While my husband and I were cleaning out the garage this past weekend, I came across my flight itinerary from my 2004 trip. This was a few years before I met my husband - obviously I really want to return to my most special place on earth with him and soak in the beauty of Italy hand- in-hand...one gelato at a time.
2010 is undoubtedly going to be a busy one with a new baby to love and care for so we have made it a goal that in 2011 we would make a trip to Italy. My husband is just as excited to be bound for Italy as I am to return there. In the meantime, I keep tuning into House Hunters International and get my Italy fix whenever they show people buying apartments, homes, villas, or farm houses there. I love seeing the properties that they view, getting a sense of what they cost, and then seeing which one they chose {seeing the end result of a remodel project - whether big or small - is cool to see as well}. As I'm watching, I have total envy by the way!!
It would be an absolute dream come true if we owned a second home in Rome. An apartment. Nothing big. Nothing fancy. But boy would it be expensive! To own an apartment in the city center of Rome you need to have a lot of $$$$$. And the currency conversion from the Euro to the dollar is sadly not in our favor.
But let's play pretend.
Let's say we found a place in a building like the one below. Let's say it was a modest apartment at approximately 1,000 square feet. Let's say we bought it while it was in it's worst shape, therefore got a good deal on it, and took on the challenge of a remodel {by knocking out walls that formed small boxy roooms and opened up the place making it a beautiful apartment}.
Our home now consists of decor that is in warm earth tone colors. In the apartment I would do something different and fresh and incorporate a warm hue of blue throughout the apartment. I would replicate the look of the below living room {minus the sailboat and seashells on the table, Ha!}. The livingroom itself isn't fairly large but it shows how you can make a small space look beautiful, inviting, and still have lots of seating. And in a 1,000 sq ft apartment this is key!
Most Italian apartments/homes {and hotels which were formerly palaces} have wooden beams on the ceilings. I love the look and would want it especially incorporated in the kitchen area:
The below kitchen is considered WAY BIG by Italian standards for a modestly sized apartment. So while I really love the look of this one, it would be scaled down to size - but still be just as pretty even if it was cut in half!
Most small apartments in Italy have eat-in kitchens that may just fit two people. But let's pretend that while remodeling our little apartment we made a space for a dining area that would look like this one:
Our bedroom would look like this:
And since most Italian apartments don't have adequate closet space {or any closet space at all}, we would have inexpensive wardrobe units like these {in chocolate brown from Ilkea} in every bedroom:
Our guestbedroom would look like this:
And Ilah would love retreating to her bedroom {I just love the white wash brick wall!}:
And even if we didn't get a great view, we would be happy to have a little terrace:
Please. No one wake me up and bring me back to reality. I love indulging in this dream of mine.
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