Green Spaces and Getting Closer
I’m overjoyed to share there’s been quite a bit of progress on the home renovation front. The house is coming together down to many of the fine details – the custom ceiling rose is in, gorgeous slabs of Statuario marble are down in the bathrooms, bespoke ironmongery is installed at the entrance gates, the towering, floor-to-ceiling Crittal windows are up. I can see the light. Pun absolutely intended, as capturing light and bringing a sense of the outdoors in is one of my signatures.
The biggest highlight and most difficult challenge of this project has been conserving the ancient wisteria that has gracefully adorned the courtyard walls for decades. Perhaps the most well-known shade of wisteria flowers is lavender blue, but wisterias come in white, pink and violet, as well. The flower gives off the most delicate scent in spring sunshine, and delightful when positioned around a bedroom window letting in the light fragrance.
This ‘original feature’ was one I would have been heartbroken to lose as it is so central (literally and figuratively) to the flow of this home. I’m sure the builders would have been happy to see it go, however, having had to build walls around it, scaffold around it, install windows around it, and much more: A true construction nightmare! I’m certainly glad I persisted, though, and I’m sure that now they can see its value for it is a thing of majestic beauty.
Not only does dappled light stream through the picture windows into the house, but being able to see the wisteria bloom and change from season to season—from indoors, may I add—only adds to the open, airy atmosphere I wanted to convey throughout the house. Marble, mirrors, textiles and bespoke fittings certainly do provide texture, but nothing makes a magical interior like the outdoors.