lunes, 28 de noviembre de 2011

The Top 10 Spanish Decorators


I was revising one of my issues of Spanish Architectural Digest Magazine and I found an article with this title bookmarked. So, I thought it was a good chance to make you know some Spanish Interior Designers. Of course, I do not completely agree with all of them, especially because some have been left and they did not choose any male decorator. Anyway, I think they did a good selection that I will try to extend. I will make a single post for all of them, though, so you can actually get to know their work and do not get bored before finishing reading it.

So, it is time now for Rosa Bernal, number 1 in the Top 10 on Architectural Digest.


Rosa Bernal has been over thirty years creating classic and relaxed interiors for homes, hotels and Embassies. With her son she created The Rosa Bernal Collection, where she unleashes her passion for Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries revisiting furniture, fabrics and wallpapers. She owns one of the most important interior design studios in Europe and she is a reference of refinement and good taste. The pictures you are going to see show her living room, in her home in a Community near Madrid, where every single corner reflects elegance.


This corner in her living room has an 18th Century Italian Secretaire which holds a bronze bust. It has also a Queen Anne armchair with its original leather upholstery.


This picture shows other corner in her living room with several old paintings hanging over an 18th Century English console, with a collection of papier maché boxes. Under the console, two chinese tibors and on both sides, Italian candleholders and Chippendale chairs.


Rosa loves fabrics of every kind and composition. These are antique hand embroidered cushions.


Pictures from Nuevo Estilo

An old English seat upholstered with velvet separates the sitting area. The black English chair and the sofa are Regency. The red armchairs are French, from 18th Century, and the fireplace has a wood mouth.

Personally, I think her living room is amazing and beautiful; maybe, too classical for me. I mean, everything looks so antique and traditional, I think I would need not so many patterns and prints, more solids and more simplicity. Something I love is that the room feels so cozy and lived, everything is valuable but nothing is ostentatious.

What do you think about her? I would really like to know your opinions!

Thanks for visiting!

domingo, 27 de noviembre de 2011

New storage bed and mattress


Well, actually this is not so "new", because I got them some months ago. Anyway, this post was waiting to be published (and written) since then, so, I am posting about it now. It is not something very important, but it is indeed a change or improvement at home.


So, this is my "new" bed. The mattress is so confortable and thick, as it is firm and adaptable. In addition, it has got a nice design with some skyscrapers and buildings on it.



But, the most important point in the new bed is the storage: it features a swing cover that hides a big, easy accessible storage area perfect to hold boxes, other season's clothing, bedding and bed linen... Everything that is not beautiful for the eye.



Very useful and helpful, of course!


In case you like the idea, there is a very similar foundation at IKEA.

I am currently finishing the door painting at home, and it is a nice work especially when you get to see the results; it is, however, a quite repetitive work that takes a long time to complete, so I am pretty busy these days. I will try to keep posting just like I am doing, though. Hopefully, with more interesting posts, hehe.

Thanks for visiting!




viernes, 25 de noviembre de 2011

Can a loft not look like a loft?


It seems so! At least, that is what I can get after seeing this house in Elle Decor's October issue.


Personally, when I think of 'loft', the first things that come to my mind are cool colors (Black, white, grey); industrial look; big, minimalist spaces; brick, concrete or stone walls; big windows with no curtains; in sight tubes or pipes, etc. But, that was before seeing this one, located in New York City.


This apartment was designed by decorator Nina Seirafi and architect Timothy Archambault for Walter Schupfer and Gina Goldman, owners to a New York Photo Agency. The couple needed a bigger house when their family grew up, and they found this flat in downtown Manhattan when it still was a loft with white walls and dark floors. The space was big enough for their requirements, as it is 6,000 square feet; so, they just planned to give it a warmer and more family look.


And this is what they finally got. A cozy home that uses classic townhouse elements such as molding panelled walls and wood floors, mixed with modern loft elements, like the colors in walls and floors to make it suitable for a couple with four children.


Photos by Pieter Estersohn for Elle Decor
What do you think about the change? Do you like it? Do you find it inspiring?

Thanks for visiting!

miércoles, 23 de noviembre de 2011

Coral Prints


What do you do when you are looking for something for your home but you do not seem to find it anywhere?


I do it.


So, when I was searching for the perfect paintings for my half bathroom, I knew what I wanted and how I wanted it. Actually, I found some options in stores and online, but for a price I was not going to pay being them mass production products or a very high price if they were vintage or unique.


So, why not making them to get something exclusive, personal and for a reasonable price? And this is what I got: three vintage-looking coral prints just the way I like, the size I need and the colors I wanted. Now, they are just waiting to be framed and to be hung in the powder room.


