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In conversation with...Albarosa Simonetti

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Can you believe it?
Iván Meade, principal of  Meade Design Group has just published an interview with me on his blog (please click here if you want to read about me).

He already interviewed  many of my favorite designers for his blog, from Barbara Barry, Brad Ford, Michael Devine, Kelly Wearstler, Brooke Giannetti, Vicente Wolf, to Canadians Kimberley Seldon, Omer Arbel, Patricia Gray, to only name a few.

Now you may know why I feel so honored and thrilled that he asked me to be part of this group of truly talented and successful designers but I also need to tell you that it was quite an experience on a different level, we live our day working, creating, socializing, relaxing but sometimes if someone asks you "How did you start?" or "Where are you leading to?" then we are forced to stop and think.
With Iván's well posed questions I had to pause and reflect, I had to go back in time when I was a child going to Museums with my father, admiring my mother's skills as a painter, helping my sister often moving furniture around our house, I had to think about what I accomplished so far and what my legacy will be.
It sounds easy but it requires a lot of introspection and slowly your life becomes more clear.

I am so thankful to Iván, not only an extraordinary Interior designer and artist, but a wonderful person too, for giving me this opportunity to be recognized as an Interior decorator and photographer but also to make me reflect on myself and my business.


Brillante Website
Image by Albarosa Simonetti

Please go to his Website and enjoy his beautiful Blog, always full of stylish ideas, creativity, eye candies, interviews, design projects, art and more.


Image by Andrea Seraphim

Thank you, Iván.

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Thank you, Elle Decor!

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If you think Elle Decor nominated me Interior Decorator of the year...think twice, this is not yet the case! But to my surprise and excitement when I turned a page on the latest issue there it was, my cathedral, il Duomo, glowing at dusk and again...no, the picture below was not the one featured on the magazine.

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Elle Decor in fact this month goes to Milan, my first city, so reading the article and looking at the pictures was
like being there and I hope it will be the same for you.
Thanks to my blog I had many business opportunities and lately I was also asked to write an article on Milan as an insider for the online magazine The Address on Luxury Real Estate, Travel, Lifestyle. My article, with pictures, was sent weeks ago and it will be out in October but it was fun to see that I wrote almost the same things as Elle Decor. Since Milan is a multi-faceted city we could have had a totally different approach.
I am sure many of my readers who never traveled to Milan know already through my blog some of the places cited by Elle Decor and I am now curious to know your opinion, so please take your pen (mouse) and write a comment answering to this question:

Did you discover a new side of Milan through my eyes? One you never knew existed?

Dec. 08 Jan. 09 507 

A big thank you, grazie, to Elle Decor for reporting from Milan, my hometown.

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How to stage your apartment for sale

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A few tips everyone should know already about "decorating to sell" also known as staging, that only a few people follow when they put their place on the market.
I will give you some examples of wrong and right way to present your house on Internet and you'll be stunned to know that all these images are from the current Vancouver list of apartments for sale
at an average price of $ 850,000 (all about 1,100 square feet and in comparable areas).

Dress down your house:
Think of the way you dress for an important meeting, a great suit, a beautiful necklace, stunning shoes, a colorful scarf, all within a simple color palette and compare it to your living room: a great sofa, beautiful pillows, stunning rug, a few colorful accessories all with a simple color palette.
Coco Chanel used to say to her clients to put on what they would wear to go out, along with the accessories and jewellery, and take one thing off before they leave.
The same should be done with your house when you put it on the market, but in a greater scale, edit ruthlessly and leave what's really important to greet your potential buyers when they first walk in the door.
Taking away some furniture, rugs, accessories will make the rest shine more and the place will look bigger and more spacious, that alone will add perceived value. Especially rugs cut up the floor space and make any room feel smaller.
Which of these three living rooms appeal more to you?
1) Grandma?
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2) Ready to run away?
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3) and 4)  Clean, uncluttered space but with some nice furniture (remember, everything can be rented with a minimum investment and it will give you a major return if you sell fast and at the right price).
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Emotionally detach from it:
You already made the decision to sell and hopefully soon it will not be your house anymore, so why wait? The sooner you feel detached, the better, in fact it should be treated as any products for sale, being a dress, a tomato, a car.

