Brillante Interiors

Two fabulous silky giveaways

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:38:00 +0000

To a fortunate reader Manito Luxury Silk will send a Queen size silk blanket, valued at $ 299.00. Spring is coming so they will be just perfect for warmer nights.

Queen size silk blanket in Silverstone color

Manito’s silk blankets are 100% Mulberry silk with a simple, 100% silk border, unlike other brands which use polyester borders. Woven to be incredible soft, lightweight, breathable and warm. Available in three colors: Camel, Rose and Silverstone.

***

A second fortunate reader will receive a Baby silk blanket, valued at $ 149.00, which can be also used as a throw on a chair, an extra layer at the foot of a bed or… for your furry friend if you wish (we know already that many beautiful accessories are “gone to the dogs!”)

Manito’s silk mini- blankets (36” x 48”) are 100% Mulberry silk with a 100% silk border. Hypoallergenic and woven to be incredibly soft, lightweight, breathable and warm, they are the natural cuddle buddy for the little ones. Great as baby shower gifts! Available in three colors: Baby blue, Rose and Sage (Sage is a new color, not yet on Manito website). Due to the blankets’ unique, tightly woven design, you will appreciate that they are machine washable.

Mini- silk blanket in Rose color

How to win? With simple two steps:

1) Browse Manito Silk website (HERE)

2) Come back to my blog and leave me a comment on the item you most like of their production: silk robes? blankets? duvets?… In the same comment please also specify the color of the blanket if you would be the lucky winner (please specify a color for Queen size and a color for Baby size). Since the giveaway is restricted to Canada and continental USA please tell me in the comment also where you live and don't forget to add contact information or a link.

I will randomly choose the Number 1 winner (Queen silk blanket) and the Number 2 winner (Baby silk blanket) and announce the names on Sunday, February 26th.
Keep sending me comments and keep your fingers crossed!

Good luck everyone!

Photography © Albarosa Simonetti

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things". If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
I love your comments!

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email.
It will be an investment in happiness at home, because a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in.

Movie director Coppola returns to Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Five years to restore a 19th-century mansion, named Palazzo Margherita, and now finally famous movie director Francis Ford Coppola has another luxury hotel to add to the four others, this time in the Basilicata region, Southern Italy, in the same town, Bernalda, from where his grandfather immigrated to America. The hotel is situated on the town central square, with large front doors opening to a courtyard followed by a large garden with a swimming pool.
To restore and decorate the mansion Coppola asked the acclaimed French designer Jacques Grange to help, but he also asked his family to contribute to decorate the nine bedrooms in their personal favorite style so the rooms are very different from each other and create the feeling of entering a private home with lots of personality.

All bedrooms have hand-painted walls and ceilings, sometimes with trompe l’oeil

as in the Sofia room, adorned with delicate trellis.

Another corner of the Sofia room. As you can see Sofia Coppola and Jacques Grange

wanted to create a summer atmosphere, with pale, fresh colors and light wicker furniture.

Sheer curtains flowing in the breeze and leading to the terrace in Francis Ford Coppola suite,

in a more exotic style recalling Tunisia and Morocco.

Can you imagine waking up in this room?

A common area, with walls covered in a rich Arts and Crafts Le Manach fabric

and dark ruby Murano chandelier, where to drink coffee and read the paper during the day.

Some rooms bring us back in time like in this image, have you noticed
the simple bouquet of flowers, coming directly from the garden and casually arranged?

Hand painted walls and ceilings are a feature of the whole hotel. Every detail was studied carefully, amenities and comfort abound, heated floors, media equipment, large pool, great common areas to relax, beautiful gardens…

A stunning Murano chandelier shines against faux marble walls.

Again a “new” sofa straight from the “past” and a simple arrangement of gladioli on a whimsical coffee table. Hand painted walls look like luxurious wallpaper.

(Funny that we say of a real rose “It looks like it is made of silk”

and of a fake one “It looks real”…just came to my mind after writing the above).

For Coppola the Palazzo Margherita is about family and in fact his daughter Sofia got married there last summer. In an interview she said: "It was such a great setting, our friends all gathered in the garden, and we had a small ceremony at the end of a trellis walk with rosé from my father-in-law's winery, Château Thuerry and Prosecco at the bar after."

