How to have dogs and a nice house too

John Coolidge

Do you have a dog? Are you thinking about one? Then you may like a few tips for decorating with dogs in the house, many from my personal experience since I became the owner (still to be verified who owns who) of Geronimo, my sweet German Shorthaired Pointer.

Geronimo

First lesson: dogs think they are human! They stampede to the door when visitors come (they believe people come to see them of course, not you) so avoid draping fabrics on tables if you don't want the dog greeting guests wrapped in your precious tablecloth leaving a trail of broken china behind. Scatter rugs can also be a problem if the dog runs to greet guests at the door. Rubberized webbing, double sided tape or rubberized sheets cut to measure, all this can avoid scatter rugs to become, well, just scatter.

Most dogs have tails that wag and they could not care less when they knock over cups and glasses, spilling coffee or red wine from a side table. Stay away from little pedestal tables or plant stands and choose sturdy pieces of furniture with...yes...four legs. Some dogs, surprise, surprise, also steal the occasional piece of appetizer from a side table. Does that mean we should have taller occasional tables and smaller dogs? Chihuahua everyone? No, just good training and other options for your coffee and biscuits will help you and your guests relax. Side tables are also a better choice, since they can be pushed against the sofa and become more stable if you have bigger dogs. They give more space for the dog to lie down or walk around but if you feel that the space is too bare warm it up adding an ottoman and a nice rug.

Having dogs does not mean you can't have precious collections, just be sure they are displayed in safe places, higher than dog's tail and paws.

Dogs track in dirt, really? Oh yes! they also spill water and love you so unconditionally they don't care about a tidy, clean, orderly house, they show appreciation for your cleaning skills just like most husbands! So if dogs are allowed on furniture choose dog's friendly fabric, stay away from velvet, silk, ultrasuede and chenille. The best choice is a smooth fabric, like twill which brushes off easily.

Slipcovers are the best solution, made with pre-washed and preshrunk fabric, so you can wash it frequently, I would prefer light colors so you'll know when it is time to wash, don't try to disguise dirt, only try to minimize it, and of course avoid expensive damask or silk pillows, silk and slobber are not a great match, I discovered.

Choose floor covering with earth tones, to minimize dirt and scratches (this sounds weird but try to match the color to the dirt...) if you have tiles have pity of their joints and cover some areas with rugs. Carpeting is ideal but dirt will reign so a combination of floors is best, kitchen and entryway could use slate, which is not slippery when wet.

Wood floor is beautiful but slippery, so you can't play fetch inside, on the bright side you'll be forced to go out and walk more often. Always choose mid-tones, dark will show every hair, same for lighter wood color. Choose a very dense hardwood, because fir, cherry, pine and maple will show claw marks and scratches sooner than later. If possible have the floor sanded-on site, it gives better results than pre finished floors.

Add Oriental carpets or carpets with colors and patterns that help minimize dirt, hair and stains (always keep specific products handy if "accidents" happen and be sure to use those with ingredients that also take away any smell of...specially if you have a puppy not fully trained, unless you want him to go back to the same familiar spot).

A great vacuum will be your best friend, even if they think it is their worst enemy or at least Geronimo thinks so.

I could write more, and perhaps I will, but lastly, since dogs love short and long naps ...

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unless you want them to take over the sofa, don't forget a few comfortable and stylish dog beds, the best for them to feel safe are the ones fully washable and shaped like doughnuts, with a soft roll around where they can put their sweet muzzle and look at you with adoring eyes.

Or be totally oblivious of your presence while dreaming of chasing squirrels.

I said it is preferable to have a few dog beds because we all know dogs love to be with us wherever we are so most of them will not like a single bed hidden around a corner, away from you.

Let them be part of your life in a dog friendly house.

Now I would love to hear from you about your "dog-house":

Do you have any tips to share? Any funny story? Geronimo would also love to hear them!

Photography of Geronimo by Albarosa Simonetti

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante Interiors, colors, How to, Pets

Brillante choice: B&B Italia

Canasta chair

Canasta in Spanish means basket. Perfect name for defining this chair part of the outdoor collection of
B & B Italia designed by the Spanish- Milanese Patricia Urquiola.
The texture was inspired by the Viennese chairs of the past. Using traditional motifs and modern technologies allowed B&B to produce a very contemporary piece of furniture with a classic appeal.
I can see this chair on a terrace in the city, in a garden and even, why not? in a living or in a bedroom, making a nice contrasting statement with other pieces of furniture.

