Gustavian Furniture and Antiques

Today I'm loving the subdued tones and the gorgeous antiques from Intramuros. Hope you like them too.

All images from here.

Summer Retreat in Cadiz

Good morning, lovelies! This house I'm showing you today belongs to Fernando Fauquié. He is an architect, antiquarian, designer and landscaper. His summer house is located in Cadiz, Spain and is full of antiques and interesting items he personally chose.









Fernando Fauquié in one of his porches. His clothes even match his surroundings!

























All images from here.

Celebrity Home: Iris Apfel

I've always wanted to see Iris Apfel's home. She is an amazing lady who not only designs interiors but also jewelry and clothes. Now, well into her 80's she is as active as ever. The New York City apartment she shares with her husband, Carl, is just as amazing and full of character and personality as Iris herself.

If you'd like to read the full Architectural Digest article just go here.



The living room’s bleached-oak boiserie is 18th-century French, and the door hardware is by P. E. Guerin; the screen is also French, while the chair at left, covered in an Old World Weavers tapestry fabric, is 17th-century Sicilian.

Photographer Bruce Weber is working on a documentary about her.

In the library, a Dutch painting is displayed above a Louis XVI daybed covered in fabric Apfel reproduced from a 17th-century French document.

A collection of singerie tops an 18th-century Venetian bombé chest in the living room; the back of the English chair at right is painted with chinoiserie designs.

In the entry, an 18th-century English gilt chinoiserie mirror and an Italian console.

An Italian tole chandelier above a Maison Jansen table draped in a woven paisley throw.

The first painting Apfel ever bought—a portrait of the Infanta Margarita she picked up 60 years ago at an antiques shop in Florence.

Bakelite jewelry in the paws of a hand-carved French mountain dog.

The entry contains an 18th-century French screen (left), an early-18th-century painted Genoese corner cabinet, and Louis XVI–style chairs upholstered in an Old World Weavers cut velvet. The needlepoint carpet is English.

“I was one of the first New York women to wear boots,” says Apfel, who designed the gilt-leather-and-fabric pair on the floor at right. Racks of her vintage pieces fill a spare room; she is especially fond of the metallic-check coat by Galanos.

A hallway is lined with dog paintings and 19th-century English bookcases brimming with volumes on fashion, decorative arts, and Chinese costumes and textiles.

Hope you enjoyed this tour. Let me know!

Text by Amanda Vaill
Photography by Roger Davies
Produced by Robert Rufino

All images and information from Architectural Digest.

Restored 1860 House

Built in 1860, this home went from a hotel to a nursing home in the 60s and has now been restored by Clarisse and Arnaud de Saint-Martin, both antique dealers and interior designer enthusiasts. Definitely French in style, it is brimming with interesting pieces: from Medici vases and Louis XV chairs to plenty of flea market finds.




















All images from here.

Treasures in a Tower

This restored XVI century tower in Spain, houses the treasures collected by its owner in his travels around the world. Three interior designers, Begoña Calzada, Malu Sanroma and Isabel Badiola, helped him with the decoration. A unique house full of interesting pieces.


A stone masonry arch flanked by two ancient terracotta cups. The cobbled stones are original and the French chairs were purchased at a flea market in Bordeaux.


In the foyer a Napoleon III bed, acquired in Bordeaux, a grandfather clock acquired in Vigo, a Louis XVI lamp from an antique shop in Granada. The mirror is a twin of the one in the master bedroom.


The tiled stove was made by Florentine artisans.


In the foyer, an arch leads into the kitchen. The sculptures are made of gilded wrought iron and were purchased in France.




In the kitchen an XVIII century Catalan sculpture stands on the counter.


Notice the thickness of the walls which separate the kitchen from the living room


The floorboards of the room and the bedroom were brought from Brazil by the owner.


African tribal art and sacred art are displayed in this room.


Behind the living room sofa, a console with concrete bases holds two Florentine terracotta busts and antique lamps.


Next to a XVIII French chemist's cupboard a mahogany table and Victorian chairs purchased in Buenos Aires and an Italian ceramic stove brought from Florence.


A Portuguese mirror, serves as a headboard. A Becara rug covers part of the peroba wood flooring.


Victorian fireplace acquired in an antiques shop in Edinburgh. On it, a painting by artist Antonio Cuervas-Mons. A XVI century San Gregorio figure stands on a sculptor table trestle.


Stained glass on the arched doors that lead to the master bedroom and bathroom. On the chest a Sicilian XVII century torso and an antique marble head.


Antiques from Portugal Brazil and France on the fireplace in the bathroom. A XIX century portrait hangs on the wall.


Restored French sink and cast iron radiator. The sconces are XVIII century procession lanterns. Antique bars in the two circular windows.

All images and information from here.