Francis Coppola added: "When you are there, you get the feeling that you are in a real place, in the palazzo you are in heaven. You walk out the door and there is real Italy. In the evening, everyone is out, there are children everywhere. It feels very safe, and I find it a very pleasant and authentic experience."
I agree with him, even if most tourists from around the world prefer Tuscany as an Italian destination, there are many more places to visit in that country, equally beautiful or sometimes giving you even more the true Italian life experience, like in this, till now unknown to me, small rustic town of Bernalda.

Photography by James Merrell

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things". If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
I love your comments.

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email.
It will be an investment in happiness at home, because a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!

2013 Venice Biennale and more on contemporary art

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Image by Marco De Scalzi

Like a bomb exploding on the Lagoon…Massimiliano Gioni will be the director, in 2013, of the
Venice Art Biennale. (On the left a painting by Elizabeth Peyton, on the right Gioni with a work of Paul McCarthy).

Not bad for a guy who is only 38 years old, who started with Flash Art magazine and revealed immediately a great talent for communication and the ability of easily wading through the difficult art world.

Image by Marco De Scalzi Image by Miranda July

Massimiliano Gioni’s curriculum is fabulous, just to name a few positions he was director of the 8th Art Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea, he is Head curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, he curated the 4th Biennale in Berlin together with Maurizio Cattelan and Ali Subotnick, he is the artistic director of the Fondazione Trussardi in Milan and on and on…

Image by Jason Nocito

Massimiliano Gioni with Ali Subotnick and Maurizio Cattelan in Berlin, 2006.

Image by Marco De Scalzi

Massimiliano Gioni in Milan, at Manzoni Theatre, where an exhibition dedicated to the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist was recently held.

He has also founded Family Business, a New York gallery in partnership with Maurizio Cattelan, integrated into the Anna Kustera gallery and dedicated to new, previously un-exhibited artists.
Gioni was in Vancouver a few years ago, invited by the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver and I had the pleasure of listening to his brilliant lecture on contemporary art and to chat with him at the following reception hosted by Monica Reyes. We all agreed that he was one of the most interesting personalities we had met, so young and so brilliant.

*****

Talking about contemporary art…if you live in Vancouver and have an interest in contemporary art or simply want to know more about art consider joining CASV, it will be an incredible experience meeting all those great art personalities. Just last night we were invited by Bob Rennie, principal of Rennie collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Canada, to see the latest installation of Vancouverite Damian Moppett. It was very interesting to hear the long talk of Bob Rennie about his passion for contemporary art and later to be able to wander around the building, in working spaces and best of all in his private office, of course filled with art.
I wish I took pictures but I was too busy looking around, taking mental notes of furniture, art, objects and of course talking…!

Image by Rafal Gerszak

Damian Moppett installing his pieces at Rennie Collection.

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email. It will be an investment in happiness at home, a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section. You’ll make me happy!

Pinteresting

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Albarosa Simonetti design

After a few weeks of trials and errors I am finally able to use Pinterest and now… just what I needed… I am hooked to that too.
Do you already know about Pinterest? It is a great way of organizing and sharing pictures, your own or the ones that most appeal to you online. I use it as a reference digital book for inspiration and also to relax looking at beautiful images of interiors. I admit, sometimes it gets too intense, like craving for sweets and reading patisserie books with vivid images of scrumptious pastries!

Joe Ruggiero Sr. design

I must be very careful though, between blogging and Facebook, lots of time goes without noticing (I am not really keen on Twitter yet, even if I use it at times, but I found it difficult to follow…most of the time I don’t know what people are talking about, like:
#circus@xyz… you are right! (about what? mystery…sometimes there is no thread of the conversation)
or
at XYZ cafe’ right now having a tall macchiato caramel with a hint of cinnamon
(no idea why people want you to know they are having coffee right now…do I need to know?)
Facebook is always more fun even though at times I need to delete a few people who I obviously did not accept carefully but it was very exciting in the beginning to be asked to be friends so I jumped on everyone (not literally) and now I am slowly editing my list because I want it to be mostly for business, to learn from others, to be exposed to new ideas, to connect with similar minds (or with totally different ones that can bring me a wider vision of my world).

Beth Collier design

Maria Killam design

Pinterest is a fast way of keeping informed on Interior decoration, since many Pinners (? is this the word for users of the system?) download not only their projects but also images from magazines.

Brooke Giannetti design

Through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and of course my Blog I made so many new contacts with artists, designers, writers, photographers, architects and some I may even consider “virtual friends” since at times we exchange personal emails or we are able to meet in person.

Linda Merrill design

Grant K. Gibson design

Nancy Marcus design

Irene Turner design

Scot Meacham Wood design

I had to limit my virtual friends named in this post to just a few, chosen randomly between old friends from blogging and new ones from Facebook or Pinterest but you can see what I mean: great inspiring ideas.

