Dreaming of Maria Callas ...

As soon as I saw this bedroom the memories of Maria Callas that had been clawing at the back of my mind for years was actually becoming real!.

Whenever I think about her I always picture her surrounded by so many fascinating things.She indulged in the luxury and splendour but also hunted by the mystery and pain .If I could choose a name to call this room it would be "Casta Diva " .The subtle alchemy between black and velvet fabrics give to it a unique glamourous and mysterious spirit.

The palette color where black plays an important roll being used as an accent, to draw attention to important details always helps to create a dramatic and theatrical atmosphere .

Colour will play an important part in getting the right look and I find the palette of dark grey , dark brown, "mouse back color " and black convey heavy emotion In the past the thought of black curtains ,walls ,furnitures ... made many people shudder but fortunatelly in these current days we dare to broaden our horizons and our palette

"There is joy and pain in the blinding obliterating radiance of the light and brilliance and terror and beauty in the impenetrable darkness of the darkest night of the soul."

O pure Goddess, who silver

These sacred ancient plants,
Turn thy beautiful semblance on us
Unclouded and unveiled...
 Temper, o Goddess,
 The brave zeal
, Of the ardent spirits,
Scatter on the earth the peace
 Thou make reign in the sky...
 Complete the rite : and the sacred wood
Be clear of the laity.
When the irate and gloomy God
Asks for the Roman’s blood
My voice will thunder
From the Druidic temple.
 He will fall ; I can punish him
. (But my heart is unable to do so).
(Ah! Return to me beautiful
 In your first true love ;
Ah! Return to me beautiful
With your serene ray;
 I’ll have life, sky
And homeland in your heart.
Ah, return again as you were then,
 When I gave you my heart then,
 Ah, come back to me.)

The power of purple

I'm totally  fond of my eye-catching purple ,  especially dark and grey purple . Purple is a color ususally associated with nobility , intuition, knowing, spirituality that often used to symbolize magic and mystery. It has a special, almost sacred place in nature...it's rare one . Even the grays put in more appearances than purple. Perhaps that’s what makes it so special....its rarity .It's just a   very exciting and unusual color to work with but not everyone's cup of tea.....it has been with us for several years but his passionate hue has held its own as a color trend with longevity in the market .

GUADARTE  is one of the most recognised firms in the field of high decoration from Spain , characterised by high quality standards and exclusive and handcrafted designs presented in  the international fair for furniture in Madrid and  Paris a divers range of products through four stands .In two of them you could come across the company's unmistakable New Baroque style which includes a range of patinas in white and grey shades Among its new features I might also mention a series of a fantastic wrought-iron chandeliers featuring hand made glass as weel as display cabinets and showcases based an old wardrobes .
I can't help to choose some pic's of their new catalogue where new baroque style and purple are the main characters .

 I find it fascinaiting  to play with colors like purple  for a sexy and new baroque design that together with those washed purple walls ,velvet ,white patine  and glass help to create a  dramatical and surreal  atmosphere

A purple grey with antique white and grey patine is an earthy, conservative color combination with a touch of the mystery that purple provides.It can be subtle and sophisticated, or powerful and punchy..

I'm particularly fond of how the purple scheme works for creating a peaceful and sophisticated

atmosphere

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Don't you think this chandelier is just amazing ?....They say Baroque was rich and exciting , for the first time it was possible to express in design, architecture and art the full range of range of human emotions, experiences and aspirations

A purple room it does look peaceful and can boost a child's imagination or an artist's creativity.

"Purple lovers are generally blessed by a true sense of values. Here genius is often found, but genius that never promotes itself. One of their greatest charms lies in the sublime quality of their minds: an abiding wisdom which they never attempt to force on others.~ Faber Birren "

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A look back at past ...Chinese vintage

       Few days ago I had the opportunity to see "In the mood for love" again.

I can  still remember the deep visual impact that this film  had on me when I saw it for the first time .It's just a beautiful and stunning movie  where every minute the movies attention to detail  becomes charming and sensual.....so simple and pure,quiet and deep....It doesn't need some extra effects or noise the film just tells a story  about true deep feelings. The camera is perched like a voyeur, snatching glimpses from doorways and corners.....someone said about this movie :"This film is a sweet kiss blown to a time long since over, a time that may have existed only in the movies"

This month  the home decorating magazine AD published a photographic report that perfectly caught   the deep atmosphere and vintage style of that film,....

The movie set in the Shanghai community of Hong Kong in 1962 and one of the film's chief pleasures is the attention to detail in the production design with evocative period interiors, retro colors and knockout wardrobe.You can see the stunning fusion where east meets west in many ways .

