House Update

 We can finally declare the construction finished, with minor caveats (details like a few lighting fixtures come to mind, as well as some organizational/storage solutions)! I figured it was time to give a new house tour, since I've had several people asking me for photos; this way, I can put them all in one place.

Here goes...first, the front hall:

Taken from the front door. We take our shoes off here, to help keep the rest of the house cleaner

The second entry hall, where we store coats. I was 
recently working on painting the wrought iron railings.

These were handwrought for us by a local artisan, who 
strongly suggested we paint them. After having done it, we
are in complete agreement. The color just enhances his beautiful work

I couldn't resist extending the color to the outside grating

The dining room/kitchen:

I finally redid the fireplace screen. The fireplace
dates from the 1500s

Looking towards the kitchen

Looking to the entry stair (below
the parapet wall). The upper 
floor is reached via a staircase to the left,
just beyond the arch

Living Room:

There is a powder room inside the arch, to the left. The large cabinet to the right is a "madia", which was used for breadmaking, and features a lid that raises and opens into a platform (where loaves were left to rise). It's super-convenient for easy accessibility, but must be kept free of stuff!

Powder Room:

Guest room/studio

Looking towards door, the cabinet to the left of the door
contains my sewing machine and craft supplies

There is a built-in table with a plenitude of 
drawers and other storage, folding up completely when we 
have guests. The closet space to the right of the 
picture is the guests' hanging closet

This cabinetry is on the back wall of the guest room.
It features a queen-size fold-down bed and/or a 
work table. The table came in handy when 
Florence was in quarantine here and had to 
eat in isolation!

Guest bath:

 The guest bath has similar tiles to the powder room, but it painted yellow rather than blue. The real showstoppers in my mind are the hand-thrown sink and the hand-carved shelves. The top shelf has a curved profile so that it minimizes the space in a small bathroom while allowing a larger basin.

Stairway to bedroom floor ("second" floor in Europe, "third" floor in the US)

This staircase is notable for its width; most houses of this
age have poky staircases that are hard to navigate. 
The reason is simple: to create the staircase, at some point
in the past, the owners enclosed a medieval street. This 
was the width of the road that originally went through from
the palazzo's courtyard to the side street of the palazzo.

"Bunny land" is at the bottom of the stairs,
which is an enclosure for the periods they don't have free roam

Upstairs landing:

Master bath:

This bath is a great compromise: you can have a soak, but its tapered profile uses much less water. 
I'm still mindful of water use, though, so I don't soak often. The cabinet was made by the same 
carpenter who did our kitchen, and he worked with my idea of incorporating the tile into the door.

When you can do it, a separate toilet cubicle is well-established here.
The same carpenter made the shelves.

The door goes into the hallway. We have heated towel rails, since winters here are very humid and otherwise the towels won't dry. Plus, nice warm towels!

The alcove continues into the bathroom cubicle.
At some point in the past, it was a doorway.

Master bedroom:

The doors and shutters are all closed right now because
we're in full summer and avoiding heat gain as much as possible.
Normally, this room is extremely light and airy because
of both sets of (very large) windows. The ceilings here are about 11'
and the windows are actually the size of doors

The "tinello"

"Tinello" translates to "servants' hall"; we can't imagine why it was called that on the floor plan we received, given that it's a central location on the second floor (with its high ceilings, it would have been reserved for the family, not the servants). However, it's a sweet word, and we like it. It might more aptly be called the library now, and we use it for a variety of activities. My favorite times in it are when we play bridge in the evening...particularly in the winter, when we can have a fire! The fireplace comes from an old building in Milan and dates (I think...I don't remember exactly now) to the early 1800s. The bookshelf was made for us, and incorporates details from the mantel courtesy of one of our amazing handcarvers. The wrought-iron chandelier dates to the late 1800s, and I'm still dying to figure out how to make the dragons breathe fire.

We have 11-foot ceilings here, as well, so the ladder is necessary to reach the upper shelves.
The doors lead to the upper hallway outside the master bedroom and bathroom.

The left-hand bookcase is open, showing the "secret" entrance to the girls' room. The staircase
on the right leads to Michael's office in the attic.

The doors in this photo lead to a small hallway off which is the boys' room and the kids' bathroom

Girls' room:

Florence loves below-the-stairs beds, so we happily obliged. The smallest bedroom of the house, it was a challenge to fit in the right furniture for both girls. I have the fabric for Florence's curtain, which I need to work on. The door is actually part of the bookcase in the tinello.

Closets are not a thing in a house of this era (or in most houses here, from what we've seen).
A large armoire is the solution, and has the advantage that you could take it with you were you
ever to move. I need to continue the refinishing work I started, but at this point, I'm waiting for cooler
weather. Plus, the degreaser is stinky, and Florence is staying in the room at the moment.

There is a room for the boys, with very high ceilings and a separate closet that Jeremy uses as a studio. Since the ceilings are so high, we built a large loft for James. 

Moving upstairs, we have two box rooms for storage, and Michael's office! 

Top of the stairs in the attic

While the ceiling is indubitably low, we have done our best to keep it from being claustrophobic. Michael can really only stand in the central eight feet; it's a good thing he works from a seated position! That said, he loves having a large, airy space where he can move to his sofa to get more comfortable. He also has a tiny balcony from which he can enjoy a 180-degree view of the countryside.

I'm never sorry when we have to go over finances or family bureaucracy, 
because it means a comfy seat!

The door leads to the hallway at the top of the stairs. We took advantage of 
alcoves to put in a printer stand.

Just a sliver of his gorgeous view!

So, that's it! The house from bottom to top. Let us know when you can come visit and see it in real life...at least once Covid-19 is no longer a threat!

Love,

Alexandra