An idea of the house in its current state. Somehow we're going to try to make this into our dream home. Below is a render of my plan from roughly the same angle.

Questo immagine vi fa capire il stato della casa oggi. In qualche modo vogliamo farlo diventare la casa dei nostri sogni. Sotto ho messo un rendering della mia idea.

♥ Jess

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Dream Home: Kitchens

I've been playing around with kitchen layouts for the new house.  I'm pretty sure I want to stick to white and wood and very modern angles, but I'm still not sure where I'd like everything to be. Kitchens are expensive and need to be done right.  Here are two layouts I'm experimenting.  Which do you like better? The first one is more interesting and has a good cooking triangle but the second one has slightly more seating and better traffic flow. FYI the big wood unit is a bookcase that we already own that I will turn into a cookbook reference library and large appliance storage.

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Sto progettando il layout della cucina per la nuova casa. Sono abbastanza sicuro che voglio usare bianco ludcido e legno, ma non sono sicura coem verrà. Le cucine sono costosi e bisogna farli bene. Qui ci sono due layout che sto sperimentando. Quale ti piace di più? Il primo è più interessante e ha un buon triangolo di cottura, ma la seconda ha più posti a sedere e un migliore flusso del traffico. La grande unità di legno è una libreria che noi possediamo già. Si trasformerà in una biblioteca di libri di cucina e stoccaggio di piccoli elletrodomestici della cucina.

assymetrical island - L shaped kitchen

symmetrical Island - H shaped kitchen

Here are some kitchen details I've seen around that I'd like to incorporate in SPLURGE and SAVE versions / Qui sotto sono qualche dettagli della cucina che vorrei incorporare nei versioni costosi e economico.

I love this sink but I'd change the faucet	a similar sink for a fraction of the price: BREDSKÄR at IKEA
ernestomeda kitchen - built in	IKEA again

♥ Jess

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House for Sale - Casa in Vendita

Just after moving in in '08
Appena arrivati in '08

Back in September of 2008, 6 months after our wedding, Fabri and I moved into our house.  It's amazing to look back at those days... carefree, kidless and just at the start of our big adventure as a family.  Since then we have shared many many moments walking through that door, shutting out the outside world and feeling blissfully at home.This is still my favorite place to be.

Nel settembre del 2008, sei mesi dopo il nostro matrimonio, Fabri ed io siamo trasferiti in casa nostra. E 'incredibile guardare indietro a quei giorni ... spensierato, senza figli e solo all'inizio della nostra grande avventura come una famiglia. Da allora abbiamo condiviso molti momenti attraverso quella porta, chiudendo fuori il mondo esterno e sentirsi a casa.  Questo è ancora il mio posto preferito.

We put a load of work into this place. We found our dining chairs in a garbage heap outside an elementary school and re-did them ourselves, learning about paintstipping ang the way. We changed the floors, stairs, doors, windows and walls since we've been here. We've painted and assembled, arranged and entertained, grown and even multiplied and now I'm feeling nostalgic that soon it will be time to say goodbye.

Abbiamo messo un saco di lavoro in questo posto. Abbiamo trovato le nostre sedie in un mucchio di spazzatura fuori di una scuola elementare e li abbiamo ri-fatti noi stessi. Abbiamo cambiato i pavimenti, scale, porte, finestre e pareti da quando siamo stati qui. Abbiamo dipinto e assemblato, organizzato e intrattenuti, cresciuti e anche moltiplicate e adesso mi sento nostalgia che presto sarà il momento di dire addio.

This week we've decide to sell our house in order to be able to afford something a little bit bigger.  Our place has a small room for Sera and a big open space for us but it's time to get something a little larger and with a more traditional layout. We need seprate rooms and another bathrom as well. Sera is growing up so fast and we're already overrun with toys, books and mini clothes... I hate to think what would happen when homework and backpacks start arriving, not to mention sports clothes, records (yes I know she'll probably never have a record collection... just being romantic) and giggling friends.

buying furniture online
comprando i mobili

Questa settimana abbiamo deciso di vendere la nostra casa in modo da essere in grado di permetterci qualcosa di un po 'più grande. Il nostro posto ha una piccola sala per Sera e un grande spazio aperto per noi, ma è il momento di ottenere qualcosa con un layout più tradizionale con camere separati e magari un altro bagno. Sera sta crescendo così velocemente e stiamo già invasa da giocattoli, libri e mini abiti ... Non oso pensare cosa succederà quando i compiti e zaini cominciano ad arrivare, per non parlare di abbigliamento sportivo, dischi (sì, lo so che probabilmente non avrà mai una collezione di dischi ... ma sono romantica) e amiche ridacchiando.