So…are you Pinning? What are you waiting for?
Start now to create your own Pin Board and let us know your Pin-Name, it will be adding to mine and my readers collection of beautiful, inspiring images.
Share with us what you think about social media, are you part of some?

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email. It will be an investment in happiness at home, a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

Do you like Renzo Mongiardino style?

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:54:00 +0000

Image © Roberto Peregalli

If you do… then you must also like Studio Peregalli style.

As the Architectural Digest magazine in 2012 AD100 list says:
“Makers of interiors that look and feel centuries old, Laura Sartori Rimini and Roberto Peregalli are proper heirs to the time-traveling spirit of their late mentor, Renzo Mongiardino. “Rigor with imagination” is how Peregalli describes the Milan firm’s oeuvre, captured in the 2011 monograph The Invention of the Past (…) the business partners employ traditionally trained Italian artisans for their ravishing mise-en-scènes (…)”

The iconic architect and interior designer Renzo Mongiardino, the greatest of Italian decorators, created theatrical, dreaming interiors and Roberto Peregalli is dedicated to carry on the master's work, adding his personal style to it.

Image © Massimo Listri.

A Neoclassical dining room with decorations on the walls, trompe-l’œil over the doors , ancient Asian sculptures and paintings and a large 1700 Florentine table.
The book “L’invenzione del passato” as in the Italian edition, narrates through gorgeous images, drawings and sketches many projects of Studio Peregalli around the world.

Image © François Halard.

In Milan, the library of a collector features a painted ceiling, Turkish rugs, exotic throws and original ivory colored doors that create the structure of the room.

Image © Adriano Brusaferri.

Enchanting simple room in a country house with pale greens, ochre, greys, typical of the beginning of Eighteenth-Century. The antique settee, upholstered in a plum velvet creates a dramatic contrast.

Image ©François Halard.

A large living room with the same contrast of pale hues and vivid colors like the emerald green sofa and the touch of rusty red on the other sofa, both colors recalling the ones of the Indian diptych on the wall. Note the stunning chandelier!

Image © Roberto Peregalli

An entryway for a client in Paris, with a unique shape and stunning wallpaper, the front door color and the nail head decoration is another important visual element, not to mention the Versailles style oak floor.
In the book the architects add that every small element, every single detail is equally important, if not perfect, like a waterfall, they will ruin the whole effect… so true!

Image © Simon Watson.

In Morocco a covered patio with a Moorish arch leading to the library has graphic black and white tiles, grey blue walls and a bold turquoise color for the centerpiece, a Moroccan fountain.

Foto © Roberto Peregalli.

A large hall covered in trompe-l’œil reproducing the effect of azulejos ceramic tiles with at the center large flower pots, blue and white in the tradition of Portuguese houses.

Image © Robert Polidori.

A study with a myriad of books, apparently messy but instead quite orderly, a very well lived room as it was and still is often tradition in aristocratic or old money European families, where furniture, objects, memories are kept, with each generation adding more layers.

Image © Massimo Listri

A Restaurant in Milan with a large library wall, containing a collection of books from the Nineteenth-Century.

Image © Roberto Peregalli

In Bologna a vast bathroom where the architects decided to make the original old floor a focal point.

Image © François Halard.
Another bathroom, small this time, with Portuguese Eighteenth-Century azulejos, reflected in the antique mirror.

Image © Santi Caleca

I like to end with an extraordinary image of a party installation by Studio Peregalli, they recreated the atmosphere of the Renaissance time, with the glow of hundreds of candles and rich antique Persian rugs flowing from the arches above. It must have been a magic soirée.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

Pizza-Kobra!

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:35:00 +0000

In my previous post "Can you guess what it is?" I had the image of a strange object…

It is an unusual light, called appropriately "Pizza-Kobra" by Ron Arad for I Guzzini, an unstructured, flexible lamp which at times resembles a pizza, at times a cobra...depending on the mood at bed time!

Thanks to one of my readers, Bobby, I found this video on YouTube

Always interesting to hear designers talk about their creations.

To read more about the apartment above go to my previous post A classic apartment.

Nobody guessed what it was, not even A Critic’s Eye who is always the first to answer!

Till next time…

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".
If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

Voyeurism

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Rome, Piazza di Spagna, Palazzetto dei Borgognoni.

