Modern interiors in ancient homes

I LOVE old, historic homes. The character, the charm, the history, and the quality of craftsmanship far surpass the cookie cutter houses most of us have to settle for. What I also love is to see how people of today integrate modern technologies and furnishings into houses built long before those technologies were ever dreamed up.

PS - click on each image for a larger version



A home in Sri Lanka - I like that so many of the original architectural elements haven't been tampered with.



Love this bathroom and bedroom - check out the nooks above the desk

the 3 images above are from another Sri Lanka home.


2 images above from a farmhouse in Santiago, Chile

This kitchen is one of my favorites. I love exposed beams, and these have been painted yellow to brighten up the place.

2 images above from a home in Provence, France


2 above from a home in Mantova, Italy

LOVE the stone with a modern take on a classic chair. Gorgeous. From another Provence home.

What do you think? Do you live in an old home? What do you love about it? If you don't, would you like to live in one?

all images © Richard Powers.

Provencal House

Hi dears! I'm back in Argentina after a great snowy week in NY and Washington DC. As we had already visited most of the museums on previous trips we decided to go to the theatres and we saw four delightful shows: The Lion King, The Importance of Being Earnest, La Cage aux folles and Mary Poppins. All of them admirable.
Now we are staying here until Saturday and then we are finally going back to Brazil. Long, loong, lovely holidays!

Today I'd like to show you this Provencal house perched on a hillside with views of the village of Ramatuelle in France. It belongs to Stephane Olivier, an antique dealer who likes to mis styles, subjects and periods.



A Napoleon wrought iron garden chair and table on the terrace.


A mora clock stands next to a Swedish buffet side table. Above it hangs a Jules Didier 19th century painting called "The Gardener". The lamp was designed from a wooden boot.


As much as I love this house and its style, I wouldn't dream of placing a stuffed porcupine in the kitchen... nor anywhere else!


Interesting and unusual place to place a candle.


Leaning against the crumbling wall, an old carpenter's bench serves as a console with a pair of candles on it. Under the pergola, the mismatched chairs are Italian.


Antique 18th century Italian chair.


Detail of vases and pitcher on the dining room table.


In the master bedroom an 18th century Swedish dresser.

Photography Gilles Trillard
All images from here.

Catherine Sack and Annie Jackson's Shop

Holly Park is owned by sisters Catherine Sack and Annie Jackson. A shop brimming with lovely vintage items which change with the seasons. During winter there will be gifts and Christmas decorations. In spring you'll find fresh potted daffodils, a selection of quilts, cushions and accessories. Summer is Provence with lavender filled enamel jugs, old painted baskets filled with meadow flowers and sachets with scented rose buds. Their products are sourced from all over Europe.
The first and last four pictures are of their shop. The ones in between are shabby chick style interiors furnished with their items.



























All images from here.
Photography by Brent Darby

Summer House in Provence

A Belgian couple bought and restored this summer house in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence, in southeastern France.A blend of French and Belgian styles.




Under the shade of a curved pergola the outdoor dining area with pale green metal chairs.


These antique doors open to the kitchen.


White subway tiles, Belgian blue stone countertops, and an old farm table in the kitchen. The small drawers in the cabinet above the stove are cute but as far as I can see they are hard to reach. My guess is that they are faux.


Chandelier style candle holder adorns the reclaimed dining room table.




The headboard from antique bed hangs high above the bed.


Antique XIX century Boudoir chair.


Small rustic powder room.


Zinc claw-foot tub and I guess the letters on the wall spell "bain"

Finally! Pictures from my Europe trip!

I know it's taken me way to long to start posting photos but we have about 7,000 photos to sort through. For those of you who are new to Decorology, this summer my boyfriend Chris and I spent from June 16th to August 25th backpacking around Europe. My boyfriend spent last year teaching English in Spain, and is actually flying back today to complete his second year. I will be staying in Maryland at my parents' farm until January, and will be living with Chris in Segovia, Spain from January through June. I will still be blogging daily from Spain and designing websites on a freelance basis.

Okay, back to the Europe trip. Below is a map I created with our path. Click on the map for a larger view.


The countries we visited include Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. I will have separate posts for each country and then each city within them that we visited.

Below are just a random selection of images from the trip

Our first day -Chris and I on the coast in the beautiful city of Bayona.

The GORGEOUS Cíes Islands near the city of Vigo. An absolutely stunning bird sanctuary.

The beautiful island, Arousa, also in the Galicia region of Spain.

In the Asturias region of Spain, the mountain lakes of Enol and Ercina, in the Picos de Europa.

In the Basque region of Spain, the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Florence, Italy

Vienna, Austria

Amsterdam, in the Netherlands (Holland region).


The two images above are from the end of our trip in Provence, France. This town is Roussillon.

I will post images from the trip once or twice a week, going in chronological order. What country are you most looking forward to seeing photos from?