Make it shine:
Talking about cars, why do people spend so much time in detailing their car for sale, making it shining and forget to clean thoroughly the stove, the fridge, put down the toilet seat and turn on every single light when they have an open house?
Which kitchen will close a sale faster?
1) the one with that odd foil on the wall and dim lights?
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2) and 3) or these neat ones?
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Minimize your personality:
When you sell your personality and private life should not be obvious, and clutter should be eliminated, so if you really don't want to get rid of most of your possessions, since hopefully you'll be moving soon to another place, start packing as much as you can and put in storage what you don't need every day. It will be easier to move and it will create more space around your house. Keep only some pieces you love on display and group them to create impact and do the same for plants, group them in a corner to create interest, it will also be easier to water them at once.
I said minimize, right? Which will be the winner?
1) Too empty?
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2) A lonely chair?
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3) The one with personal items on every chair?
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4) Or a serene, elegant room?  Pictures 3 and 4 have each a round table, some chairs, drapes and not much more. It shows that with little effort you can have a better impact on potential buyers.
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Simplify:
A more simple Interior decoration will appeal to a larger group of people, then when you sell and move to your new place you will enjoy in having all your belongings again and decorate as you like!
1) Too simple?
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2) Just right? Furniture and accessories can be totally different, I am talking about a visual experience.
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Very important touches:
Please...put away all your personal hygiene products in the bathroom and please... put down the toilet seat!
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This  bathroom  presents itself right, no clutter, no personal items, only a beautiful flowered plant and neatly folded white towels.
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Please... buy a new bedspread if you don't have a nice one! and turn on the light for the photographer.
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And make the bed! Is it so difficult to make a nice bed at least once for the real estate photographs? What is hidden behind the drapes? Would it be possible to put away those tiny pieces of furniture that make the room look smaller?Could we center the paintings on the bed? Could we lower it?
Rearrange the items on the small table?
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Now we are talking! A similar effect can be achieved on a budget in a few hours with a simple bedspread, a few pillows and inexpensive framed art on the wall.
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As I said all the above pictures (the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful) belong to different apartments currently for sale in Vancouver, same square footage, similar neighbors, all priced from $ 800,000 to $ 900,000! Not inexpensive as you can tell, and yet some owners did not want to spend a few hours and a few hundred dollars to make their place more appealing. Congratulations to the others who most probably will be able to have many visitors and sell faster without lowering the price!

Internet search:
It is worth remembering that gone are the days when we drove in circles to look at houses for sale...with the power of Internet buyers search online, from home, they make a first selection and only after they call an agent to make an appointment.
Last tip: great real estate photography to show on Internert is an absolute must.
More tips on Real estate photography subject to follow soon.


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Brillante choice: Cappellini

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Peacock chair 
This chair was created by the young Israeli designer Dror Benshetrit for Cappellini, Milan. It is made entirely with a single panel of two colors felt curled on a base of dark brown metal. The felt combines two-tone gray base with green, yellow or blue.  An elegant and fluid form, almost a sculpture, which respects function and aesthetics.I can see this chair magically enhancing any room of a house, giving life to a forgotten empty corner, I would also try a juxtaposition with an antique occasional table or an antique mirror above.

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Elsa Peretti!

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Yes it was the famous Elsa Peretti in that stunning photograph taken by Helmut Newton and published on my previous post. I received many comments, some funny ones too and you can see them all clicking on "Can you guess who she is?" and going to the comments section.
The first right answer was received by Empress of the eye...and an eye she has! She was followed by Ivan Meade a few minutes later and then by Dovecote Decor and all the others.

Congratulations to all, I am sorry I don't have a Tiffany blue box *** with a necklace designed by Peretti inside it as a giveaway, but as a consolation you can read her great blog where you'll find her creations and stories of her interesting life, not to mention photographs reflecting her beauty.

1974
Style and class then...


08f
Style and class forever...

***Talking about the beautiful pale blue, used by Tiffany, it is produced as a private custom color, not available to the public, by Pantone, with PMS number 1837, the year of Tiffany's foundation.

I loved all your comments on "Can you guess who she is?"
and I am honored to have received two comments by the jewellery designer extraordinaire
 Elsa Peretti.
Thanks for participating, it was fun!

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The joy of blogging

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 Geronimo
I am so happy to report that in a contest held by the blog Fifi Flowers my sweet pointer Geronimo received many votes and ranked sixth (out of forty contestants). He does not know it yet but I am sure he will not change attitude, he will continue being a playful, well behaved dog. I did not even vote for my own dog and I did not tell anyone to vote for him, so I am even more proud of him. There were 6 WINNERS and they will all be part of a Fifi Flowers notecard collection that will help sponsor service and guide dogs in association with Beach Bum Biscuits of Tybee Island. I will also receive a set of cards painted by Fifi with his image, I can't wait.
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Please go to Fifi website and see her art, she would also paint on commission your pet, your house, anything you like with her colorful, whimsical style.
Geronimo...Good boy!

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Stay tuned to read the comments on my previous post "Can you guess who she is?" I will publish them all soon. It was fun!
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Can you guess who she is?

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A very famous image
Of a very famous designer
Taken by a very famous photographer.


Hints: she was born in Florence, she studied Interior design in Rome, she moved to New York where she became famous creating objects of desire for a famous luxury brand with a famous color packaging.

Who is she? Come on... I told you that she is very famous!
 
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