Bathroom: Can't take my eyes of subway tiles

A beautiful mix of three different shapes of white tiles, separated by a thin border of black tiles and finished with a pastell mint wall paint - I am impressed by this composition ! 

Not sure via which blog I found the above picture, but the photo below is from another blog and it shows the the same bathroom! So, I proudly present both pics together in one blog :

I just can't take my eyes of subway tiles

Subway tiles (on walls) are often combines with hexagon tiles on the floor. Here above with tiny, mosaic type hexa tiles.

But you can do it easier and cheaper, but not less interesting with square tiles :

Just another bathroom of ours ...

Rectangular subway tiles on the walls and square tiles, diagonally layed on the floor

Since we had not made any further specifications than "green" wall colour, our son (7 y.) actual favorite colour, Angelo used the leftover paint from downstairs and added a border of his choice. I think it looks super good, especially when you see the "matching" green leaves through the bathroom window and ....

.... a bit of sea view

More about this bathroom later with before & after pics.

All the best for 2011 and La Dolce Vita di Pizzo

Happy New Year to all of you, dear readers, subscribed friends, returning visitors, inspiring commenter and of course dear supporting sponsors. Without you this blog would be less fun for me.

In case you wonder what is happening around Pizzo, the palazzo, Angelo or myself :

Angelo is visiting my family in Bangkok (we moved to Thailand last August) where we all  - together with my parents and CC's parents - spent Christmas and New Year. This is my 5th week with visitors, so I am a bit busy and far from the computer. However we talk about the house project (sometimes) and how to proceed. But not much pressure for any decisions. Bathrooms are all clear. Just some flooring, lighting, kitchen ... is next. As soon as Angelo leaves Thailand, he will be back on site to push the renovation to the next level. We finally want to live inside the house this summer and not only visit the construction site!

And what's new in Pizzo? For the New Year I received an email from Anna, one of my readers who contacted me about two years ago with some questions about Pizzo. And to my surprise she sent me a link to her new website called LA DOLCE VITA DI PIZZO, a guide to Pizzo with information for visitors and her own guided walking tours! Find out what it is all about here.

What made me like her right away was (not only the photo of her now and in 1979 in Pizzo) but also her declaration of love for Pizzo:

"...Pizzo worked its charm and magic on us, and we wanted to stay. We rented a little apartment for the winter very cheaply, as it was only used in summer. It was just off the Piazza, and so damp that all our clothes and shoes grew mould! But it was ours, it was home and we could stay.

I ended up staying for 4 years, and there is something incredibly special about Pizzo that just makes my heart sing - Tropea is very nice, but it doesn't have the same effect on me at all.   ..."

Anna plans to live part of the year in the UK where she works as a teacher and come to Pizzo in summer to work as a tour guide. She offers four different walking tours through Pizzo that can be booked via her Dolce Vita website. This sounds like a new quality added to Pizzo's tourism ! Good luck & Happy New Year !

See you this summer in Pizzo !

Stromboli with Snow

A very rare picture: Snow on the vulcano Stromboli, seen from Pizzo. Stromboli is located South West of Pizzo and part of the Eolie Islands.

Photo source: Franco P., Pizzo.

The Welcoming Entrance

After having written a lot about visitors - real visitors, virtual visitors, booked visitors, future visitors - just-in-time, the entrance starts to look welcoming :

view from inside

view from outside

BEFORE stairways

NOW stairways (wooden railway still missing)

BEFORE ceiling

AFTER ceiling

Actually, the first pinkish paint became somehow an apricot, peachy Bellini colour - not sure if this is due to a second coat of paint, on purpose by Angelo, or that it has to do with light / photo flashes. - BTW, the lamp will remain the same, remember?

BEFORE entrance

NOW entrance (during renovation)

man at work - Tonino preparing the last new marble step

Blogging Dilemma: When Virtual Visitors Become Real

Is it a dilemma or is it not, when virtual visitors to your blog become real visitors to your life?

It depends. It depends on the intention of your blog and it depends on the visitor. It is not a dilemma when you want to sell something or rent something. And it is also not a dilemma when someone who became a "blogging friend" after a while of emailing back and forward agrees with you to meet in real life.

Yesterday, Angelo sent me an email saying an American couple stopped by and asked if they can see the house. They "knew" it via my blog. He showed them around and they said they will leave a comment on my blog about that visit.

So what would you say? How would you feel, while sitting thousands of miles away?

I can't blame Angelo, he is just proud of showing his work to someone who is interested. Not many visitors in Pizzo anyway at that time of the year. He is open minded and not chicken-hearted like me. And we have not yet had the situation that someone totally stranger would ask permission to have a sneak peak inside.

Then of course, this question suggests itself : "what is the point of blogging about all this ?"

The best thing of blogging about our renovation is, that we are getting some fantastic feedback and valuable input from readers who are interior designer, architects or interested, creative people with great taste and ideas like some family members and friends. Also family and friends are kept updated that way, as the renovation takes ages. Another very important aspect of keeping this blog alive is, that this blog helps us to document the whole work process and to get the best photos, manufacturers, inspirations etc. filed with tags.

My Italian family is very open about my blog. However, my German family does shake their heads about it: What if some crazy guy gets jealous and burns the house down? - While this is a bit exaggerated, a crazy guy might not look up the Internet for potential houses to burn down and travel far ... it might be a neighbour, however, looking for an opportunity to sue us for something.

That's why I am very wary and careful myself. And shy. I have only one blurred picture of myself, no pictures of my son, one picture of my husband from behind and very few from my Italian in-laws. Most personal pictures are from Angelo as he seems okay with seeing his picture and name in cyber space. Actually, I think, he even enjoys it. However, I am very discreet. Very selective with pictures. Very thoughtful with words, information, names and other details. (Did you realize, I did not mention from which US city these visitors came from?)

Of course, Angelo and CC cannot understand that I make all this thinking about this little incident (virtual visitors to my blog becoming real visitors).

So I asked Angelo to handle the next tourists who show up and request a tour of the house, to show them our semiinterrato, the beautiful basement and garden that will be available for rent one day. The upper parts, although not decorated yet, are private. I hope everyone understands and respects my protective reaction. Maybe just in time, before our house becomes a tourist attraction ...