Phase one of trying to sell the house is via word-of-mouth, or word-of-social networks... Basically meaning we told our friends on Facebook. The interesting thing is, for as much as your friends on facebook are your friends, they're not really your friends so I don't know how well this strategy will work. I expected more people to share the post... but then I'm working on my expectations, so I can't even be disappointed that only two friends did.

the kitchen today
la cucina oggi

La prima fase di cercare di vendere la casa è tramite word-of-mouth, o word-of-social network ... In pratica significa che abbiamo detto ai nostri amici su Facebook. La cosa interessante è, per quanto i tuoi amici su facebook sono i tuoi amici, non sono davvero i vostri amici.  Non so quanto bene questa strategia funzionerà. Mi aspettavo più gente a condividere il posto ... ma poi sto lavorando sulle mie aspettative, quindi non posso nemmeno essere delusi dal fatto che solo due amici l'hanno fatto.

Instead, I'll share the info with you here dear readers, in the hopes that maybe you'll pass on the info. I know most of you probably don't have friends in Milan who are looking for houses, but you never know right?  We made a nice little website with all the photos of the current state of our house for sale over at MYNEXTLOFT so if you do know someone who could be interested you can direct them there.

Invece, condivido i informazioni qui con voi, cari lettori, nella speranza che forse passate l'informazione. So che la maggior parte di voi probabilmente non hanno amici a Milano che sono alla ricerca di case, ma non si sa mai giusto? Abbiamo fatto un bel sito web con tutte le foto dello stato attuale della nostra casa in vendita sopra a MYNEXTLOFT quindi se si conosce qualcuno che potrebbe essere interessato è possibile indirizzarli lì.

living space today
soggiorno oggi

In the meantime, I'm going to fix myself a cup of green tea and sit on my couch and just look around the room for a bit... enjoy this place that I helped to create a bit... memorize what it feels like to be here a bit... if only for a little while longer.

Nel frattempo, ho intenzione versarmi una tazza di tè verde e sedersi sul mio divano.  Vorrei guardarmi intorno la stanza per un po'... godermi questo luogo che ho contribuito a creare un po'... memorizzare come ci si sente ad essere qui un po'...anche se è solo per un po'.

♥ Jess

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Dream Home Search

Recently we've been spending loads of time looking at apartments, lofts and houses to potentially buy if we ever decide that we're serious about moving and get our place on the market. It's not easy, because although I'm the type of person who can see potential in any living space I'm also in love with my current home and am reluctant to move if it means compromising.

I like to walk through empty spaces and imagine myself as a future me and the things I would be doing in them. There was the bathroom yesterday with enough space in it for a sofa and I saw myself surrounded by candles soaking in the luxurious tub. There was also the terrace with the view of the alps, in my mind I had already hung a hammock and installed an outdoor fireplace. On winter mornings I could sip my tea while gazing out and thinking about the vastness of those peaks and feel a part of this wonderful universe. There was the loft with its own separate office space where I could set up an intense art/craft/office/meditation room... I even thought about how I could rent the space from myself, set up a business and deduct the rental from my taxes.  I find it amusing that I think of all these things cause not only do I never light candles when taking a bath, I also don't regularly drink tea and currently don't have plans to start a business. I fantasise about other versions of me that I imagine the spaces could unlock. 

My current home has unlocked new versions of me in the past five years: my kitchen and living room have made me a gourmet cook and celebrated hostess.  My patch of cement outside the front door has made me an urban gardener.  My tiny itty bitty office has developed a blogger, animated filmmaker, quilter, seamstress, scrapbooker, knitter and toy maker and has unlocked new crafts and hobbies that I didn't even know I was capable of. My staircase and various Ikea furniture have turned me into a carpenter and handyman and other home-owning disasters helped me become an electrician and plumber as well.  This home has also been the one that has cradled me throughout the biggest change in my adult life of becoming a parent... And being a stay-at-home mum means it has been there for me even more-so.

What do I want in a new home? Well, the more places I see the more confused I am and somehow at the same time the clearer my vision.  Here's a list of what I've figured out so far and some examples:

-I want enough space to have a space for everything and everything in its place. Though I declutter regularly there's still a need for order and that comes with having enough storage to keep what you do need hidden away.

