Inspiring Entrances

We finally get started. We have an architect and he might look into my posts - hopefully ;-) That's why I will post some inspiring pictures I have collected recently.
So, let's start today with the entrance - the 'calling card' of a house.


Above hallway is from 'Beach Studios' via Absolutely Beautiful Things blog.
I like the entrance in white - it is simple and clean.
Actually, I mirrored the picture, so it looks more like our entrance.



This is a hallway I discovered via Decor8 blog.
It is similar to ours, but much bigger, wider.
I still like white better. And of course some mirror (Venetian style, if we can find and afford) over a commode/chest.

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And on the right is our modest reality. The entrance is photographed from the first floor. So white colour and a big mirror will lighten it up.






Maybe even a glass door with a second iron grid door in front. I saw that at a neighbours house.


Although a wooden door is classy...








(Last three pictures are taken in Pizzo, my copyright)

... more wallpaper

I am not going to stick wallpaper allover the walls, but I liked these from Thibaut as they have seaside themes...

Some of them are available as fabric as well. And they come in different colours and shades.

Wallpaper or fabric, both look elegant.
And they are expensive.
I am just dreaming a bit...


I got to the idea of using wallpaper on one wall only to create a certain mood in the room. Maybe in one of the bedrooms or in the so called 'Chinese' room, maybe even in the livingroom. Or just in the bathroom. Here in Beijing I found the distributor for Thibaut wallpaper in the Oriental Kenzo building and I browsed through all the heavy 'catalogues'.




Pictures from Thibaut website

About Pizzo

The name of our new 'hometown' is Pizzo - Pizzo Calabro, in the Province of Vibo Valentia (VV) in Calabria. An easy name to remember, like pizza but with an 'o' at the end. This old picturesque village in the South of Italy has about 9.000 inhabitants, 14 ice cream parlors and 10 churches. It is located on a rock about 54 meters above sea level in the middle of the bay of San Euphemia at the beautiful Thyrennic coast of Calabria.

In the historic center of Pizzo are many medieval houses and some noble 'palazzi'. Its little alleys, some of them wind down to the sea, remind me of Santa Lucia, the old town of Naples.

Beside its many churches, Pizzo's sight is an old castle, build from Ferdinand of Aragon in 1486. It is called 'castello Murat', because Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat was imprisoned here and executed in 1815 for trying to re-conquer the kingdom of Naples.

The more peaceful part of the history tells that Cicero rested in Pizzo and used to call his favorite beach 'La Seggiola' (the chair), which was also a place of rest for Saint Peter, while traveling towards Rome. Long before that this area was one of Ulysses' landing places.


We used to come to Pizzo for the famous ice cream, 'il tartufo', that was invented here in that little village and is famous all over the world. It is a hazelnut ice cream ball stuffed with fine liquid dark chocolate. And its covered with chocolate powder. A calorie bomb, unfortunately, after that we used to walk up the main pedestrian shopping street and back across the 'Piazza della Repubblica' back to the car.

Only since we were interested in buying the house and after having done so, I researched about Pizzo and his history. I was surprised how much this little village had to tell. If Ulysses, Cicero and Saint Peter had liked that place we would not be too wrong. And our house seemed to be protected by the most respected priest in Italy: Padre Pio, whose statue stands just in front of our door. In fact, we are sharing a little piazza with one of the ten churches, la 'Chiesa del Carmine'. On the church's wall I found a plate stating that this church was erected on a former chapel, that itself was built in the 16th century by coral fisher from the Amalfi Coast. - Wow! - Can you imagine, how much I was enchanted? Coral fisher from the Amalfi Coast came here, dived here, probably in the sea and grotto beneath our house. They were probably a bit homesick and the rock reminded them of their home. So they build a little chapel right their. This place feels so romantic. Later I read that the Italians call this part of the coast also 'Costa degli Dei', the 'Coast of the Gods'. Although, Pizzo is just the start of it and the better part comes further South around Capo Vaticano, I felt, like this must be the right place for a second home.

Have I told that my husband is born just 4 km further in Vibo Valentia and has been going to kindergarten in Vibo Marina? So it is a coming home for him.

The people in Pizzo, the 'Pizzitani' or 'Napitini' are so friendly. Not to compare with the enterprising people in the more famous tourist town Tropea that is about 34 km further South. Pizzo and Tropea are like the little duckling and the snobbish swan (I am not saying ugly duckling, as Pizzo is not ugly, it has lots of potential). To me Pizzo seems more like a sleeping beauty. The mayor of Pizzo could kiss it awake. Lots of project seem in the pipeline to boost tourism. But also infrastructure is needed. Traffic, parking, beach and hotel situation is not the best. But it has its charm. And too many tourists can spoil. I prefer Pizzo many times before Tropea. And I am not the only one.

Different Views

Today, for a change, I don't want to 'torture' anybody with too beautiful pictures from colourful magazines or websites. So I post two other pictures that show a bit more the real situation. I hope you still can dream of visiting Italy.


This is the basement or so called 'semi-interrato'. I call it Garden Floor, because of it's tiny green space. Nobody has lived here before. It was a storage for olive oil and handmade soap (probably not at the same time).
I like this floor best. But it also needs the most of the work to make it liveable.

And the next picture show you, why I had second thoughts...


The house hangs on the edge of a cliff, about 54 meter over the sea level...
The rock itself has been renovated and reinforced with European Community money. So I hope they did the right job. Maybe you can see from the photo that they insert a concrete plate under the house... The vulcano Stromboli and Vesuvio (Naples) are sourrounding us. It is an earthquake region, yes. Okay, the house is up there since more than 200 years. So, hopefully another 100 years would be fine for us (and our son's family).

Now, you can see what I mean by considering us crazy getting involved in this.
And this is one of the better pictures. I did not want to scare you off completely. Maybe you pass by one day and want to spend a night or two...

Mood Board for our Project

Thanks to Holly Becker's 'Mood Board' contest on Decor8 I finally pushed myself to create a board for our palazzo project. It should help to define the right style for the house.

Here is what inspires me:



Here some more details from the board:


Shells in shells. That's how I could place our shell collection somewhere.


Sea view from the garden floor with iron gate.


Fresko over a door, painted by reputated painter 'Carioti', who has last lived in the house until he died in 1997.


Bouganvilla and cactus plants at the Restaurant Go, near Pizzo Calabro. That is how I picture my tiny garden on the rock.

Actually, the renovation has not started yet. Architects were supposed to make proposal, but nothing has happened in the last six month. Of course the main problem is that at the moment we are based on the other side of the world. However, my father-in-law will be on site in the next days and kick-off the thing. He will be there until we arrive in mid-July for a three weeks summer holiday.