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Les Macarons

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Ladurée is a prestigious French maison of pastries and cakes, famous also for the incredibly light shells of meringue with the most delicious flavors of ganache inside, called macarons in French.

laduree-flyer-macarons1
Ladurée flyer with the assortment of flavors.


laduree-2 

The macarons were introduced to France by  Caterina de’ Medici, a wealthy Florentine who in 1533, at the age of fourteen, married the future King Henry II of France, who was also of the same age at the time.  The Florentine cooks who went with her brought the secrets of Italian cooking  including canard a l’orange and the pastry makers used their innovative genius with sorbets and ice creams,  pastries and of course pasta dishes.

laduree macaroons
Colorful Macarons


laduree
Paris store


rendering of corner-Laduree Milan -
Rendering for the Milanese new store.

In September 2011 another Ladurée store will open in Milan, the second one in a few years, and it will be designed by the famous French architect  Jean Nouvel.  I can’t wait to see it (well actually not just to see...)

If you have a few moments enjoy the sweet, in every sense, Ladurée website (HERE) it will bring you back to your childhood!


©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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Can you guess whose house is this?

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This house, in the Marais area in the heart of Paris, near the charming Place des Vosges,
belongs to a famous French fashion designer.

He is an exuberant, very creative and daring designer and you can tell this also from his house, where every room is full of history and of eccentric contemporary choices.
He is known in fact for his theatrical style which came from his work in the theatre, designing costumes for the opera, dance and music. His use of color in the fashion collections is his trademark. Recently he has also put his talent as an Interior designer infusing three charming Parisian Hotels with his style.

Please comment only on this post, not on other social media, otherwise it is difficult to track all comments.  I will not publish the comments until the end of next week, so keep writing. The first person with the right answer will have an "honorable mention" and of course a link to the Web site or blog.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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The joy of Summer

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If you are at the beach somewhere in the world, you can collect big shells and create this centerpiece for a Summer dinner outdoor. The candles can be placed on a tray or a colored dish like this one, together with hydrangea petals and smooth pebbles.


candles
You can also use shells as decoration inside the candle, and shells scattered around to create an instant vignette.
If you like to make this decorative candle yourself you’ll need wax, wicks, a mold for candles, glycerin and of course some small shells.
Melt the wax in a double boiler, add color (the one specific for wax), put a few drops of glycerin on the inside walls of the mold and compose the shells at the bottom in a nice pattern. Add melted wax to cover the shells and wait a few hours, repeat to reach the mid section of the mold, wait a few hours and finally pour the wax an inch below the top of the container, only when wax is partially solidified insert the wick. The wax must be totally cooled before taking it out of the mold.
If you make more candles at the same time in a few hours you can have a nice collection, in that case I would use several thick glass containers you may have already at home.


colored candle holders
Simple as 1 2 3…insert tea lights in colored glasses and gather them together for a great impact.


Candles
These candles can be easily prepared by your children, you will need powder wax in different colors, wax coated wicks and colorful paper cups.
Insert the wax in each cup leaving some space below the rim, put the wick in the middle and slightly press around it with your fingers to keep it straight. Composing the candles on a reflecting, mirrored tray and adding some cut flowers will give any party a cheerful touch.

Enjoy your Summer!

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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A visit to a penthouse in Rome

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Only 900 square feet but open to a large terrace in the centre of Rome, this is an apartment that I particularly like, for its harmonious mix of antiques and iconic pieces of modern design, for the natural light coming through the large windows, for the classic wood floor and detailed ceiling, for the chosen color palette on the theme of chiaro-scuro, finally for the choice of colorful art on the wall.

The living area: white walls were chosen, as in the whole apartment, to dramatically show the black leather of Le Corbusier sofa by Cassina and the Barcelona chairs designed by Mies Van Der Rohe and produced by Knoll, the antique mirror is placed above the fireplace, not my favorite choice, since usually they only reflect boring ceilings when you are sitting down.

But let’s continue the tour…

Rome penthouse
The dining area: we can see the timeless Saarinen table, on the right the Toio lamp designed by Castiglioni for Flos, contrasting but not visually fighting with a classic chandelier and as a splash of color a surrealist oil painting in a vibrant hue. A great combination of styles.


