Treasured weekend

Welcome to the cooler season! I love the glow of candles, an open book by the fire and all the things I love to live with in my house...






This weekend will give me time to work on some house projects. First to give my kitchen a tiny face lift. (Which I started already a week ago and now it's to the finish line. I will post....And then to re-upholster our dining chairs and a bench. Have staple gun, will use it!





Wishing you all a treasured weekend! And the time to do those things in the pipeline.....

XX
Victoria



Pictures by V.Zlotkowski

Bargains

Sometimes I find things I have not really been looking for, but they call out to me, plead and I listen!
I am sure you know what I mean.
Today at on one of my rather mundane errand routes I happened to walk by a cigar store, which I usually do not frequent, but a small bundle of beautiful boxes in front stopped me in my tracks. As I learned they sell empty cigar boxes for a Dollar a piece quite regularly and I had immediately an array of uses in my head. For small things always looking for a home in my house, buttons, knick knack, pencils, bracelets...
They will need a good airing before...





So I grabbed the prettiest of them all and afterwards at my book store stop found some more bargains...



Among them a small daily planner in a beautiful turquoise cover.( How can I resist?)I am an old fashioned writer and love to write in a daily planner, despite my IPhone! I pull it out of my purse, add notes, memos, some reveries, recipes, phone numbers, book titles, add business cards, well, by the end of the year it looks fat and holds plenty of memories.
Even though I paid full price it's a bargain in a way, since I can refill it next year.(Don't I think long term ahead?) They came in more gorgeous colors...


I have read The Ya-Ya Sisterhood books and loved them. I guess this is a good read, judging by the cover text..
And Gene Wilder is one of my favorites! Read another book by him and loved it too! All from the bargain section. Don't you love this?

And look, I found this wonderful small oil painting in a tiny thrift store in Venice, among lot's of junk...paid only a couple of Euros and it was mine, framed!!!! I still cannot believe my luck!


Now it reminds us all of the most wonderful summer in Italy!



I am sure you find treasured bargains here and there! Tell me about it!


XX
Victoria


All pictures by me.

White on Wednesday

This morning did not lend itself to something light, bright... a caughing child sick at home, grayish morning, and yet....
What gets me going after breakfast and not quite lunch? After mending the little guy with tea, honey and a warm lavender pillow on his tummy?
Tea for two!


I shared a cup of tea with my husband, before he went off to work and we talked a bit about our garden plans, which led me to think about flowers, which in turn reminded me of a small project I had in mind for some time!
So - off I went loaded with some small glass jars and a milk bottle, an old vase and some spray paint!
It took literally a few minutes to cover the pieces with white paint...



Then some waiting...


And voila!



The first rose and iris, some honey suckle and lavender now bring spring inside an overcast day!

Hope your day has some sunshine and smiles!


XX
Victoria



Pictures by V.Zlotkowski

Design project 2009- 2010

This project began innocent enough. A friend of mine and former client ask me to help with the move of her parents household from a 5-bedroom house they had lived in for 50 years into a new appartement.

Facade of the old house


Help to prepare to downsize and make the new place comfortable and easy to live in.
This was in February 2009.
We began with a view of the existing house, then the new apartment - a two bedroom condo near their daughter and with a to-do list in order we could get started.

Images of the old home





I began by selecting pieces I thought suitable for the new home, we worked out a plan to sell, sort and discard. I went on a treasure hunt in their basement and found many thing worth taking to the new location. It took many hours of clearing and packing and finally they moved in June 2009. Before that we gutted the apartment, located in a well kept building from the sixties with walking distance to shops and train.
The project kept growing: After some consideration they added the complete renovation of the two existing bathrooms, painted the place, put in wall-to-wall carpet, by requirement of the management.

The future home...


While renovating...

Simultaneously we selected window decorations and track loads of new furniture, while keeping an eye on existing pieces, artwork and decorative items which had been collected by the client over a life time!
I wanted to give them an updated style, without estranging them from their pieces, they had loved for many years. Almost everything holds memories, a story or history!
They have a lovely collection of original artwork, many paintings we had to find wall space for without overwhelming the much smaller space.
There were some road blocks along the way. Fabrics we had ordered came back not available anymore, a sofa ordered in March was delivered with the wrong fabric in October and arrived finally in March 2010!
We had curtains made, inches shorter then needed...well, let's say the fair share of difficulty given the size of the project.
I love how we found our way to connect and to listen to each others ideas. How eventually the husband said, lets do as Victoria says... after viewing 100 coffee tables and not coming to a decision...Yeah! Victory with the coffee table. Compromises and adjustments along the way and here is the result!




Entering through a small entrance you reach the vestibule, a pleasant space to arrive at home. Chair, side table, bench and chest are new. Floor lamp existed as did all the art work. I found this gorgeous mirror in the basement! Ceiling fixture from the old house, a transformed gas light...


View from the entrance area into the living room. Master bedroom and bathroom to the left.






In the living room we brought the side tables, mirror, all table lamps, the wonderful wing chair, which got new lovely upholstery from the old house. The two peach colored armchairs came straight from their as well! No need to do anything, I had found the small lyra table in the basement, had it restored and voila, makes a lovely conversation area next to the new - new (!) sofa, separating the seating area from the door to the balcony and the writing desk at the window. The coffee table and side board are new.








The peach colored arm chairs were the beginning of the color scheme...we took our clues from there, matched the green velvet of the sofa, the cushions and the upholstery fabric on the wing chair. The curtains in living room and adjacent dining area are similar in color but different in pattern. The side chair as well a found one in the home, the desk came, lamp and all the accessoires.


View towards the den.


Looking into the dining area.






The dining set and side board are new, the chandelier came from one of the home owners former bedrooms, we found these lovely wall sconces and I thought they were a perfect fit next to the amazing oil painting from the 19th century.



The darkest room in the new appartement is the den, we made it cozy with blue gray walls and a fun floor covering. A lively pattern lifts up the space. The recliner, sofa bed and floor lamp are new, everything else came from the former den. This room perhaps is still the closest to my client's former house, almost similar in size and layout.


Glimps into her bathroom. Our strongest budget consideration went into these two bathrooms. We wanted clean fresh lines without breaking the bank.


We discussed lengthly the pros and cons of a second bathtub in his bathroom and in the end decided on a new walk in shower.

We have thought of every detail in the new space, we considered many options and the result is a warm, comfortable appartement, were my clients feel at home, surrounded by many of their lovely collections and some practical and new things, which they grew to love quickly!



Thank you for your patience dear reader, this project had me occupied for a long time and I loved working on every aspect! Now we all are very happy with the results.


XX
Victoria