I have already bought several passe par touts to get them contrasted with the white backgrounds of the drawings. I got some off white ones; a soft blue one; some grey ones and a red one, and I still have to decide the ones that matches the paintings and the bathroom the best.

 

What do you think? Do you like them?

Thanks for visiting!

martes, 22 de noviembre de 2011

A London Apartment


This gorgeous London apartment was featured in the October 2011 issue of Elle Decor. Althought it is not really my style, it has got many details that I like. In fact, one of the points I like the best is the fact that it has a modern-contemporary yet traditional-classic look. Moreover, the color palette chosen for every room in the flat feels simple, as well as elegant and cozy.


The previous pictures show the living room of the flat, where I love the calmy white for the walls and the original moldings in them. The invisibly framed prints definitely add a touch of color to the room, and they also give some interest to a white wall. I love the "regular" composition of them, as it makes the room look tidy: everything feels like it has got its exact place.


One of the things I do not like in the apartment is that "Fidel Castro" painting. I am just not a big fan of the Cuban President.



The chairs in the dining area are relly beautiful: I love the shape, the kind of fabric (it is a velvet) and the color matching the curtains. I also love the Antique Italian armchairs.



Photos by Simon Upton for Elle Decor

If you liked the design of this apartment, I will tell you that it was designed by the italian decorator Paolo Moschino.

Thanks for visiting!

lunes, 21 de noviembre de 2011

Carolina Herrera


As I was reviewing some of my magazines to decide the ones I am keeping and the ones I will not, I found a Spanish Vanity Fair issue that features an interview with Fashion Designer Carolina Herrera in her New York Townhouse. The reportage does not include many pictures, but the ones it has are, indeed, really beautiful. So, I thought about sharing some of them and some of her words with you.

As one of my favorite Fashion Designers, Carolina Herrera is for me a synonimous of Chic, elegance and timelessness. I am not talking just about her designs, for both men and women, but I am talking also about the designer and her personality itself. Discretion is also another attribute why Carolina Herrera is known for. Discrete for fashion, as well as discrete for her real life. In fact, she says "I cannot comment on anything about people who come to my house".


During the photoshoot and the interview, she comments about the style of Michelle Obama as an icon of fashion: "It is crazy the comparison between Michelle Obama and Jackie Kennedy just because the current First Lady was wearing a simple black dress and pearls in a picture". Talking about fashion, other comment that the prestigious designer makes is: "The only thing that a man cannot be forgiven for is wearing a shirt open showing his chest. It does not matter that a man's chest is the last thing that looks older: everyone should know how to age with dignity. What's a young-looking chest under a wrinkled neck?"

Below, I collected several more great quotes from the interview that I found interesting in the interview.


"No one brings food or clothes in this house. Everything is prepared here. We welcome people as people". In fact, in her own butler's words, "This is a famous cuisine in Manhattan's Top Dinners".
"Using borrowed jewelry for the photoshoot? We use our own things in this house!"


"It is rude talking or asking about money".
When she was asked about her secret to be one of the Great Ladies in the Big Apple's High Society, she answered: "Just one: learn to blend different kinds of people".

Pictures by Norman Jean Roy for Vanity Fair


"There is not much fashion in the streets of New York City. Everyone will be wearing the same, the 'uniform' suppossed to be dressed this Season. The authentic fashion is in the streets of Paris, Madrid... True Fashion is in Europe".

Thanks for visiting!

domingo, 20 de noviembre de 2011

My mom's Birthday


Hi all!

Well... Looks like I have not fulfilled my promise of posting more often...! I am usually very busy with lots of different things. Sometimes, I also just fall asleep in front of my pc! I have been suffering this for several days! lol.

Today, my family and I celebrated my mom's Birthday. Actually, I was planning to post about this yesterday, but I finally was not able to do it. I took these pictures yesterday: they show the presents I bought for my mom and the packaging I chose for them.


Fur vest.



A gold paillette tee / sweater. For this one, I was inspired by a golden jacket that stylish Miranda Priestly wore in The Devil wears Prada.


And, also a set of smoky eyes eyeshadow and a Cacharel perfume, that I could not take pictures of because I had already packed them, hehe.


I also purchased some matching bags to put the gifts in. They have the same the same design in different colors, gold and silver.





To celebrate the Party, we went for lunch to this delicious italian restaurant called Chicote, where we had delicious dishes such as "Bruschetta Caprese" (made with toasted bread, aubergine, tomato, basil, mozzarella and olive oil), also called "Crostini"; homemade style pasta and pizza; and so, so good desserts: different cakes and tiramisu. Yummy!

By the way, I made some changes to the design of the blog, since I was tired of the previous head banner and some other elements. Hopefully, I will keep making some changes during the next days to make the blog easier to explore and simple yet elegant. Do you like the small changes I did?