-I want a real bedroom for Sera as well as myself.  Currently I am sleeping on the open upstairs landing of our loft and Sera is in a tiny space that we separated with plasterboard walls. It's big enough for now but probably won't fit a single bed and there isn't too much space to play. Though there's no siblings in the cards I'd hope that Sera's room would be big enough to accommodate two, just in case.  The next house we live in should really be the one we're going to be living in for the next 10-15 years. I'd also like a bit of privacy when we have guests. 

-And speaking of guests I've got them sleeping on a twin air actress in the middle of the living room when they come. Considering my living room is also my lounge, office, kitchen and entryway and is pretty much the exact size of the air mattress you can see how that might not work too well. 

-I'd like a bathroom for at least each level of the house. Potty training and pregnancy have both taught me about the need for easy access to a bathroom. It would be wonderful to have an old fashioned tub and some glamorous curtains incorporated in some way.  I automatically reject any home without the possibility of a tub somewhere.

-I want a bit of outdoor space to call my own where we can catch some vitamin D and do some more urban gardening. It can be a garden, terrace, balcony, whatever. Ideally it would be big enough to setup a wading pool in the hotter months. 

-I want a third bedroom so that I can use it as an office/craft room/guest room/meditation room. I want it to be the cleverest and most multi-tasking room of the house and my own personal sanctuary (sounds selfish huh?)

-an amazing kitchen would be next on the list with huge entertaining possibilities. I love preparing food for people and entertaining and even though I manage in my current kitchen I'd just adore something more functional and stylish.

-the most important room of the house would of course be the living room/den. I want height and light and all of my books and nick knacks prominently on display.  It's the room where we will spend most of our time and therefore should be the biggest and most functional.

So, it's a tall order, especially for Milan where property generally starts at €3000 per square meter, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and eyes open for places that might be suitable.  For the meantime however, I'm perfectly happy in our cosy loft exactly as we are.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Check out more of my dream home inspiration on Pinterest!

household binder

My home; when it's neat.

I spend a lot of time at home. It's my castle and fortress and small corner of paradise.  When it's neat and organised I'm at peace with the whole world.  When it's untidy and disorganised I feel like there's always something I'm supposed to be doing and that I have a battle waged on the universe.  It's crazy, I know, and even more so because I'm naturally a very very unorganised and untidy person.

In the past I have tried various systems and tricks to convince myself to pick things up as I go along or to put things back where they belong immediately after using them, but in my case it really requires discipline.  I would always rather be crafting or working on Hick! or playing with Sera than I would like to be cleaning up after myself.

A few years back I found a site called Flylady which promised to be my 'personal on line coach' to organising my home and clearing out clutter.  Sounded good but I took on to much at once and stopped following the system after a few months of an admittedly much tidier home.  The principle is pretty simple... join flylady and you'll get bite sized instructions of what to do in your home every day to keep it neat and clean. They call them baby steps.

One part of the system is to create and organise what they call a 'control journal', which is basically a binder where you keep all the important information for your home and family's lives to make things run smoother.  If you have a look on line you'll find a similar concept in terms such as home management binder or home management journal.

Since I've decided to try out weekly family meetings as suggested in the book I'm reading 'Positive Discipline', and since in that book the meeting needs to have someplace where you jot-down ideas during the week I remembered how much nicer it was to have the house nice and tidy when I followed my control journal. I dug it out and dusted it off, removing the stuff that made it complicated and brought it up-to-date.

So far it has:

an example of free printables you can find on line.
These are by Jamie at DIYhshp.blogspot.com

-a section with my important daily (repeating) to-dos such as:

• making my homoeopathic medicines
• laundry
• meditation
• tidying for 15 minutes a day (with a timer so I don't get stressed and overwhelmed)

-a regular daily to-do list

-a long-term to-do list with things to be scheduled

-a section with meal plans. Special thanks goes to my hubby, who even if he thought it was ridiculous, got on board for family meetings this week and help me plan out dinners for the whole month!

-grocery list this is divided into smaller lists based on the category of the food, dairy, meat, produce, cleaning supplies etcetera.

-a section where we can list the meals we like and dislike.  This list will be added to as we go along so that he next time we do meal planning we have a list of dinner ideas we can just point to.

-important phone numbers... docs, neighbours, family, poison control (though this is also on the fridge)

-monthly calendar with any birthdays I could remember written out on it. This will be easier next year because I'll have the reference already!

-packing list in a dry-erase envelope so that I can tick off items as I pack.  This one is awesome because we're going away to Tuscany tomorrow and it took me 45% less time to pack!

