About Renovating

The good thing about renovating a house or part of a house is that you can make it to your taste and at your options.

The bad thing is that you need to make compromises. Sometimes it just can't be done as you like and unexpected situations come up and you need to rethink your ideas.

Here are some of my latest observations:

Even if you are visiting your construction site on a daily basis you will find surprises (like my sister who is renovating a house here in Stuttgart).

And even when you have agreed on something and approved it, it might not look good when it is finalized (like some parts of our terrace in Italy):



A small construction site (like one room) or a large construction (like one entire house) only means you might have more time for details when having a small project. But this can drive you crazy nevertheless (like my bathroom renovation in Germany):



You need a long breath and iron nerves for renovation projects. From what I see, men tend to rush and make quick decisions and then can live with their decision while women tend to weigh all options in sleepless nights to finally come to the 'perfect' decision. The result - of course - is not the same because the quick decision maker has overseen at least one important detail (e.g. the space for the towel rail needed some more inches...). However, as said before, men can live with this.

My advise: If you spent a lot of money on renovating be sure not to rush. Better to find a lot of inspirations first, draw layouts and different perspectives to find the best solution and maybe even get some advise from an interior designer. Even the craftsmen might have good ideas as they have seen many solutions.

The iron nerves are also important when dealing with craftsmen (at least here in Germany). Instead of thanking you for the assignment you have to thank them for having time for you. The crisis seems not have touched them so far.

But this morning I was lucky. My German plumber has offered me a cup of coffee and a Brezel when I came to sign the contract.

Do YOU have any advise or experience to share about renovation ?

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photo sources: the pics from our Italian palazzo were taken by our architect - the first one was sent yesterday. Grazie!

And the winner is...

... PP, il architetto !

While we all were still voting and thinking and discussing about version B or C and about the white column in the middle yes or no - our young architect and his team were working.

When we made the decision to do version C - the simple one - the column in the middle (version B) was already plastered on the wall.

I just reviewed the pictures, send by PP (grazie!), and was asked to made the final decision by Angelo and CC :

To remove the column tomorrow morning or not ?

Well, well, the argument of the architect sounded reasonable:
'Secondo mè è necessaria per interrompere la monotonia dell'orizzontalità, e di avere tutta la parete rustica.', the column would interrupt the monotone horizontal.

And also some Pizzitani which have seen the work today, recommended to leave it.

So GREEN light to go ahead (luce verde).

For your (and my) understanding: the version that will be implemented, is a mix of version B and C. The column in the middle (as I understood) will not go down all the way. The lowest part remains (more or less, I assume) untouched, while the stone part will have a white column that finishes under the roof.

(PP, perfavore, is this the final version?)

Thank you all for your votes, comments and emails! Very much appreciated!

It was fun. - I leave the poll open for some more days, in case you still like to vote.

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update: poll is closed, here is the result:

version B 46 % (mix of modern and old)
version C 33 % (simple version)
version A 20 % (shoe box version)

The (side) Facade Election

Our beautiful main facade...



... and the side facade of the house you see first when you approach the house:



We can't leave it like this.
Everybody agrees.

But everybody has a different opinion about HOW to renovate this part.

The discussion is very lively. This I understand from the Italian emails copied to me...

We have 2 problems:

1) it should not look like a shoe box
2) it should not be too expensive


Here are 3 approaches for the (side) facade:

A)
'The expensive shoe box version'
(repeating the design of the main facade for each floor)



B)
'Mixing old and new elements'
(renovating nicely the stone wall and adding white columns from the main facade)



C)
'The simple version'
(coloured plaster only on the top floor that is the newest part of the house; renovating part of the stone wall to water & wind proof; the lower part remains as it is as it borders to the neighbour's property)



How about voting ?
Are you still in voting mood?
We have 3 candidates: A), B) or C)
Please vote on the top of the blog roll (on the right)

(I am not sure which one is actually preferred by whom).

To support the decision making process for everyone, I post some more pictures around the house:

House from the garden

Nicely detailed renovated garden wall

The other side facade - it was plastered before

House from seaside (1)

House from seaside (2) - including side facade in question


And here some samples from facades in Pizzo:

Facade sample for the use of mixed medium - stone and plaster (click on photo to enlarge)

Stone facade partly plastered (click on photo to enlarge)

Most famous stone wall (from the castello of Pizzo)

Please vote for your favorite solution on the (right) blog roll
A) most detailed (expensive shoe box)
B) mix of old and new elements
c) most simple version

I am curious about the result and about how to use the poll gadget!
Thank you for your support!

Sweet 200

The rejuvenating cure and aesthetic surgery of the main facade are almost done. The lady looks pretty and her peach skin immaculate. Almost like a 'torta'. Sweet 200 (years)!

And the new iron grids look so sweet with their quirky elaborations matching the grids of the balconies and the one over the main entrance.



... yes, it was our decision.

We thought we need some curlicues to not have the grids look like prison grids.

Before I start again wondering if it was the right decision ... we need to see the whole picture, the entire facade in real, on site.


Pictures sometimes don't show you the way you look at the things in reality.

Take the blue balkonies. First I was not 'amused', then we got more pictures from different angles. Like this one below.
I love the reflections !

The Roof

Oh, look, our roof!
Since we don't pay by the hour anymore all goes so fast.
Who has approved the roof tiles (coppi)? You? No.
Well, nice that we don't have to worry and think about everything.

I guess the colour matches the commune's standards. And I hope they please the neighbours too.

We had talked about roof tiles last year and agreed to use 'antique' looking coppi as it is an old house in the historical center of the village. You are not free to choose any colour. The commune regulates the use of tiles in the historical center. They all should be of the same colour: kind of light red, pinkish apricot. This is a good thing because it makes the old town look so beautiful: