick walls.

I love this B&W photograph.

Red accents give energy, grey tones give subtle elegance.

From the old floor plan you can see the enclosed space between bedroom and living area, which became instead part of the living. The bathroom was moved and that alone allowed more space for the bedroom. Clever the use of some space inside the thick brick walls to allow more storage and a larger shower. The living area has space for entertaining, working, relaxing.

A really functional and elegant, even if very small, apartment.

Photography by Andrea Vierucci

The joy of summer: fried green tomatoes

8 small green tomatoes, 1 egg, 50 gr. flour, 50 gr. very fine maize flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 100 gr. sliced smoked salmon, oil for frying, salt and pepper
Wash the tomatoes, leaving the stalk, cut them in half horizontally, salt the inside and leave a few minutes to drain on a rack. Heat plenty of oil in a large pan, sift together the two types of flour, the sugar, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Beat the egg lightly with a fork. Dry the tomatoes with paper towel and immerge them fast in the egg and then in the mixed flours. Fry until golden and dry them again on paper. Distribute them in 4 individual bowls and serve with the salmon, accompanied by a mojito or a glass of chilled Prosecco.


A great appetizer to be enjoyed outdoor celebrating summer.

Sex and the rugs

Were you attracted by the title? Hold your expectations...

I have not seen yet the movie "Sex and the city 2" so I will just talk about a beautiful rug in "Sex and the city" first movie. Carrie Bradshaw has grown up and her old apartment has an updated look. I was definitely attracted to the bright blue shade on the walls, it reminded me of a bedroom I had many years ago, almost the same brilliant ocean blue very close to Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue.  Carrie as we all know is a fashionista and her apartment reflected her style so of course she also bought the gorgeous "Overleaf" rug for her bedroom from The Rug Company, Marni designed line.
I don't particularly like the choice of a dark purple with those blue walls, maybe Overleaf in a golden yellow would have been better? What do you think?

Nevertheless the rug is beautiful.

Two years went by from the last movie and I heard that in "Sex and the city 2" Carrie has spent the time, after her marriage to Big, furnishing their apartment. They left the luxurious penthouse and moved at a lower level in a space reflecting more maturity and their life as a couple.  The apartment reflects the taste of both, vintage pieces, rugs, refined textiles, brilliant colors, flowers and stripes.

She says she has betrayed fashion for interior decoration, even if her huge walk in closet is still full of shoes, gorgeous clothes, dreamy gowns, as I can imagine from this picture.

 

In her old, single, apartment's walk-in closet the runner is again from The Rug Company, Margherita, part of the same  line, designed by Marni.

 

And who is this lady? A new friend of Carrie?

No, this is not another character of the movie, but the very creative fashion icon Consuelo Castiglioni founder of Marni, a cutting edge, extremely successful for its unique style, fashion label based in Milan, now expanding into accessories and rugs.  She is the designer of all those fresh patterns you can see at The Rug Company.

Another rug, this time in a tent in the desert, on the sand...so...going back to the movie: will we see also more ethnic interior decoration in their houses after the girls went to Abu Dhabi?

 Photography courtesy of Craig Blankenhorn/New Line Cinema and from The Rug Company website

A... maze yourself

A model of a maze in a villa I visited recently, the magnificent Villa Pisani, in Stra, one of the several Ville venete, on the river Brenta, between Padua and Venice, Northern Italy.
Construction of the villa started in the early 18th century in a late baroque style, commissioned by the noble, and then still very wealthy, Pisani family. In its 114 rooms doges, kings and emperors were welcomed and today it has become a national museum with 18th and 19th century works of art and furniture and one of Gianbattista Tiepolo masterpieces.

The real  maze in the park, where I was happily lost until someone from a small tower in the center gave us directions on how to exit.

A guest bedroom, with original furniture, decoration and wallpaper.

The chandelier attracted my attention for quite awhile, I don't particularly like modern sparkling crystal chandeliers but I love antique glass ones.

The decline of the Pisani family toward the end of the century brought them huge debts so they were forced to sell the villa to Napoleon Bonaparte, who had become King of Italy in 1805.

The Napoleonic apartment is particularly interesting, with remarkable art treasures like this imposing canopy bed with the Emperor's initial on it.

and his several mattresses...

I like to think of the following works of art as family album when photography was not invented yet.

In 1814 the battle of Waterloo decided the history of Europe and brought the Hapsburg imperial family, lords of Veneto, to Villa Pisani.  When Veneto was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy the villa did not become part of the Savoy family possessions but became property of the State.  I know, Italian history is quite complicated, so back to the villa interior decoration.

I suppose it was great to play cards in this room sitting on these elegant 19th century chairs, cheered by the colorful paintings on the walls.

Another gorgeous chandelier and a rich display of antique textiles underneath.

Did I say I love glass chandeliers? Even if I obviously would not use  this window treatment in a modern house I appreciate its beauty and the sinuous lines of the light fixture and of the silk draperies are really enchanting when seen together.

A ceiling painted in 1760 by Giovan Battista Tiepolo in the ballroom at the center of the villa displays the greatest magnificence. It represents The Glory of the Pisani Family by a luminous affresco in his sublime and peculiar style. Luckily this masterpiece is safe, since it risked to be destroyed due to the the great project of modernization of the villa requested by Napoleon when he purchased the villa.

A view from a gate

And a view of the superb garden.

An "amazing" day in an Italian smaller version of Versailles.

Photography by Albarosa Simonetti

Endless blind passions

Rome in "Roman holiday" post.

I absolutely love the blog Endless blind passions, not just because the writer is a very close friend of mine, but because I find the stories very intriguing and fascinating to read. Recently back from a trip to Italy and France he published three short Italian stories.

Siena in "Medieval showers" post

Venice in "Patina of decay" post.

Hope you'll enjoy reading his blog as I do.

Illustrations by Ben Ze Wang

An artist apartment

When a photographer purchased this apartment of 500 square feet, in a humble Milanese building, it consisted of two-rooms badly distributed, in need of structural consolidation but with great potential: the terrace and the adjacent attic, so far unused. Thanks to the idea of including the attic space the apartment became a luminous open space with sloping ceilings, while creating a conservatory enhanced the terrace.

The architect Antonio Maria Becatti first created more natural light, enlarging the tiny bathroom window, facing south and with a wide view over the rooftops, and opening a new window in what later became the living area. The attic was then attached to the house with a glass corridor.

The attic was equipped with two skylights, one positioned above the bed. The roof has been redone to improve thermal insulation, but the original beams have been reused. The furniture and objects were found in junk shops from around Europe, and their heterogeneity contrasts with the linearity of the custom furniture designed and constructed of birch plywood, a material that provides a clean surface.

A frosted glass door leads to the conservatory, in the bathroom the tub is like a small swimming pool created with mosaic by Bisazza.

In the kitchen the cabinet are made of birch plywood and appliances are in brushed steel, the work surface is timeless Carrara marble.

At left an image of the new conservatory, which connects the living and sleeping areas and overlooks the terrace. At right, the pleasing atmosphere of the veranda with floor mosaics by Bisazza in ice-white hue.

The view from the top allows easy identification of the former two-room apartment, where they are now the living area and kitchen in a sort of small open space, and the bathroom (a total of 500 square feet), the new glass corridor opening to the terrace and linking to the attic area which now houses the bedroom and walk-in closet.

A very clever use of the space.

Photography by Andrea Vierucci