Don’t we all become voyeurs at times? Especially when our passion is Interior design? Have you ever been in a major artist’s house? Well today I will show you the House- Museum of one of the greatest modern Italian artists.

Giorgio de Chirico 1888-1978 was a pre-Surrealist Italian painter and sculptor, then Surrealist and finally founder of pittura metafisica. His surname is traditionally written De Chirico (capitalized De) when it stands alone.

D'après Giorgio is a project by Luca Lo Pinto: for a full year it will be possible to see his house while many internationally renowned artists will be interacting with the space and his creations.
Giorgio de Chirico lived for the last 30 years in the top three floors of Palazzetto dei Borgognoni, in the central and gorgeous Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps) in Rome, and here from January 27th, 2012 there will be an alternating display of installations by famous designers and artists like Martino Gamper, Luca Trevisani, Carlo Mollino and many more.

Let’s go in…

De Chirico’s study and Library.

Very 1950’s De Chirico bedroom.

From the House-Museum website: “The apartment’s rooms and 1950-style furnishings were restored following a rigorous study of old photographs and historic anecdotes. The same method was applied to the arrangement of the paintings and sculptures. On the main first floor, the luxurious rooms evoke a Rubenesque vision of grand 17th century style salons with their red damask curtains, numerous ornate gold frames, wooden cherubs, marble tables and silverware, Persian carpets and Louis XVI-style armchairs. Conceived as a magnificent ‘living gallery’, this area of the apartment was once a lively, vibrant place of gatherings and receptions.”

His books, his colors, his tools for his art and a drawing in the background.

A very classic living and dining areas divided by red drapes, like a theatrical scene. As in many elegant houses of the time the living room often was more a “gallery” of antiques and art, used only for major entertaining, while the real daily social life happened in smaller and more comfortable rooms.

Photography by Massimo Listri

A vignette showing his bar: memory lane…I remember when everyone was drinking Punt e Mes as aperitivo, quite unusual now to find it in Italian bars. Drinks are like fashion, one day hip, the next day obsolete.

A piece by contemporary artist Paul Armand Gette, B&W photography La toilette de la Nymphe, between the original objects of De Chirico’s house.

Another installation: on the left an original sculpture by De Chirico, on the right Martino Gamper’s Chair 'n' Box, 2008. As a background De Chirico famous metaphysical paintings.

A new bulb for an old lamp and an extraordinary sculpture on the right.

During the year the public will also be able to see for the first time many photographs from the Fondazione Isa and Giorgio de Chirico archives and a series of art critics, curators and artists will accompany visitors to present their vision of the whole project.

“They say that Rome is at the centre of the world and that Piazza di Spagna is in the centre of Rome, therefore, my wife and I, would indeed be living in the centre of the centre of the world, which would be the apex of centrality, and the apogee of anti-eccentricity.”

Giorgio de Chirico

Photography by Lorenzo Gigotti

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".
If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

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Can you guess what it is?

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:47:00 +0000

What do you think?

Is this a pot holder?

Is this a heater?

Is this a new gadget?

Is this...?

Incidentally: I have published an image of the same "misterious object" in one of the "Post on Houses" (see the images on the right of the screen, scroll down to Posts on Houses and buona fortuna in finding it!)

Warning: this game may become addictive!

Hope you have fun, the answers will be published all together at the end of next week and please don’t comment on Facebook, but only on this post, so nobody could see the answers before they are published by me. The first correct answer will have “an honorable mention” and a link to their website or blog.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

From Milan, with love.

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Stunning Ligurian textiles

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:56:00 +0000

Having spent a week in Liguria, a beautiful region in Northern Italy, I had time to visit again Tessitura Gaggioli in Zoagli. Established in 1932 now the Tessitura is in the hand of Sergio, his mother and his sister Paola and they create the most magnificent silk and hand woven velvets and damasks.

The pieces above are all called Soprarizzo and they are the most beautiful and refined velvet made of 12.240 threads for the warp and 3.000 for the weft and it requires 200 movements of hands and feet to create only 1 centimeter. In a day only 40 centimeters of textile are created.

The Tessitura produces also less expensive textiles, with computerized system, but results are always of the best quality.

Giuseppe shows me how after two long beats and a short one of the treadle loom he passes the special tool to cut some threads, then he repositions between the threads the long metal stick which you can see at the bottom, below his hand and the knife and the coordinate movements start again.

A damask in pale yellow and cream is at its beginning.

Here Giuseppe shows me the silk just arrived from the dyeing plant where raw silk (from China) is sent to be colored in the precise hues requested. Italy had a flourishing silk production for centuries but now silk is produced in China and bought raw to be spinned and woven here.

