It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

I want to live in an Old French Building . . she said

I love looking at blogs about home design and gardens. I have been suffering a shortage of design magazines in English and while the Argentine design magazines are beautiful and full of wonderful photos, it is exhausting trying to read the articles . 
Sadly, there is also a shortage of good shops and a variety of goods. Import duties etc cause a huge headache for someone like myself , used to being able to shop in many places and each one has something different from the next. 
Here, flea markets and antique stores and auctions are often the way to go if you want something beautiful and unique and hopefully well-made.


I thought I would share some photos of our home.
When we moved here, before we moved here, I already knew that I must have an apartment in one of the old French style buildings. 
Along with the beauty of the exterior of the buildings, you get high ceilings, lots of molding and a great deal of character, versus the new modern high rise that aside from having views on high floors and large balconies, they depress me with their soulless and unimaginative box like rooms.


Our apartment needed quite a bit of renovating. 
We looked at it and I said, oh all it needs is a good paint job and maybe some work in the kitchen and bath !


We painted the entire apartment a pale butter yellow that varies from a pale golden to a light lemon depending on the room and the light. 
All of the trim ( and there is plenty of it !) is painted a shiny white white.
The floors are original to the building, which is about 100 years old.
The story is that it was originally a private mansion, now divided into 5 floors and 10 apartments.
Many aspects of the building are still here, such as the elevator. It is the old wrought iron and mahogany with lots of gilt cage that goes up the middle , with the marble staircase winding around it.
The door weighs a ton and is one of the first things I fell in love with when we saw the apartment


How did we find this apartment? 
We were walking down the street with our realtor, who had just shown us a spectacular apartment with views over the entire city, I forget how many rooms and I was feeling slightly depressed that it was so expensive and in need of a total renovation. When I glanced up and saw the For Sale sign on the balcony of our building. The realtor called from the sidewalk and we had an appointment to meet the next day.
There were many things that really needed work but the bones of the apartment were there .. these photos are After photos..  


High ceilings with lots of light.


My little corner desk.




The view through the mirror ...


 My "garden"

I want this clock in my kitchen .. there is a wall waiting for it . I would never be late again !
I think this photo is from one of my favorite blogs, Greige..
A view 
A view from the kitchen well, a view of the kitchen window


The dressing room entrance. It was originally the maids room, we had the door opened and arched and it is now our dressing room and I still don't have anywhere to put my clothes !


I hope you liked the tour .. it is still a work in progress. I look at the blogs each day, especially the French design and Belgian Pearls, and Griege and all the White rooms and I am inspired over and over. Thank you to those bloggers who work so hard to provide me (us) with all of this inspiration !

5 comments:

  1. Thank you! I love your apartment! Best of luck!

    Christina

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love seeing bits of your home! Picturesque! Would love to see more.

    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for your comments !

    I am never sure how much to show before it gets boring for the reader ... I will try to take more new photos, most of these are from just after our moving in.

    notice how neat things are :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely Stunning - Beginning at the Front Door - those doors get me each and every time....

    Got to say I love the Round Window and also love the little balcony with that wrought Iron!!

    Again - Stunning (Pup is lucky to be living in pure luxury!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oooh and forgot to say - tell me which MAGAZINES in English you like....and I will get you some in Australia before I leave and bring them over to you! We get all of them and they are in English too!!! LOL!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome..Thank you.

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