DESIGNS & THE CITIES | Pilot
Hello and welcome to a fresh new beginning for this space of the internet.
ME: A qualified interior designer and stylist.
The DESIGNS: My own, the ones I create for my clients, my inspirations.
The CITIES: Perth and Florence mainly - with some detours around Europe and Australia -.
BASICALLY
There is a point where we look back and think about how was our life before, all the things we’ve done, the ones we would’t do again perhaps, and the ones we are grateful for, although they make us feel nostalgic at times.
This point for me really was during the pandemic.
26 years of my life I lived in Tuscany ( turning 33 this year ), and then one day, determined to pursue my career ambitions and ready to run some risks, I’ve changed my life and moved to the other side of the world.
I left my family, all my friends, my comfort zone, and took a plane heading to Perth.
Why Perth? I was told ( by my date at the time and my husband today ) Perth was the best place to live in the whole world, and he was right indeed.
We arrive six years ago, and work opportunities arise.
We work hard, very hard, and after three years - and one marriage - we are able to buy our first home in Perth.
I start my own interior design business, and the following year we are proud to officially call ourselves Italian-Australian.
Time goes by and things in my business start to kick in, but pandemic happens bringing uncertainness, fear, isolation and nostalgia.
This is where I start looking back, missing my family more than ever, feeling stuck and unable to reach them, fearing the worst for their health, yet being grateful to live in WA where I felt safe - Believe me you wouldn’t have wanted to be in my head at that time to witness the great darkness that was in there. -
But here is what all that led me to:
With the intent of feeling a little closer to my family, reconnect with my motherland and light up my fire again, I’ve started to dig into my memories and bring back all the work I’ve done when I lived there.
This also includes taking the time to look back at my father’s art when I was younger, the design exhibitions I attended, the projects at Uni, my apprenticeship in a Design studio in Florence, my first role as junior interior designer and all the apartment renovations, the commercial spaces restyled within heritage buildings, the art, the architecture, the museum visits on the weekends, the hills in Tuscany, the beaches, summers, the colours of Florence in autumn, the smell of winters with the snow and the chimneys, the food, the wine, the design fairs, the fashion.
I realised that this isn’t something that anyone can take away from me, because is a part of my life, my heritage, my own story.
But Perth is my present and the future I’ve happily chosen for me and my family, and where my passion lies now, so what to do with all that European experience?
The answer came to me, and it was a turning point in my career: acknowledge and channel it all in my work and my designs.
By doing that I’ve found my niche in all of those wanting to live at best in their Australian homes, and who like an European approach to the interiors that only someone who’s extensively lived there and soaked it all in, knows how to bring in without forcing it.
Although I like for my designs to speak for myself, I do also want to start putting it all down in words and genuinely share my experience and knowledge with others.
So here is a little glimpse of what this space will be about; the design choices in my projects and the why and how, inspirations, discussions, new products reviews, all things interiors for your spaces, style tips, and a hint of fashion.
It’s going to be simple and down to earth, from me to you.
In the first chapter I am going to have a chat about tiles, what’s available in Perth, what to expect to see from Europe this year, and show you what I’ve chosen for some of my recent projects here in WA, and why.
I am an open book, so if you have any design questions this is a great place to start a conversation, and feel free to leave a comment below :)
Ciao Ciao! x