Pure gold thread to start a new order of meters and meters of pale blue damasks with Florentine lilies in gold. It will take months but the result will be stunning as the other pieces created for public institutions, churches and private mansions: for instance Tessitura Gaggioli had also worked in the past for iconic decorator Mongiardino’s residence in New York.

Enchanting view of the Tigullio gulf outside the weaving factory’s windows.

Enchanting Liguria!

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A new house for Jennifer

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Jennifer Aniston has just bought a grand three bedroom apartment in the West Village, near Gramercy Park, in New York.

With a price close to $9,000,000 she can afford to have beautiful views of the park, incredible natural light, a real fireplace for cold evenings, gorgeous woodfloors and a spa-like bathroom for relaxing. The building amenities include housekeeping, valet, room service, event planning, butler service and many more features of the Gramercy Hotel.

Living room

Kitchen - Den

Master bedroom

Hint Hint...Aniston’s new apartment features not one but two nurseries.

Jennifer, if you need someone to help you re-decorate
just give us a shout!

In the meantime let's pretend we can change some things around before she calls her Interior designer (I hope she will call the great NewYorkerVicente Wolf !). Let's start the game...keeping the budget low.

Here is another view of the living room, dining area and kitchen in the background:

Personally I love the layout of the apartment, a huge open space and large windows. I may start suggesting for the image above some work on the walls (structure permitting) to better open up the transition from entry to living to kitchen and create more harmonious lines.

Rugs: Why are some legs of the sofa outside the rug? It makes me uncomfortable already..I would buy a larger rug for the (new, more contemporary) sofas and a rug under the dining table to better define the space.

Lights: The chandelier in the kitchen area should hang lower on the small (too small) table and be a more modern type, creating a bigger statement, perhaps a multi-spheres as Omer Arbel's Bocci?

Dining table: I am never too fond of many chairs (if we keep them they definetely need re-upholstery) around a table, unless it is a formal separate dining room (even then...) so I would decorate the table more like a big desk, with table lamps, books, special objects (but all easy to move for a dinner with friends) since the table is also part of the living room.
Something like this..

Drapes? I love drapes most of the time but I believe they don't really belong here, shades to filter the intense light would be more appropriate for the simple loft-like architecture of the space.

Art? It definetely needs to be edited and re-arranged. Art is very personal and often I don't interfere with my clients choices, but gently suggest appropriate pieces or re-arrangements.

And on and on...

I started with one image and just a few suggestions, can you imagine what I have to say for the master bedroom?

Feel free to participate with your ideas, it could be fun!

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Buon Anno! Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:02:00 +0000

AUGURI...in Italian means greetings and we use it for birthdays, holidays, any occasion requiring it. For New Year's eve we can also say: "BUON ANNO" or Happy New Year!

A white and gold table, decorated with a variety of materials, expensive silver, simple glass container, white flowers and linens and of course sparkling crystal to celebrate with Champagne or a good Italian Prosecco.

Buon Anno!

May the New Year bring you joy and peace!

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section. I love to hear from you!

Greetings from Genoa

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:06:00 +0000

The Italian hero Giuseppe Garibaldi looks far away for new adventures

Genova, correct Italian spelling, is a charming, elegant city in the Liguria region, close to Portofino and the Cinque Terre. Due to its glorious past it is called La Superba or "the Superb one".

Genova is in fact a city rich in art and a major seaport. The medieval old section, the biggest in Europe, is a labyrinth of alleys rich of ancient palaces, Romanesque churches, little piazzas and it was inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO).

Palazzo Bianco

Palazzo Rosso

Un saluto da Genova!

Photography © by Albarosa Simonetti

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Cheers

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:47:00 +0000

To celebrate the holidays and the New Year a flute of Champagne or less expensive Italian Prosecco will be the best. If you have many guests these charming multicolored open rings will help them to recognize their glass.

The Party-rings by Tescoma comes in 12 vibrant colors.

A cheerful, useful, inexpensive last minute gift for New Year's Eve.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
I love to hear from you!

A game for designers and wannabe…

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:38:00 +0000

Until January I will be posting about simple, inexpensive gifts for the holiday season, great also as house warming gift or host gifts any time of the year.

During the Holidays all games are enjoyed by children and adults and it is a special happy moment of being together. This game is called 45 Design and it is a memory game created to recognize and remember 45 “must” of design, iconic pieces of the masters from 1981. To win you need to memorize and find the appropriate twin card.
This brilliant game was created by the Milanese architect Daniela Galassi who teaches Interior design at Made in Interior school.

A game for designers, wannabes, for everyone interested in design and an inspiration for children who maybe one day will follow that creative path.
Available online at Feltrinelli

The best gift is creating memories!

I love to hear from you!

Brillante choice for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Until January I will be posting about simple, inexpensive gifts for the holiday season, great also as house warming gift or host gifts any time of the year.

This is not just a tray to serve nuts but also a playful way of entertaining friends and family. It comes with instructions for the game and it would be a perfect gift for the Holiday season, bringing joy to the Christmas table.

By Sagaform …“Sagaform stands for joyful, innovative gifts for the kitchen and the set table. Indoors and outdoors. Joyful gifts for friends or family, or to spoil yourself with.”

The best gift is creating memories!

Laundry time

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Until January I will be posting about gifts for the holiday season, great also as house warming gift or host gifts any time of the year.

For that special person who enjoys cleaning (I am sure there are many...) an eco-chic line of specialty detergent and fabric care to take the chore out of doing laundry is provided by The Laundress, from New York, with products made with 100% natural ingredients.

Sweater Stone, yes you guessed, it removes unsightly pilling.

Wool and cashemere spray, freshens yarns and naturally repel bugs

(we all know moths have expensive taste!)

Monogrammed Lint free cleaning cloths.

Baby Gift Set

Kitchen Soap Bar

The packaging itself makes you feel like washing by hand again or even invent new domestic chores…so beautiful these products are!

A nice gift for that special person who loves DIY at home!

I love to hear from you!

A unique gift for a special person

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Until January I will be posting about gifts for the holiday season, great also as house warming gift or host gifts any time of the year. Don’t we all love candles? Any time of the year but especially at Christmas time, New Year’s Eve or during any holiday.

Their glow creates peace and beauty in any home.

For this holiday season and for a special gift to someone that has everything I suggest a candle from France, by Cire Trudon (cires et bougies depuis 1643). The above images show their Paris boutique.

In 1643 a salesman named Claude Trudon arrived in Paris and became the owner of a store in Rue Saint-Honoré. He was a grocer but also a wax merchant and supplied his customers with candles for lighting their homes and for the parish.
Fast forward…
1799- In that year, Napoleon Bonaparte became First Consul of France. In 1804 he became Emperor and with him Trudon entered the imperial court.

One of their candles is appropriately called Empire and its description in the website is: “Pine, sage and hay are vibrating in the air of this Napoleonian camp with hints of cades and maquis. The joyful and indulging warmth of thyme, marjoram and rosemary ring like a fife. A moment of peace right after a battle between dog and wolf. An imperial tent exhaling the perfect scent crowned by the strength of laurel.”

Fast forward again…
Cire Trudon lits up the queen Marie-Antoinette once again, supplying candles for shooting Coppola’s film in Versailles.

If you live in Vancouver Provide store has a great selection of Cire Trudon candles, but I warn you: the hard part is choosing the scent to buy, they are all fantastic.

Cire Trudon, everything a candle lover can desire!

I love to hear from you!

A special gift

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:50:00 +0000

Until January I will be posting about simple, inexpensive gifts for the holiday season, great also as house warming gift or host gifts any time of the year. In December ideas for gifts are flowing but we must remember that giving something made by us shows more affection and express our personal involvement. Here are some beautiful compositions taken from the

blog An Apple a Day written by Brooklyn, New York, florist Amy Merrick.

Let’s go hunting for branches, leaves, seasonal flowers, not forgetting chestnuts, pinecones, winter berries.

With them we can easily (hopefully) compose a wreath, a garland, a table centerpiece for our home or bring this special gift to a dinner during the holidays.

The best gift is creating memories!

I love to hear from you!

Bagel Measuring Tape!

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:44:00 +0000

Why should measuring things be boring? How to have fun while doing it?

In my previous post, click HERE “Can you guess what it is?”

I asked to identify a strange object, go there if you like to read all the comments I received.

The Bagel Tape Measure is a fashionable object in different colors: orange, white or black.

It has a donut-esque hole in the middle to make it portable since it functions as a strap hole, so easy to attach to bags or key chains and also provides a better grip for fingers.

Portable donut/bagel-shaped designer tape measure
Colors: black, white or orange
Size: 45 × 21mm (1.77 x 0.82")
Weight: 290g
Material: ABS resin

Design by Chiaki Murata for Metaphys and Made in Japan.