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante choice, Brillante Interiors, Furniture

Michelle, ma belle!

What can I say when a friend, great designer and blogger calls me a Goddess? I was stunned and surprised and I giggled of course. To know more about what I am talking you need to go to the Blog A Schematic Life, by Michelle Morelan, and you will read about my daily life in

"Six objets de vie"

starting with my precious cup of coffee in the morning.

It was an honor to be part of this extraordinary blog, always full of superb drawings, educational videos, new ideas. A true learning experience.

Thank you Michelle!

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante Interiors, Designers, Lifestyle, Thanks to

A White Summer

It is already August but summer is still here to stay, hopefully into September. A few suggestions for a cool summer look with white outdoor furniture. To start I hope you would admire the above outdoor sofa Grand Plié, by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba for Driade and in the foreground the Cocoa sofa by Marc Sadler for Danese.
White is often the protagonist of outdoor furniture, I am sure you all agree that it immediately gives a sense of freshness and it is always exalted by the lush green of the vegetation. Perfect when pure, perfect when blended with strong colors like red or yellow, perfect with black, always a winning combination.

Modular sofa Basket by Roda with metallic structure. Magic the suspended aluminum light Inside Out by Casamania. On the foreground a fun little ceramic table which could also serve as an extra sitting place called The Fool On The Hill by Moroso.

Re-trouvé table and chairs by Patricia Urquiola for Emu, so ethereal and feminine.

A more masculine Diamante table by Ydf, in aluminum, with plastic chairs Lisboa by Serralunga. On the left the unusual shape, at least for a lamp, of Uovo light by Fontanaarte.

Chairs Inout 109 and Sweet 27 designed by the very creative Paola Navone for Gervasoni are light and comfortable and can surely enhance any corner of a garden, patio, terrace. All images above were taken on the grounds of a XVI century castle in the Franciacorta area of the Italian Lombardy region.

White is not a trend but a timeless elegant choice for any space.
Photography by Adriano Brusaferri

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante Interiors, Designers, Furniture, Outdoor

Chanel N.2

"the world's most legendary fragrance"

Who does not love Chanel? Fashion, accessories, perfumes... and who is not fascinated by the legendary Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel? In a few months we had two movies (hence the title) to understand her better: first came "Coco before Chanel" and lately "Coco and Igor Stravinsky". I will talk about the latter which is based on the fictional novel "Coco & Igor" by Chris Greenhalgh and describes the affair between Chanel and Stravinsky in Paris in 1920, the same year that Chanel N.5 was created.

"There is time for work, and time for love. That leaves no other time”

is one of Chanel's famous quotes and the movie talks about her at work and in love.

Jan Kounen, the director, shot both French/Russian-language (the one I saw) and English-language versions of the film. I was not particularly excited by the choice of Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen impersonating Coco and Igor, they were a bit too static, she had not much visual expression and moved like a runaway model instead of a person so full of personality and complicated character as the real Coco. The same thoughts I had watching Audrey Taoutou in "Coco before Chanel". Yelena Morozova, acting as Igor's wife, instead made on me a better impression and her feelings of happiness, pride and at the end pain and betrayal were very well portrayed.

But let's talk a little about the Interior decoration, very appropriately executed in terms of style.

The beautiful house outside Paris where the love affair takes place surprised Stravinsky's wife at first glance with its black trims, not an usual choice for the time but we all know how much Chanel loved this color/non color. Even after moving in Madame Stravinskaya realizes that there is no color around and she tries to re-decorate her family's rooms putting a Russian colorful shawl on the bed headboard and other small items around. I thought it was a clever touch from the director to help describe more how different the two women were in every aspect.

Coco Chanel had a passion for white camellia flowers so quite appropriately the garden in the movie is filled with white flowers.

Most of the interior white walls have black trims and black stencils reflecting the style of Art Deco which is evident also in the use of non-traditional materials such as glass, mirrors, chrome, and other human-made materials. The geometry is apparent in every room of the mansion, where there are steps, rounded corners, or repeated lines, they always have a basic geometrical foundation. The colors are rigorously white, black and metallics throughout the house.

