Italian Farmhouse

Good morning to all of you. Starting summer or winter? Winter here, not too cold yet but I'm looking forward to cuddling by the fire. Let's go to Italy now. Great bones for this Italian farmhouse with all its stone walls and floor. The interiors are mix of classic and contemporary styles with a rustic feel all over.















All images from here.

Restored Home in Sicily

We've been living in Lima, Peru for three months now and last night we had our first earthquake. I guess I shouldn't call it an earthquake as it was only a slight tremor that only lasted about 2 seconds, and it felt as is a heavy bus was rumbling by in our garden. Not frightening at all, as we had been warned about these tremors which are quite frequent here, but new to me!

Haven't taken you to Italy in a long time, have I? Well, here we go then to Sicily. Italian architect James Cavagnari and his American wife, interior designer Erin Quiros, renovated a residence dating back to 1700 on the Aeolian island of Salina. A combination of modern, rustic and minimalist styles.

The couple with their daughter Evelyn.











Photography by Scott Frances
All images from Architectural Digest.

Dream Vacation Destination

I just realized that it's June and I don't have a vacation planned yet!  I do have some work trips on the agenda but that's different.  I long for a week where I can really relax and recharge my batteries.  I saw grand hotel Villa Feltrinelli on Luxury Culture yesterday and felt relaxed just looking at the photos.  As their website states, Villa Feltrinelli has been painted by Winston Churchill, written about by D.H. Lawrence, and even visited by James Bond.  The hotel is located on Lake Garda in Italy and apparently there isn't much to do but swim, play tennis and explore the surrounding towns.  Sounds perfect to me! 

Italian Inspiration

I happened to be shopping at J.Crew over the weekend.  (What else is new right?)  While flipping through the new catalog I came across Part III of their Made in Italy series.  It was especially interesting because it dealt with their trip to Ratti and Canepa mills in Como, Italy and perfect timing since I had just posted about textile designer Sonia Delauney.  There used to be many mills in Italy but much production has moved to China so it's comforting to know that J.Crew is supporting these old Italian mills.  I especially loved their look into the archives at Canepa and the artisans painting the prints at Ratti.  I highly recommend watching the accompanying video.  I'm off to figure out how I can get myself invited on the next trip! Ciao!

Celebrity Home: Sting's Backyard

Today we are visiting Sting and Trudie Styler’s farm in Tuscany, near Florence. A terrace with stunning views of the vineyards and the Chianti hills beyond. The landscape design is by Arabella Lennox-Boyd. How I wish we could see the interiors as well!


Sting and his wife bought the property in 1997.

Typical Tuscan architecture. The 16th-century villa was built as a hunting lodge for the dukes of San Clemente.


Chinese wisteria covers the 118-foot-long oak pergola.


An antique marble fountain rises out of the boxwood parterre.

Clipped boxwood frames beds of lavender, santolina, and white oleander.

An ancient cedar of Lebanon overlooks the parterre, formally known as Il Giardino dei Limoni, or garden of the lemon trees.

Sting came up with the idea for the oversize chessboard.

Lunch on a gravel terrace in the shade of an oak tree.

The pool, installed by a previous owner, overlooks the Valdarno Superiore valley.

Photography by Giancarlo Gardin

Portrait by Jaime Travezan

All images and information from Architectural Digest.