Congratulations to the first two readers who answered correctly:

- A Critic’s Eye, who is very knowledgeable in design and following my blog day and night :)
In fairness for my readers, since we already know A Critic’s Eye will answer promptly and correctly every time… the second timely correct answer came from

- Peggy at Peggy Braswell Design

Thanks for participating, it was fun!

I love to hear from you!

Can you guess what it is?

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:23:00 +0000

Can you guess what this object is?

Is it a container for hamburger lunch?

Is it a yummy bagel?

Is it…referring to an apple a day?

Is it…?

Only hint I can give you is that the hole in the middle has a special function too!

Now it is your turn to write but remember, comments will be published all together next week, and the first to guess it right will not win anything…but will only have the “privilege” to be named in the follow-up post.

Please don’t spoil the game publishing comments on Facebook!

Virtual Valentino

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:07:00 +0000

I published a post on RED a year ago, around this time, and of course I was also writing about the

saturated, vibrant “Red Valentino” and you can read it HERE.

This Red Door is the entrance to a new Museum, the first of its kind…

opening on Monday, December 5, 2011.

The mythical designer Valentino Garavani will have a computer generated museum showing his archives on this Virtual Museum. Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino’s long time business partner and for many years in the past also life partner said about this project:

"Real museums need an enormous investment and the assurance that they will exist for years, even decades, and in a perfect way. This is difficult to achieve in today's economy. So I asked myself if it would be possible to create a vast computer-generated museum?
We have kept an organized archive since the seventies that represents an enormous testimony from these years. With expert designers, I was able to create an architecture that belongs to Italy and especially to Rome, Valentino's epicenter, which is described by light and shade, 'chiaroscuro', and at the same time is 'unbuildable' … an architecture only possible in a computer-generated world.
Animated galleries show a life's work, and hundreds of key dresses have been photographed revolving 360 degrees to show every line and stitch.
One click on the dress and the user can discover its history—who wore it, where, and when. Five thousand documents, photos, and 190 videos make up the Museum's database."

Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress for her second marriage to Onassis.

Black and White Room

Red Room

I can’t wait to visit the museum on Monday and I hope you will too, clicking HERE.

Finally, when asked: “What should a woman never wear?” Valentino answered: "Lady Gaga's clothes."

This quote says it all about Valentino’s style.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

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My cup of coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Let’s start saying that often Italian words are misspelled abroad, the image above is missing an f but I have chosen to use it anyway, to make a point, of course Caffè would be the right word, as the others you will find below in Italic, always often misspelled.

A great cup of coffee is perfect at any time, an occasion to invite a few friends over in a rainy afternoon, a coupe de thèatre at the end of a formal dinner, any moment of the day is perfect: a hearty cup of coffee or cappuccino for breakfast, or an espresso after lunch or dinner.

A few curiosities about coffee in Italy:
I mentioned cappuccino… in Italy is served only in the morning, if you ask for it in the afternoon they know you are a tourist…but they know you are one anyway, so go for it when you wish! Another tip for a tourist: pick the busiest coffee bar you can see near you, go to the till to pay and just say “Espresso per favore” (or you can simply say “Un Caffè” and they know you want an espresso, no long explanations needed of low fat, tall, medium roasted with caramel and on and on… ) and still standing up grab your cup, pour some sugar into your 30 ml of espresso, stir briefly and drink at once, leave your cup and saucer on the counter and out you go to enjoy the day.

If you want something similar to the American coffee ask for caffe’ lungo, which has much more caffeine. In Italy you always see people standing elbow to elbow with others while drinking coffee or aperitivo, a way of recharging batteries in a fast way (even if we invented Slow Food movement, but that is another story…). In the best bars, especially in the South you can often be served a small glass of chilled water on the side, which cleans the palate and enhances the coffee flavor.

Caffelatte is the usual breakfast for kids, lots of milk and just a small quantity of coffee, my mother used to beat for us an egg yolk with a spoon of sugar and pour it on top of the caffelatte, it made a rich, thick cream and it was delicious.

Grown ups, after meals like at times to have a caffe’ corretto, a way of modify an espresso with a drop of liqueur, usually strong grappa or the sweeter sambuca.

Caffe’ macchiato is instead an espresso with a drop of hot milk.

At home, when you entertain, to serve coffee the Italian way you will need the espresso cups with saucers, in a set or mix and match vintage colored pieces and coffee spoons, smaller and different than teaspoons and napkins also need to be small, like the ones used at cocktail parties, and preferably linen or cotton.