The atmosphere itself is created by the interplay of the ambering light and using

reproductions of  Sixties furniture and later designs

"That era has passed. Nothing that belonged to it exists any more. He remembers those vanished years. As though looking through a dusty window pane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct."-In the mood for love by Wong Kar-Wai

Just to add the soundtrack is totally worth the purchase

San Valentine's day should not be reserved to a mere day...

I would like to come up with a romantic vision of Saint Valentine's day but I am at a crossroad...
We always said the thought is what counts, but more than often we see the turnmoil and emptyness in which this day has transformed.I think that Valentine's is the perfect occasion to make a phone call or send and email to friends old and new, rusty and shiny, even a little token of communication to that old aquaintaince we forgot in the one dusty corner of our memory.The expression of love, friendship, good will and intentions, should not be reserved to a mere day, these are all expressions of inner life that should be conveyer everyday to those who we have the opportunity to share this journey we call life. Saint Valentine's day would not be only for this date, or a special day....Ditch the tired clitches !
On the other hand I guess we need to believe in things that helps us keep going ... Christmas , Easter, Valentine's Day ...spite of that changed the real meaning of it it's still good,because for a fleeting moment someone finds happiness just by realizing that someone out there is thinking of them .

So Happy Valentine's Day does not matter if you are in a couple or not .




"... We die. We die rich with lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we've entered and swum up like rivers. Fears we've hidden in - like this wretched cave. I want all this marked on my body. Where the real countries are. mapswith Not boundaries drawn on the names of powerful men. I know you'll come carry me out to the Palace of Winds. That's what I've wanted: to walk in such a place with you. With friends, on an earth without maps ... -The english patient"

Restaurant Euniss....femenine chic (video)

It's one of my favorite interior designs ....a French restaurant called "Euniss" in my lovely city of Valencia Spain .When designing a project you work on what the client wants or desires, in this case the client wanted something fresh, something that had a feminine touch without falling back on something ordinary, something with a French feel to it, I tried to incorporate this concept and I believe that the result was very close to what my client wanted to achieve.

One of the designs created so the look wouldn't be too feminine, ( because it does have a lot of feminine touches ) was to work with very modern elements, such as micro-cement, stainless steel, and vinyl decorations....... using these elements the walls are very modern and original, combined with neo-baroque accents, such as the many mirrors that are throughout the restaurant – the fretwork has vegetable forms with a lot of movement, typical of the neo-baroque style. 

We find ourselves in the coffee house area.We chose something that was a little bit more spectacular because it was, to some extent, the restaurant’s calling card. Here everything is a little bit more modern. Starting with the bar, that is all stainless steel, with a backlight.
It keeps with the color mauve , that’s repeated all over the restaurant
There are some mural photographs, also back lighted, that show a chandelier, that is, perhaps, the restaurant’s most representative image. 
And all these elements, including the floor that is CONCRET COLORED ( EDFAN )are elements that help to give a more modern feel. What we were trying to do, is that this area, the coffee house, an area with a lot of traffic, will be the first thing people see from the street. 
So, in some way, what we wanted to do, is to capture people’s attention. And with all these elements, we encourage that outcome.the first floor of Euniss restaurant. It’s located on Hostals Street. 

The first floor  is a quite area, which invites people to relax and gather with family, that has a somewhat chic vibe. You can notice this with some of the French details, such as the photographs, the mauve color that is the focal point in some of the restaurant’s floors.
The color silver is also a linking theme. The style of the chairs. The chairs are a bit more classical than the rest, but it was a way to merge both styles: a neo-barroque style with a modern style. And I think that it was here, in the restaurant area, where we needed to portray that look. I’ve always thought that water is always a good companion for any gathering or place where people come together. So we took the chance of placing the fountain within the restaurant, and I think the result was very good. 
On this floor, we’ve placed some lac mirrors. They have a neo-barroque effect. The truth is that they are very modern because they have very straight lines and they are flat, but the fretwork and motifs that make up the mirror remind us of the vegetal fretwork of the barroque.We’ve also introduced some silver vinyl decorations on the walls, which we’ve repeated on each of the floors. Somehow, it’s a linking theme… like a grapevine that starts on the ground floor and goes up to the top floorI believe that the effect on the walls is beautiful. They are repeated in each of the floors, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s the linking theme from the ground floor to the top one. And here is where the fretwork ends. It’s a way of giving cohesion between the floors, and I think it was a good thing that we included them, because they give a sort of movement to the walls.

Opening night .....:) 

The truth is that I was lucky because the owner, Eunice, didn’t put a stop to anything that we did with this project. Actually, her obsession was to make a reality out of the project that was planned originally, and we’ve work with that premise. 

The way it was....before 

The way it is....after

3D

     VIDEO - INTERVIEW