Even in the bathroom beautiful graphic black wood trims give personality to the otherwise simple room. If you'll go to see the movie please notice also the gorgeous black drapes in several rooms, just the right fullness... and all the graphic patterns on the rugs and the walls.

Photographs from the movie by Régine Abadia

The dining room above appears to me more Art Nouveau than Art Deco but it gives more credibility to the story, since the mansion was supposed to be Coco's country house, obviously not decorated in one day but as in real life made of a few layers of style and objects acquired through the years.

Chanel entering her store, 31 Rue Cambon, in 1962. Image by Douglas Kirkland

Rigorous black and white is still used in every Chanel store around the world. On 31 Rue Cambon, above the store, Coco had a glamorous, lavish apartment, mostly used for entertaining. In fact it did not have a bedroom so she walked every night to The Ritz Hotel across the street to sleep in her private luxurious suite. The famous mirrored staircase, which allowed Coco to view everything when she sat at the top, still remains unchanged. Her apartment, still intact, is filled with antiques and chinoiserie and it is surprisingly ornate, given her love of simple design, it looks nothing like the sleek interiors of the country house in the movie.

You can see more of her apartment if you click on this link: At Home with Chanel by Vogue.

Coco Chanel, 1920

Igor Stravinsky, 1921

A portrait by Man Ray

A portrait by Cecil Beaton

From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum

Archive Photos/Getty images

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same" she used to say and so much style she had.

Back to the movie, the most appealing parts of "Coco & Igor Stravinsky" were the music and the interior decoration, the love story was exciting even if sad, the glamour of her life not so apparent and I wish I was in charge of the casting, I would have chosen Isabelle Huppert or Juliette Binoche, maybe Fanny Ardant a few years ago.

Who would you choose?

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante Interiors, Interior design, Movies

The joy of summer: Semifreddo

Semifreddo in Italian is a demi-frozen light dessert, usually made with cream and crushed hazelnuts or amaretti biscuits. The most difficult part with this recipe is to find white geranium flowers...more common in Italy, but perhaps you can substitute them with other edible flowers. Ingredients: 2 geranium flowers plus some to garnish, 3 sheets of gelatine, 500 Grams of ricotta, 250 Grams of natural yogurt, 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Put the gelatine to soak in cold water for about 15 minutes, then squeeze and melt it with little hot water. Work ricotta and yogurt, add sugar and mix until well blended. Stir in gelatine and the petals well washed and drained. Mix and pour in a rectangular mold. Store in the fridge for at least three hours. Extract it carefully from the mold (with the help of a knife around the edges and a towel immersed in hot water briefly touching the mold it should be easy to unmold the semifreddo on the serving plate). Serve cut into large pieces and garnish with the rest of the petals. Accompany the parfait with iced fresh fruit juice like melon, raspberry, strawberry or an espresso, I would not recommend wine, due to the presence of yogurt.

A perfect finish for a light summer dinner in a garden.

Photography of table by Albarosa Simonetti

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Brillante choice: E' De Padova

Ottoman

A classic piece that can match even the most contemporary interiors. It recreates an atmosphere reminiscent of the elegant British ottoman, with a unique and decorative work of quilted leather typical of the timeless style of èDePadova collections. Very versatile as a wide square seat or a support for books and magazines, perhaps even taking the place of the usual coffee table between sofas.
ÈDePadova is one of my favorite stores in Milan. Maddalena De Padova, the owner, not only is an extremely smart and avant-garde lady but also lived for long time with another icon in the design world, Arch.Vico Magistretti. Here are a few pictures of her house in the center of Milan where light and greenery enter from every window. Magistretti changed completely the layout eliminating several doors and allowing the space to be more open and continuous. As you can see the interior decoration is quite minimalist, very clean, simple and airy, like in a Nordic house. Maddalena De Padova was the first to introduce to Italy many decades ago natural wood furniture, American designers, a totally new style of design and all this reflects in her house, which is also not a typical upscale Milanese house but more like a country house.

Unusual house exterior for Milan, a jewel hidden in a narrow and short street in the heart of the city, but inside a true Milanese understated elegant home.

Source

Continue Reading... Label: Brillante choice, Brillante Interiors, Furniture