If possible serve on the side a selection of sugar, granulated or in cubes, raw or white ultrafine, and of course a small jug of milk is necessary if your guests want to add a drop of it and make it a macchiato.

If you serve coffee after dinner it is preferable to leave the table and sit in the living room, when after dinner drinks and a light assortment of friandise can end beautifully a great dinner (or save a mediocre one, when recipes did not behave as you wished!) you’ll then have an assortment of petit four, chocolate truffles or some small meringues.

In the afternoon, to enrich it further you could provide some whipped cream to make it Viennese style or in summer try to add a teaspoon of ice cream, to achieve a delicious creamy taste.

In any case coffee chosen must be of the best quality and always fresh, buy the best coffee grinder you can afford and ground your own just before brewing so the aroma is at its best, use fresh, clean, cold water and make only the quantity you are going to drink, coffee should never (ever) be reheated and the taste deteriorates when left in the pot.

“Let’s meet for coffee” is a way of entertaining in style, with not much effort

and without spending hours in the kitchen.

Now I leave you because I need a cup of coffee!

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

Just for fun…double vision Art

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Classic works of art re-imagined using photography.
Adobe has sponsored this fascinating creative competition where artists are encouraged to submit a “remake” of a famous work of art using photography. Of course some submissions are quite hilarious or ironic and although the winner has not been chosen yet (the competition is now closed), Canadian art blog Booooooom! has been posting some of the submissions:

“American Gothic” by Grant Wood; “American Gothic” remake by Jesse John Hunniford

“The Artist’s Mother” by James Abbott McNeill Whistler; “The Artist’s Mother” remake by Roxana Azar

“Grande Odalisque” by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres; “Grande Odalisque” remake by Craig White

“Self Portrait” by Frida Kahlo; “Self Portrait” remake by Bazooka Betty

“Der Arme Poet” by Carl Spitzweg; “Der Arme Poet” remake by Regina Speer

“Girl reading a letter by an open window” by Vermeer; “Girl reading a letter by an open window” remake by Wanda Martin.

“The Girl With The Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer; “ The Girl With The Pearl Earring” remake by Nienke Zondervan

I am fascinated by the art of photography and by art in general, Vermeer being one of my timeless artists favorites, to the point that once having a 5 hours connection in Amsterdam, even if tired after a long flight from Vancouver I took the tram and went to see again his stunning paintings at the Rijksmuseum. On the next flight I felt so refreshed and inspired.

“The Death of Marat” by Jacques-Louis David; “The Death of Marat” remake by Ewa Wiktoria Dyszlewicz

“Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne” by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres; “Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne” remake by Isabella Materne and Christiane König.

This contest is absolutely brilliant and it inspired so many artists to create something totally new from iconic images, have you also noticed how gender is not so important any more?

Who is your favorite artist? Have you ever pushed the limits to see some of his/her projects?

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

Photo shoot of a project

noreply@blogger.com (Brillante Interiors) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:20:00 +0000

Yesterday…rainy day in Vancouver but exciting photo shoot at Manito new store, where you can find luxurious silk bedding and more. I have shown the “before” images of this project in my previous post HERE and now you can have a preview of the (almost) finished space.
As you may know a photo shoot requires days of preparation, sourcing for props, arranging furniture, adjusting lights, buying flower arrangements and in this case… steaming every single wrinkle out of pillowcases, bedspreads, bed sheets.

The photographer, very professional and so pleasant to work with, Andrea Sunderland, arrived in full gear with diffusers, lenses, external flashes and all the tricks of the trade.

Of course the store looked a …bit…messy since we had to arrange

and rearrange furniture and accessories every hour.

A ladder certainly help to have different angles.

Here I am, comfortably seating (for just 5 minutes!) and checking compositions and light with my point and shoot which I used all day wondering how magical the “real” images from Andrea will be.

Charcoal and pale blue silk for this bed with a vibrant orange lampshade on the side table.

Rich plum and fresh green silk for this image, Hilary Miles beautiful roses

and…do you remember that purple tea cup from a previous post?

A more masculine look with chocolate, champagne and whipped cream silk (yum).

Angela Grossman art piece on the floor.

Designers Guild pillows, Heather Ross new candles on the antique chair

and the vivid color of Miriam Aroeste painting as a backdrop.

My favorite picture of the day? I can’t explain it but it is this one…so dramatic and theatrical.

Silk becomes regal!

Photography © by Albarosa Simonetti

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!