The Patina and Colors of Tuscan Architecture

On my recent trip to Italy I was completely inspired by the weathered villas and homes I visited on my journey. I snapped so many photographs, trying to capture the vibrant colors and texture of peeling paint, concrete urns and balusters, roof tiles, windows and doors. Italians are not afraid to use vibrant and unusual color combinations on their exteriors. Hues like rusty orange, saffron yellow and brick-red are common for the plaster walls and turquoise, hunter green and cobalt blue are used on shutters and doors. Peeling paint that exposes layers below did not seem to be frowned upon, the way it would here in Calgary. Those exposed layers and sun bleached stucco facades were beautiful just they way they were and I admired how the textures and colors blended and contrasted with each other. I loved how the architecture in Tuscany celebrated not only form, but color and texture as well. Here are a few of the photographs that I snapped to try to capture the spirit of the patina which inspired me so much.

Roof Tiles in Siena

Facade of Villa San Michele in Fiesole

Gardens of Villa San Michele

Building in Cinque Terre

Building in Siena

Vernazza in Cinque Terre

Montrosso in Cinque Terre

Pretty balconies and green facade in Cinque Terre

Laundry hanging from an apartment in Monteriggioni

Vernazza in Cinque Terre

Turquoise door in Florence

Fattoria Maionchi in the hills above Lucca

 Garden at Fattoria Maionchi

Traditional Tuscan garden at Fattoria Maionchi

*All Photographs by Jacqueline Corea

Unfortunately, I don’t think that these color combinations and the patina of cracking stucco would work very well on buildings here in Calgary. It’s my opinion that architecture should be somewhat of a reflection of the environment. Since Calgary is such a young city, these ancient finishes would probably be out-of-place, or perhaps even make a building look abandoned and decrepit! However, it is completely charming in Tuscany and helps to tell the story of a building’s history. Viewing these patinas and colors reminded me about the importance of texture, contrast and hue in our interiors. Who knows, maybe in another few hundred years our Calgary renovations will patina as gracefully as these homes have!

Cheers!

Jacqueline

Design Destination – Tuscany

Photo of Tuscan Countryside courtesy of Luxury Italian Weddings

About a month ago my design assistant, Ashley, and I both received a strange message on our Facebook page.  The Italian Chamber of Commerce was taking interior designers on a tour of Tuscany to learn about Italian made products and they wanted to know if we were interested in going along. Honestly, I thought it was a joke at first, but Ashley decided to look into it more seriously. Much to my surprise and delight it was absolutely legitimate and an incredible opportunity not to be missed! I couldn’t believe our luck!

Photo of Florence courtesy of Flickr

Photo of Siena courtesy of Destination360

Photo of the Cinque Terre region courtesy of A House In Tuscany

The trip includes a tour around Tuscany, meetings with local craftsmen, manufacturers and suppliers, a visit to a European trade show and the chance to meet other designers from around Canada, the United States, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. We were able to extend our trip for a few extra days so that we can see Florence, Siena and hopefully get up to Cinque Terre as well. We will see some incredible works of art at the Uffizi Gallery, have dinner in an amazing restaurant at Villa San Michele over looking the red tile roofs of Florence, and hopefully get to see a marble quarry or two. I know, it sounds like a really rough business trip, but someone has to do it!

Photo of Botticelli’s Venus at the Uffizi courtesy of HistoriaWeb

 The Loggia Restaurant  at Villa San Michele

The Heart of the Marble Quarry. Photo courtesy of Travel Pod

Needless to say, both of us are extremely excited and honored to be selected to go on this adventure! We can’t believe our good luck and are just so happy that we were contacted. This is such a generous gift from the Italian Chamber of Commerce, and we are so looking forward to finding some wonderful things to bring back with us to use in our renovation projects here in Calgary. I’ve prepared some blog posts for you while we are away, and I’ll have lots of new material to share with you when we return. See you soon!

Ciao!

Jacqueline

Design Destination – Palm Springs

Photo of the Kaufmann House courtesy of the blog Take Sunset.  Architecture by Richard Neutra

 My blog posts have been lacking lately due to me taking a short but sunny vacation to Palm Springs. It was a wonderful trip! I have been hooked on Palm Springs since I visited last year for the first time. The city has such a cool relaxed vibe, and a modern feel. The residents have completely embraced desert modernism architecture  (as seen in the famous Kaufmann residence above designed by Richard Neutra) and there are a massive number of homes and commercial buildings that embody this style. The furniture stores are unique and many of them specialize in mid-century modern pieces. For design aficionados, Palm Springs is a great destination to inspire and find some treasures. There are great restaurants and hotels to visit too. Here’s what I was up to when I was there.

 Photo courtesy of the blog Matters of Style

 The Viceroy Hotel is a must see for design enthusiasts. Designed by Kelly Wearstler this hotel is bright and cheerful and has a wonderful restaurant which we had dinner in. The above photograph is of the lobby space and the yellow geometric pattern has been created with mosaic tiles. It is dramatic and bold. I was awestruck by it! Kelly Wearstler is a designer that really inspires me, so it was fantastic to see this space in person. Here are some more photos of this incredible hotel.

Photo of the restaurant Citron courtesy of the blog High Fashion Home

Photo of guest room courtesy of the blog Design Crisis

 We stayed at the Parker Palm Springs Hotel and really enjoyed the incredible gardens and hip decor.  Designed by Jonathan Adler,this hotel pays homage to the handicrafts of the seventies with ceramics, macramé and needle point accessories and art work throughout the hotel.  It was a fun place to stay and the playful decor reminded me of a basement recreation room from the seventies. Very retro!

 Photo of guest room courtesy of the Parker Palm Springs Hotel

 Photo of lobby courtesy of Jonathan Adler

 Photo of the Spa courtesy of Jonathon Adler

 No vacation would be complete without a spa treatment! The Spa at the Parker was definitely one of the most beautiful I had ever been to. The cobalt blue and white color scheme was refreshing and the Moroccan tented room at the pool was the perfect place to relax and unwind. And the massage was absolute heaven. Ahhh!

 Photo courtesy of Chicago Timeout

 One of the best meals was breakfast at the King’s Highway Diner at the Ace Hotel. The food was all organic and it was so good, we went back twice! The restaurant and hotel are very stylish and also have a retro vibe. Although we did not see any of the guest rooms, we heard that they feature something very unique. Each room is equipped with an old record player and some vinyl to groove too!

Photo courtesy of Studio One 11

The furniture stores in Palm Springs have some incredible finds. This table was from a great shop called Studio One 11. 

They also had some other really interesting modern furniture like these pieces below.

 Photo courtesy of Studio One 11

Photo courtesy of Studio One 11

 Another store that was really interesting was House 849. These beautiful coral lamps caught my eye as did this lacquered cabinet.

Photo courtesy of House 849 via 1stDibs

 Photo courtesy of House 849 via 1stDibs

 My holiday was the perfect getaway. I really enjoy the city of Palm Springs and the surrounding area for its great design, architecture, restaurants and shops. Not to mention the other fabulous reasons to check out Palm Springs like the direct flight from Calgary with WestJet, awesome designer outlet shopping, sunny weather, and great guacamole! I’ll be returning soon no doubt!

 Cheers!