-a page sheet where we can jot down ideas for the meetings and outcomes of what was discussed. 

other pages I would like to add in the future:

- a seasonal cleaning schedule

-weekly cleaning schedule

-weekly calendar with overview of what's coming up each week

-favorite restaurants & takeaways

-movies to rent

-books to read

-chore chart (for when Sera is a bit older and starts doing chores)

My home management binder is still a work-in-progress and I'd love to be able to find the time to do some custom layouts and stuff like that. At the moment it's really really basic.  If you'd like to become a bit more organised and are thinking of starting your own binder then you can find some really great free printables on line, including these really lovely ones over at DIY Home sweet Home.

Wine, cheese and Salumi party

I entertain at home quite a bit. I've thrown more than a few dinner parties and am always on the lookout for new recipes or presentation ideas for my next event.  Every few years though I decide to have a bigger affair and throw myself a birthday party. My most recent was this past Saturday evening.

First off we went to do the grocery shopping. Do you think we bought enough wine?

I decided to put all of our saved wood wine crates to use and use them to present the food instead of using plates and bowls. Here's an example of some of the crackers on display:

We chose to use real wine glasses instead of plastic ones and so I needed a system to be able to have each guest remember which glass was theirs. I have recently been playing around with recycling plastics by shrinking it in the oven and then turning it into jewellery so I thought that the same technique could be put to good use with the wine 'charms'.

I wrote out 30 words of characteristics that somellier's use when describing wines which can also be used to describe people, cut them all out and shrank them.  I then attached each to the base of a wine glass with 'patafix/funtack' which is a gum-like reusable sticking compound easily found in any office supply store. 

When the guests arrived I had each of them choose a glass with a characteristic that they thought best described them. It was fun because everyone remembered which glass was theirs and not all of the characteristics were entirely flattering. .  I guess if you turn up late to one of my events you deserve some gentle teasing... how does one choose between shallow and vicious?

We had a baby buffet for the 4 kids who attended and some outdoor toys set up. It was fun that they could choose what to eat all by themselves and kept them quite busy for a while.

 Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, all of the food was eaten and people even asked me for the recipe for my dip - the only thing I actually had to prepare for the evening. The rest of the food was salumi, cheeses or raw (fruit and veg).  Since I also put out a lot of different types of crackers and breads to be eaten with caponata, patè or cheeses I made sure to lay out some brown paper on the table and handwrite the names of the different sauces and salsas so people would know what they were eating.

It really was a super easy and fun event to host and really a hit.  I love that there were only a few plates to clean up (but of course, all those wine glasses needed hand washing) and that we could use the space outside our house.  I could have never had the same 30 people in my tiny loft.

Special thanks go out to my hubby for being the best wine -server and DJ, to my friend Stefy who although couldn't be there lent me 18 wine glasses and didn't flinch when I only returned 16 and my special surprise guest and fantastic helper - my mom - who flew all the way to Milan from Montreal Canada just to help celebrate!

dream home - office space

I spend a lot of time at home. It's my sanctuary, my workplace, my own personal restaurant when I can order (and of course prepare) anything on the limitless menu, my spa and beauty salon, my gallery and its also where my favourite people in the world happen to live. Of course I spend as much time here as I can! It's the best place in the whole world (for me)!

But spaces and homes also need to be functional and my house, how I have it set up at the moment, isn't ideal in every way. What it needs is the perfect office space. Here are my criteria:
Bright with lots of natural light
Organised and neat
Flexible and able to host different activities
Inspiring
Comfortable

My current office is a converted closet nook which the previous owner used to hang laundry in. It has no windows, and both my craft desk and computer desk are built into the bookcases. It's pretty great considering the space I had to work with but because its so small it does get cluttered and claustrophobic at times.

as you can see it's not the neatest or most organised of spaces

My dream office will need to allow me to:
Meditate
Practise yoga
Work on my film Hick!
Relax and read books in
Work on my blog
Sew
Knit
Do other random crafting projects

Though there's no new house on the horizon at the moment I have been collecting images and inspiration for this dream space. Here are some suggestions for very small offices that could fit in a wardrobe. Maybe I could try something like that!

Adam Selwood's Basement office Ikea Hack

Modern Home Office by Austin Interior Designer Claudia Cowperthwaite

Other larger spaces.

Maybe I'd actually finish some crafts for once?

Overhead library - DREAMY

This amount of light would be nice

and a corner for wellness?

Well, I can keep dreaming for the moment. But as most motivational speakers will tell you, visualising the best case scenario and letting your mind run free is the best way to actually achieve your goals and come to realising them.

What does your ideal workspace include? If you could plan it to be anything at all what would it be like? I'd love to hear about your dream spaces.