Where Do These Lucky Romans Live & Work? - Part 1

Our first full day in Rome!  Outside the hotel doors, we walked into a sunny morning with no particular direction in mind.  We wanted to take in the city without preconceptions or agendas.  Anywhere we turned, there was gorgeousness.  I honestly believe there is a Roman law against ugly buildings.  After photographing enough picturesque streets and alleys to make my artist's head spin, I pocketed the camera and just focused on making sense of what I saw...  Where did the citizens of this phenomenal city live? ...work? ...buy groceries??

Setting aside the grand monuments and vistas of Rome (that's another blog post), here's a sampling of gorgeous building after gorgeous building.  What fascinated me was that the upper floors of these buildings were mostly residences.  Can you imagine?  Not much different from Manhattan, I suppose... except more graceful and colorful.  Look at these streets!  Imagine a third- or fourth-floor apartment in any one of these...

 

Even the alleys where they park their Vespas and SmartCars are picturesque...

 
(It's obvious why a large Ford truck or Expedition would be ridiculous over here.  Besides the high price of gas, why try to squeeze into one of these alleys in an over-sized vehicle?  Some of the cars here were barely longer than they were wide.  Very convenient, as they could fit into a parking space facing any direction.)

And here's a vignette worthy of an Italian movie - a lovely building...

But look closer (you can click on this, or any photo, to enlarge) - in the upper right, you'll see three young guys hanging out the window, just relaxing.  I watched them for several minutes... they seemed to have no agenda and be in no hurry.  Exactly what I would do, if I lived there.

 Next blog post... "Why don't our grocery stores look like this??"

Ciao,
Lisa

Observations of Italy - Part One: Rome

On the plane over the Atlantic...

Well, here it is!  The start of my photos, notes, and observations of what has to be one of the most delightful countries in the world.  

My husband Peter and I spent an idyllic twelve days this month on our first trip to Italy - Rome, Venice, and Florence.  We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better experience.  Feel free to comment, especially those of you who've been to Italy often, since I'm eager to learn more and will definitely return!  Share with me!

Plane food!

After connecting in Charles deGaulle airport in Paris (a cavernous, almost eerie space- must've been quite the modern marvel in its day), we landed mid-morning in Rome on a Wednesday.  The flight was easy - I'm a nervous flier, but there was far less turbulence than most State-side flights I've been on.  Magazines, and Italian language lessons I'd downloaded on my iPhone, helped pass the time. 

The Aurelian gates - one of many arches to enter Rome

Once we landed in Rome's Fiumicino Airport (hot, crowded, and not the best signage - probably common to most international airports), we caught a taxi  for the 30-minute drive to the hotel.  Interestingly enough, the old Aurelian wall, built in the third century AD, still stands in many places around the city center.  (Standardized cab fare from the airport to any place within the Aurelian walls: 48 euros.)  Once you pass through the arches, you're in the heart of Rome. 

Our comfy room

Our brilliant plan to cross the Atlantic at night and wake up refreshed in Europe backfired.  We got almost no sleep on the plane and were so tired when we arrived that we unintentionally napped through our first day in Rome and woke up just in time for a late dinner.

Entrance to the Hotel Artemide

Happily, Rome is a city of night owls, and our excellent hotel (Hotel Artemide - thanks so much, Patti, for recommending it!) was right downtown.

Our hotel, seen from across the street

We strolled outside but didn't wander far, just up a few blocks to the Piazza della Republica and then a midnight pasta dinner at a sidewalk cafe.  First impressions were of gorgeous, well-lit buildings, "cheerfully frenzied" traffic, and the level of activity you'd find in a more relaxed version of Manhattan.  Busy, but not overcrowded or chaotic.  

  

Piazza della Republica.  There's a Metro stop belowground.

Here's the view outside our hotel's front door, on the Via Nazionale (taken in daylight, before we collapsed to catch up on sleep).

     

The next day, we dove in... and probably walked more than we had in the previous two months.

Ciao!  (which apparently means both "hello" and "goodbye" - somewhat like "Aloha" in Hawaii)

Lisa

Decorating, Simplified: Pick Just Two Colors!

