Living In A Christmas Postcard * A Viver Num Postal de Natal

For the people who get this for 4 months every winter, will just have to excuse my excitement but this 'winter wonderland Christmas mood' is just what I've been living in the last few days. It doesn't snow in my country you see, so I've been acting my son's age playing in the snow and trying to make snowballs with wool mittens and forget they get them painfully frozen! 

It's the perfect Season setting and the houses all look like beautiful Christmas Postcards! 

***

Para as pessoas que vivem este cenário cerca de 4 meses por cada inverno, vão ter que desculpar o meu entusiasmo, mas é nestes maravilhosos e perfeitos cenários de Natal que tenho vivido nos últimos dias. É que não temos disto em Portugal, daí eu me comportar mais ou menos com a idade do meu filho, que anda tão excitado que passa o tempo a tentar fazer bolas de neve com luvas de lã e esquece-se que acaba com as mãos geladas!

É o cenário perfeito para se viver nesta época Natalícia, e as casas parecem verdadeiros postais de NATAL. É Lindo!

Até Amanhã

Ana Antunes

(Thank you for sharing my passion for beautiful homes)

Photographer James McDonald

So, here's the post I promised earlier today. And the gorgeous bathroom we saw in my previous post was expertly photographed by James Mcdonald.

I have chosen a few more photographs from his portfolio for you to see. James is a British, London-based freelance photographer who focuses on interiors, portraiture, travel and still life photography.


















Couldn't resist including the bathroom again!



A beautiful weekend to you, my friends! Come back tomorrow!
All images from James McDonald's portfolio right here.

Renovated Apartment in Spain

Good morning to you, my friends. Hope you are having a good week.

The ceilings of this turn of the century apartment in Spain were high enough to add another level with a new bedroom, bathroom, and office area. Bright and youthful. Come and see.

















Photography by Santiago Moreno.
All images from here.

Restored Home in Sicily

We've been living in Lima, Peru for three months now and last night we had our first earthquake. I guess I shouldn't call it an earthquake as it was only a slight tremor that only lasted about 2 seconds, and it felt as is a heavy bus was rumbling by in our garden. Not frightening at all, as we had been warned about these tremors which are quite frequent here, but new to me!

Haven't taken you to Italy in a long time, have I? Well, here we go then to Sicily. Italian architect James Cavagnari and his American wife, interior designer Erin Quiros, renovated a residence dating back to 1700 on the Aeolian island of Salina. A combination of modern, rustic and minimalist styles.

The couple with their daughter Evelyn.











Photography by Scott Frances
All images from Architectural Digest.

Rustic Home in Cantabria

Good morning dears, everything ok? Come with me to Spain today.

Spanish interior designer Memi Escarzaga decorated this rustic home in Cantabria. Soft natural tones, lots of beams, brick tiles, and French style furniture make it warm and inviting. I particularly love the trumeau mirror in the bathroom.

Enjoy the tour, my friends!

























All images from here.

Fashion Designer Erin Fetherston

Good morning, lovely readers. We are visiting a stunning apartment today. It belongs to fashion designer Erin Fetherston. Elegant and stylish with unique pieces that add interest to this spacious apartment.


By the entrance door, a pile of freshly cut wood is ready for the fireplace. The chandelier overhead is from her Paris apartment.


Erin Fetherston in her expansive living room.


Fetherston picked up her Bergère-style chairs at an auction in Paris.


She covered this Holly Hunt candle chandelier with some vintage silk roses.


For the dining room, gray granite dining table and eighteenth-century chairs. She had the chairs re-covered in three different fabrics—including burlap—to make them look and feel more casual.


She keeps the sketch she received from a friend to thank Fetherston for making her a coat. The hands are molds to make rubber gloves.


This minibar houses tiny crystal bottles and glasses. The rose resting on the top is a memento from a set built by designer Ali Gallagher for one of Fetherston’s runway shows in 2008.


On the nesting tables in the living room (found buried at a flea market in Napa Valley), Fetherston piles vintage children’s books as decor.


The apartment has quite a bit of closet space. This particular closet, however, is used as more of an archive, as opposed to the one she uses every day.


Fetherston displays some of the most important pieces from her past collections on the wall in her closet. “My staff made me those pillows a few Christmases ago,” she says. “They have the names of my dogs—Koala and Tulipan—embroidered on them.”


The dressing table in Fetherston’s closet.


Her bed is flanked by two chinoiserie lamps and an eighteenth-century style cushioned bench—custom made.


A long chinoiserie silk screen was placed against the wall in her bedroom.


An extra-large clam shell filled with ostrich eggs on the large window sill. Beautiful view of the Hudson River from here.


Fetherston uses the mezzanine loft in her apartment as office space.


Her latest sketches for the upcoming season.

Photography by Frank Claiborne Swanson
All images and information from here.