Top 10 Impressions from the Renovation Work

In the last five days I have taken many pictures from the house and the work progress. Every day, I am on site measuring, looking into details, unpacking, helping whatever I can do. Yesterday, while showing friends around, I realized that I have some new favorite spots that I want to show you too:

My first favorite spot is the small sunny piazza infront of the house.

Here, at the main entrance three generations of (future) inhabitants are posing happily.

Angelo's art work at entrance #37

more stucco and paint art work on ceilings

my favorite bathroom in the vaulted cellar

Before and After: Basement with Balcony

Our house has a basement, that we call our seminterrato, which means "half under earth" or souterrain. Our seminterrato, however, is very special: On one part it is really underground, carved into the rock, on the other side it has fantastic 180 degree see view 54 meter above sea level! And it has access to a small garden with a lemon tree, a fig tree, a bougainvilleas and some cacti. It did not have a balcony though. But this has changed. Angelo is always good for surprises. Now we have a balcony in our basement. It is a balcony for two people with shoe size 40 or so.... but look the transformation from before with no balcony and rusty wrought iron balustrade to after with small balkony and restored balustrade in blue (!) :

BEFORE in August 2006

in between in 2009

(...) 

blue mission

Blue ringhiere look good everywhere.
On the seaside from top to semiinterrato.

(for details click on pic to enlarge)

blue balustrade of the balcony on the ground floor

Only the balustrade around our tiny garden is not yet blue.
But then, after that: blue mission completed.

UPDATE:
I forgot to post these pictures:

Angelo sent me this one, with no comment, and at first sight I did not really understood what this line near the ceiling that looks like a shadow would be... is it a blue stipe ??!

 

In the next picture I saw it clearly :

Angelo must have got crazy about blue !

I think he had some left over blue paint and obviously thought a bit of blue will add an interesting note to our bedroom. So funny.

While we are on house hunting tour in Asia ... our Italian home progresses ...

Angelo, my Father-in-law, has unpacked some stuff, and felt like interor decorator ...

So funny ...  Although these Shanghai style deck chairs don't belong into this room, I wish I could relax there NOW! 

And Angelo continues to paint wrought iron gates blue.

Even if I have posted this view before, I can't get tired of it (now with new blue balustrade).

Here we got a wooden 'battiscopa' - and please note the professional fresko cover protection. 

Yes, I confirm, these tiles are for the master bathroom's floor (pavimento) and not for the bathroom wall.

This one is hilarious :

Angelo o-tone:  'I have engaged a cheap and competent woman for the final cleaning and waxing of the master bed room'.   (Editor's remark: this cheap 'room cleaner at work' is my dear moterh-in-law)

Super finish : floor after final cleaning and waxing

blue summer

Angelo continued to paint balustrades of balconies blue. Here is the one of the soggiorno in the primo piano. We have decided to paint all ringhiere blue that face the seaside, including the one in the garden.

 

This is the new blue "balcony" (shoe size 40) seen from the larger balcony below.

And you can see our new outside lighting. - CC found the lamps in one of the catalogues of our electrician and we ordered them without having seen them. Good choice, I think.

 

I can see, feel, smell the fresh sea breeze!!

I wish I could be there right now and jump into the cool sea.

Ahh, instead I am suffering in the heat of my appartment where I have to prepare the move ... No time to fly to Pizzo. And Angelo wants bathroom decisions and drawings by mail and skype. But at least I can keep dreaming. One day, I will spent a whole summer in our house.

more balcony

Thanks to the response to my latest balcony pictures. As some readers wanted more, I am posting a view from the seaside, that shows the balcony (with two tiny persons) and the roof terrace. And some pics are from above. It is difficult to take pictures of the whole balcony all in one as my small camera is broken and the Canon has a zoom. So the last two pics are a view to the left and to the right.

Balcony : stunning !

Stunning is the view and stunning are the tiles !


It was our biggest worry that we had made the wrong decision with these blue tiles. They were not cheap and I thought they might draw off too much attention from the spectacular view.

But look at the result !

I am so impressed myself - the pictures are stunning (maybe more than reality).

The blue tiles underline the impression of floating between sea and sky !!


Of course the different position of the sun let the tiles reflect their blue color differently. In direct sunlight it might appear a bit kitschy - but I am calling it "Amalfi style".



And here are some "before" photos, when I tried to picture with one single sample tile the effect of light and reflection :







Shopping source: these waterblue tiles are from Fornaci d'Agostino from the Emozioni serie

And the finish is diagonal, which suits a rectangular balcony shape best:


Next time I will present our roof terrace. Very "Amalfi"...
...