Kristie Barnett at The Decorologist had some fantastic advice in her recent blog post, "Decorating Your Home in the Right Order".  She tells us to stop getting side-tracked with buying accessories until we first have a color scheme in place, and second, that we've tackled the furniture arrangement.  So simple!  This is solid design advice, distilled down to its essentials.

Now, I've had color schemes on the brain recently.  Color is getting lighter, fresher.   Just look at grey's new popularity, and the release of "Tangerine Tango" as Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year.   Like Kristie, I love distilling design concepts down to the basics.  So, in my ongoing quest to simplify color advice, I'm going to use grey and tangerine to illustrate my take on Color Schemes, Made Easy:

Pick Just Two Colors!

Now for the nitty-gritty:  The first color should be a neutral, such as grey, or cream, or tan.  (Yes, strong colors like red or navy can be neutrals, but only a select few of us will be brave enough, or have enough design experience, to go there.)  The second color should be what is typically called an "accent color" - tangerine, teal, maybe black (if you're bold), or even another neutral (I'll show examples, but do NOT pick another neutral just because you're scared of color!).

With just these two colors - let's call them your Main Neutral and your Main Color, for simplicity's sake - you can choose paint colors, rugs and fabrics, which cover the greatest visual territory in a room.  If your flooring is already in place, such as tile or hardwood, just make sure the two colors don't clash with it, and you're good to go.  

Whenever I see interiors that have two "main" color choices (as opposed to more complex, multi-color schemes), usually the Main Color falls into one of three categories:

• Option #1:  A Soft Tone or Pastel as the "Main Color"

Pale blue with cream, or with grey, are a very popular combination:

 

Here the "Main Color" is a soft mossy green:

 

And here it's a soft tangerine-y pink:

 

• Option #2:  A Bold, Bright Color as the "Main Color"

  Strong red:

Red-orange:

 Deep green (don't see this color much nowadays):

Magenta or hot pink:

 Bright green:

 More pink:

• Option #3:  Another Neutral, perhaps a dark tone, as the "Main Color"

Love this cream-and-charcoal combination:

 Soft grey and tan:

 Cream and greenish-tan:

Cream and grey-brown:

Deep rich grey and soft pale terra-cotta:

Pale tan and chocoloate:

Often these "two neutral" schemes are what we think of as "monochromatic" color schemes:

 

 

Must everything in the room be one of those two colors?  No, it's fun (and more realistic) to bring in little accents of other colors as well.  If those accents are pre-planned (not just knick-knacks that you inherited, let's say), then you can incorporate an intentional third color (either another neutral, or another accent color) that will really take your room's sophistication up a notch.  Lots of examples here:

Cream, warm grey (the two main color choices), and soft violet:

Cream, pale blue (the two main color choices) and celery green:

Robin's egg blue, charcoal grey-brown (the two main colors here), and salmon pink:

Cream, orange (tough call, but I'd say those are the two main colors), and pale grey-green:

White, warm tan (two main colors), and red-orange:

Pale pink (walls), greenish tan (sofa, drapes), and warm orangey-pink (chairs, pillows, shades):

Based on the walls and drapes I'd say the main colors here are cream and pale blue.  The third little accent color is the pale green:

These two are classic "beach" color schemes:  cream, tan (the two main colors), and then pale blue as the third accent color.  They threw in touches of yellow too... nice!

Cream, taupe-y grey (the two main colors - you can see them in the rug), and magenta:

Cream, a linen-ish tan, and pops of yellow:

Despite the fact that this is a very simplified way to look at color, it can be useful.  If you're like me, you'll start noticing "main neutrals" and "main colors" everywhere.  Even better is when you step into your living room or bedroom with a fresh eye...  You'll notice obvious changes that can make a big impact (removing the rug or drapes that take over the room because they just don't "go") or see where you have a color gap (the whole room is brown, and you really need a "main color" to use in pillows or drapes or an area rug).

Hope this helps!  

Lisa (whose living room is cream, soft grey, and bits of pale warm green)