Infinitely stunning pool

Set high up in the hills around the bay of Funchal, Susana Jesus of MSB has designed a stunning infinity pool that complements the Atlantic Ocean effortlessly into the horizon. 

Palacio Estoril Vintage Heaven by Lucien Donnat

Had to share this picture I took of the bridge room in fabulous retro Palacio Estoril Hotel in Portugal, untouched since it was designed in the 1960´s it has it all: Zuber panoramic wallpaper, pineapple lamps, empire furniture and rich terracota velvet fabrics. Created by Lucien Donnat, a master in theatrical settings.

Ooooh the Joy of a beautiful dream dressing room!

Having the luxury of a whole room dedicated to clothes (the perks of living in a large old house) we finally decided to make it into the dream dressing room we had always wanted. As always the budget was tighter than Dita Von Tees´s corset.

It all started with the Tiger rug, which my mother kindly badgered all her friends about until one lovely eighty-year old lady said yes she had a very old tiger rug that her family had brought back from India nearly a hundred years ago, and as she was moving into a home would be happy to give it away. So with this beautiful, very weathered but stunningly regal tiger - we built the theme of the room around him.

This was the dressing room Before. One thing that I hated was how messy the open wardrobes made the room look. The dust crept into all the clothes and it was just a bland utility room not a place to dream in pre-party mode. So Jorge the carpinter supermo transformed them by adding mirrored doors, drawers and uplifting them to a glamorous sleek new life.

To make the most of the high ceiling we painted a large chandelier coral red, the walls were painted in a bright shiny Indian green shade, about three coats. The wood frames and closets were painted in a sleek ivory white. The walls look so glossy now you can almost see your reflection in them. 

The 1930´s vintage armchair was bought from a friend, and upholstered in Manuel Canovas Ming fabric with Ralph lauren velvet leopard fabric. The footstool is the essential Air Max foot prop.

 

The dressing table drawer is organized with old hermes perfume boxes, easy and very effective

 

Hermes bright orange boxes bring a wonderful contrast to the green walls and ivory closets, a fashion installation that creates a fun focal point

Placing pretty curtain hooks on the sides of the closet is a great way to increase your hanging space, specially for long garments

Refectory to Cosy Dining Chic

Our new dining area. Long gone is the table with 10 extensions in dark wood that made the room look like a refectory. Its so much cosier now, we can have 8 sitting down tightly or else we just sit casually around the room which is also fun. My mother gave me her thirty year old white bamboo chairs which are as cool now as they were in Biarritz where they came from. I painted them petrol blue in a water-based shiny paint. The table is a 3-legged B&B modern design from Ricard´s bachelor days. The chinoiserie screen has two tones of Cole & Son wallpaper (I put wheels at the base so it can be moved around) and the peice de resistance - my sister Sofia Leitão´s fabulous oil paintings. The Eames red chair was a wedding present and I love the contrast it makes, when we aren´t giving glamourous gourmet dinner parties I take over the table and mess it up with my work things.
Carpets are a no no, as our dogs Carmen and Zeus are dead against them, and they make strategic wees in impossible to clean places, so it was the dogs or carpets...no brainer and lesson expensivley learned.

Before...

Organized Caos

Given an inch of space I start breeding papers, photos, fabrics, anything basically, so having a dining table with 10 extension boards that could seat 24 people comfortable was probably not the best idea to keep the house tidy and presentable. With a great sized office outside you´d think this would not be an issue but I´ve learnt from two wonderful offices that I hate being away from the action, much better to grab the macbook and create little nests of work all over the house.

Messy office, of course, better described as a dumping ground. A fun way to hide the electric cables is to dress the office with whimsical patterns and bright colours. An easy way to creat a table curtain is just to hammer some nails onto happy fabrics, the center parting means you can access the printer/cables/boxes inside.

Coral Armchair

The Guest bedroom armchair was a reject from a hotel that was selling all its furniture for a revamp.  I absolutely love this coral fabric by Manuel Canovas "Atoll" (yes I know it does look as if either I´m being sponsored..I wish, or totally obsessed which I am). It brings a smile every time I walk past it and really brightens the room. Pillow is a bright apple green. This fabric is strangely neutral as it seems to work in most places. Fabric is also kid friendly as the background is tan.  With the left over fabric I made a couple of pillows that brighten up the Florence Knowll blue sofa.

Guest Bedroom Fragipani fever

Our guest bedroom was a bit of a bland room, it has French windows facing the garden and looking onto a huge salmon Frangipani tree, so that seemed a good place to start for inspiration. One of the problems of the room was its was long and very white, so to cut this aspect I covered the back wall in Manuel Canovas Bengale wallpaper.

Furniture was originally a brown set bought at auction for 250euro, and we painted the cupboard and bed white and the bedside tables gray. The bedcover is made with a Ralph Lauren fabric and the benches are covered in Designers Guild trellis with pom poms. Nice touches for a guest bedroom: Lights should be good/strong enough for reading, fresh flowers by the bed, bottle of water with a glass, a choice of books, spare unused hotel slippers if you have any, space in the cupboard (you´d be surprised), a writing table with paper, pen and lamp.

The writing table is a spare wicker table painted blue, and I placed a bit of embroidered silk fabric under the glass to give it a bit of wow and also to make it more feminine, the lamp is gold brass.