Penthouse in Rome
Before going up the stairs to the mezzanine…be sure to appreciate the colors of the beautiful Murano glasses  on the chest.


Study
The study:  an antique desk, probably XVIII century, and a Thonet chair, a small abstract painting adorns the wall, in scale with the limited space of this area.



 apartment in Rome
Another view of the living room from above, note the colors of the art on the walls, giving life to the otherwise monochromatic scheme, the Carrara marble on the Saarinen table can be appreciated more from here for its beautiful swirls and veins.


Kitchen  penthouse
The kitchen: would you need stainless steel, thick granite, the latest gadgets in this kitchen? or the view itself will elevate this simple but functional working area to sublime? The church cupola is a real work of art framed by the window.


penthouse main bedroom
The bedroom:  another example of how to successfully mix different styles, with an XVIII century nightstand and a classic English table lamp. Pure white bed linens against the dark antique Chinese screen recall the color scheme of the whole apartment.


 penthouse terrace in Rome
Our tour now ends in this magnificent terrace where I would love to be right now, to absorb the warmth of the sun or to relax in the shade of the central area, enjoying the splendid lights of a Roman summer day or one of the glorious Roman sunsets.

Photography by Adriano Brusaferri

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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House on wheels

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Sunset Mobile Home, a project by Hangar Design Group is a mobile micro-home, completely produced in a factory and exhibited in 2010 at Shangai Expo, in the Italian pavilion.
It was such a successful design that it was recently awarded the XXII Compasso d’Oro, Europe’s oldest design award, established in Milan in the year 1954, based on an idea by Gio Ponti  to highlight the value and quality of Italian design. The award is held every three years and given to the best design projects ranging from cars, tools, machines, lights, furniture, down to editorial graphic and Web design. The items must be produced by Italian companies if the designer is foreign or the designer needs to be Italian if the producing company is not an Italian one.
Sunset Mobile Home consists in a contemporary open space of only 34 square meters, equivalent to about 365 square feet, tiny yes, but  with everything necessary for daily life.
The opening on three sides permit a large view and allow the outside to join the inside, so the visual perception  is that of  more spacious surroundings.
Certainly great for holidays and, who knows? maybe in the near future it can be used on industrial scale too.

suite-home_02 

suite-home_08 

suite-home_04 

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suite-home_14

suite-home_01

Light, fun, elegant, comfortable, mobile and…a great design!

Photography by Hangar Design Group

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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So many choices, so little time

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Elle Decor

Dear readers, I am quite busy with two projects at the moment so I have not much time to blog, since I spend my days (and evenings too) putting together ideas for layout, lighting, color scheme, choice of furniture and finishes for:

A kitchen



House Beautiful Kitchen
House Beautiful

 
House Beautiful Kitchen
House Beautiful


Canadian House & Home Kitchen
Canadian House & Home

If this project was not enough, and everyone involved in designing a kitchen knows how many crucial details must be taken into consideration and how every inch counts…I also have another project lined up and working on at the moment:

A showroom
for bedding and lingerie to open in October!  Renovation has started already and I am still flipping through books, magazines, previous projects to have everything in place for the interior decorating project presentation.

Jesurum Linen
Jesurum


Style at Home Bedroom
Style at Home



Etro bedding
Etro


Ralph Lauren Bedding
Ralph Lauren

I will post renderings, pictures, choices as soon as I will make up my mind…
too many choices, so little time.
Would you please wish me luck?!

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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Brillante choice

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Tolomeo lamp by Artemide.
The iconic Tolomeo lamp, designed in 1987 by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, became an instant best-seller. It is produced by Artemide.  The lamp received the highly recognized prize of Il Compasso d’Oro, an industrial design award created in Italy in 1954.

Tolomeo Micro Pinza 

Artemide Tolomeo Micro Pinza
Tolomeo Micro Pinza, baby clamp light under kitchen cabinets.

Many years later Tolomeo is still admired for its lightness and purity of lines in the original design and in all the later additions as floor lamp and wall lamp. Interiors & Sources readers named the Tolomeo LED task light the best lighting product of 2010, based on the light’s performance, aesthetics and sustainability.

Do you own a Tolomeo? Tell us where you put it and what you most love about it.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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