Sunday Morning Tales

After a long period of rainy days, finally Spring is oficially here with a wonderful sunny day... Today, I would like to be in the country side, lounging in this super comfy makeshift sofa, gazind at the sea view from the hillside and enjoying the warmth of the sun with my friends! 

It would be a good idea to celebrate the coming of the Spring with this smashed Pavlova with mulberries and roasted rasberry jam 

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Plan a Christmas escape in...

Although it's the last day of November, here the weather is still warm enough and the sun shines! Nonetheless, my mind is daydreaming of cosy country guest houses with unobstructed views of snowy landscapes and an enormous fireplace which warms up the space... 

A place like this, is Teresa Country Lodge, in Eptalofos village near mount Parnassos. It's about a traditionally built stone guest house with wooden additions, which features tastfully  decorated rooms with fireplace and views of the mountain and the garden.

Oh... I really would like to spend a couple of days there, during Christmas period, in order to "fill my batteries" and relax...   

Plan an escape in... Critamo Cottage

Critamo Cottage is a 200 years old Cretan house, located near the historic town of Chania.... It is built at the beginning of the Ottoman conquest in 1724 and since then passed from father to sun. Now, after its restoration, it has been transformed into a wonderful guest house which can accomodate up to five persons.

It' s about a unique traditional cretan building with exposed stone walls, arches, wooden coloured windows and a spacious yard with trees and flowers...

Its name "Critamo" is borrowed from the homonymous herb, well known in Crete, rich in vitamin C and mineral content, used in herbal medicine...

Plan an escape in...

...Andros and give your holidays an aristocratic touch by staying in the chic and so stylish hotel of "Micra Anglia"(Little England) that was once the private house of one of the greatest Greek poets of the 20th century, Andreas Embiricos.  Its name is referred to the past and glorious epoch when the island was the most important naval power in the world and the great captains were calling it as "Little England".

The well known interior designer Eleni Psaltis curated the hotel's style, taking into account the history of the island and combing the building's inspirational details with the comfort of today's accommodation standards, creating a wonderful boutique hotel which can makes you daydreaming of another glamorous era...

Family home in the heart of the nature

This dreamy home is owned by a Norwegian family who decided to move to the Italian countryside near a lake... After a thorough renovation, the owners respecting the character of the old construction and maintaining the old details which made it a unique rustic house, they created an amazingly renovated country house ideal to accommodate a family! What I loved most about this house is its living room with the unique glass roof which in combination with the floor to ceiling opening, gives you the  impression that you are sitting outside while you enjoy the fireplace's warmth!!! A house with enormous yet cozy  internal spaces due to the use of natural materials and colors such as the wooden  off-white beams, the stone wall and the grey cement floors covered with hand made kelims and cow skins for more warmth. And what about the claw foot bathtub in front of the large opening with this breathtaking view to the garden? I would really like to spend some days in this tiny paradise...!!! You?

French Farmhouse

Today, we are going to visit a reconstructed French farmhouse, in Dordogne which is owned by a British couple who live here with their two daughters. They tried hard to maintain the original character of the construction! The walls and beamed ceilings are original while the fireplaces and stone floors were reconstructed to blend in the original features. 

As concern as the decoration, the owners chose to equip their house with cozy off-white sofas and armchairs, combined with old rustic furniture found in the local market and fur carpets in the floor for more warmth! 

In the kitchen there is a touch of modern in the rustic background, by the use of inox and plastic.... I believe that they perfectly macht each other!!! In the other hand, in the bedrooms' atmosphere there is so much romance by the use of the old metalic beds!

My favorite nook of the house is the room with the stove... I imagined myself sitting in that comfortable leather armchair (photo no5) near the warmth of the stove and drinking a cup of hot chocolate while gazing the landscape from the balcony doors. Just amazing!!!

Images via rosesandrustblogger.blogspot.fr

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Spanish 14th century restored villa

Spain is one of my favorites destinations and I love also the charming decoration and the design of its restored houses. So, today we will make a mind-trip in this wonderful country and especially in the historical region of Emporda, in Girona, where a lot of the old country houses have been rescued from oblivion by their owners, who love this area.

A house like those, we will visit today... A 14th century building which rehabilitated fully respecting the original materials of its construction. Its thick stone walls and stone curved ceilings (photo 9 & 11) consist an important part of its decoration. The plastered walls and ceiling blocks of the living room are painted in a vanilla hue in order to help the natural light be reflected in the interior and make an interesting contrast with the natural color of the stone walls and the cotto tiles.

What I liked also about this house was its built-in counter tops finished in polished cement both in the kitchen (photo 7) and the bathroom (photo 11), and then the built-in bench (photo 2) in the living room, topped with a beam of reclaimed wood, completed with a mat and numerous cushions, creating a comfortable nook for social gatherings or reading...

Other interesting pieces in the decoration are the old recovered trunk coated with fabric and used as a side table in the living room (photo 3), the old retro leather chair (photo 4), the rescued aged suitcases (photo 6) and off course the stone sink in the kitchen (photo 7).

A Greek fisherman's house in Koroni

This lovely traditional house is located in the historic town of Koroni, in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is situated below the historic Venetian castle of the town and above of a small beach, offering a dreamy view of Mani while you are seating in its garden.   

A Charming House in Costa Brava

In Costa Brava, Spain, it is situated this fascinating rustic house! As it is mostly a summer house, emphasis has been given in its outdoor spaces... I like the cozy built-in seating area near the pool and the large rustic dinning table with the benches in the semi outdoor area near the BBQ. Stone walls, cotto tiles, cement and raw wooden beams gives a charming note to the house, bringing thoughts of old Mediterranean mansions!

   

Images via el mueble

Paternoster Beach Cottage

This house situated on the West Coast of South Africa immediately stole my heart!!! It is built entirely from local stone and its roof is constructed by tree trunks and canes so as to be the house's interior cool during hot days... What I love most in this house is the use of aqua in the shutters, in some furniture and in special decorative objects; It's my favorite color and I feel that it matches perfectly with stone and the natural surroundings! What do you think about it?

I wish you to have a wonderful weekend my friends!!!

Images via House & Leisure

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Folder: Dining Room

Those lovely handmade cement tiles fit perfectly with the rustic island and the industrial dining table... I like a lot the use of different in style chairs around the table in deep red and black color!!!

Image via cotemaison.fr

Folder Living Room: Country Pop

An inviting country living room decorated in natural tones, with a touch of fuschia and pistachio.... Really adorable!!! I like also the wooden floor...

Images via keltainentalorannalla.blogspot.fi

Dream house in just 35s.m.

Today I'm going to present you a sweet, tiny, traditional country house of 35s.m., in Peloponnese, Greece. It is entirely constructed by stone by the local workmen, so as to be harmonized with the natural surrounding and the rest houses of the village. 

As it is mostly, a weekend summer house, the owners where interested to have a spacious and functional outdoor which could host a lot of people all day long. They built an exterior kitchen with a traditional oven, bbq and a 3 meters long dining table with plants in its middle, perfect for gatherings with friends.... And for those who would like to take a rest in the middle of the hot summer days, a dreamy traditional metallic bed with a mosquito-net is waiting them in the backyard's tree shade...Ohhh, the best place to sleep...believe me!!!

I love also some smart decoration details, such as the use of the barn doors instead of the classic shutters, the repurposed chair which is used as a shelf in the outdoor kitchen and the little round chalkboard table! 

What do you think about it? 

Lovely Country House in Spain

Some days before I gave you a little sample of this amazing house... Do you remember that serene living room with a cozy hanging chair near the built in library? Here there are some other photos of the whole place! I believe that this is my dream house... Constructed by a stone shell, with wooden wide openings, cement floors, exposed beams, a cozy fireplace and surrounded by a lush garden seems to me as the ideal place for a family to stay... What do you think?

Amazing Rural House

In French Dordogne, in the Aquitaine region, there is a wonderful rural housing that smells Spring, as its every single corner even the majority of furniture are painted in white.

In order to break the monochrome which is ruling and give some liveliness to the spaces, the owner has chosen to add some touches of extra vivid colors. He used bubblegum pink, blue and lime green to add a pop touch and some black combined with gold to give more elegance.

The "game" of mix and match of furniture (my loved one), pieces and materials of different styles and eras -industrial and avant-garde elements with some more classical lines- has an amazing and playful result.