Rustic and Centenary Home in Mexico

Good Sunday morning dear readers. I'm taking you today to Mexico where we will visit a rustic, elegant old Mexican house called Los Muros which means The Walls. Suzi and Gene Mann from Texas found a 200 year old windowless building that served as warehouse and trading place for local goods. They contacted architects throughout Mexico but they all wanted to completely modernize everything so they finally decided to plan the changes themselves and lead the renovation work.
This is how it turned out. Like it?



A fountain surrounded with potted plants and a few stone carved figurines in the centre of the courtyard. Bougainvillea climb the walls. An arched wrought iron gate separates the foyer from the courtyard.


This porch was once open but now window panes have been installed to keep the heat and insects out. The walls have been left untreated.


Surprisingly the chapel is a new construction.


Sitting area


Lots of outdoor pottery which add to the picturesque atmosphere.


It's easy to see why this house has been called Los Muros.


A collection of boots are displayed around a rustic table. See the bag that holds the door open? It's full of the rejected architects' proposals to make the house modern.


All seventeen construction workers were involved in getting the large beam above the fireplace in the right place. The upholstered high chairs at the round kitchen island are from a carpet dealer in Houston.


The couple's bedroom is an old iron bed that Suzi renovated. The corners are the so-called Milagros, which can be seen in local churches. The bedspread is made from fabric bought in Marrakesh.


The blue bedroom was especially designed for Suzi's 12-year-old niece. Wall color was selected to match the bedspread.


The bathroom has green tiles from the town of Dolores Hidalgo, famous for its hand-painted ceramics. The roof is round, which was Suzi's idea.


Typical rustic wooden furniture from Mexico.


Light streams in through small windows in the tower. Small romantic flower garlands adorn the ceiling.


Tiles in the bathroom from the nearby town of Dolores Hidalgo.


Close-up of painted ceramic animals matching colourful fabrics in the porch.



Hope you enjoyed this tour. Let me know what you think about this style. See you tomorrow!

Photography Tria Giovani.

All images from here.

White House in England

Good Saturday morning to all of you. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I have posted shooting locations from London based 1st-option before here and here if you missed them.





























More lovely shooting locations at 1st Option.
More photographs right here.

Plantation House on Mustique

Interior designer Emma Burns renovated a client’s house that had originally been designed by the island’s leading architect, Arne Hasselqvist, of Sweden. This plantation house is on Mustique which is a small private island in the West Indies. Almost everything for the house was made in England, then brought in by sea. The owner wanted the house to be a completely relaxing place to be in, a total escape from London.

The formality of its front elevation, anchored by a central pediment, echoes Swedish classicism

In the expansive living room, furnishings such as the buffet, console table, mirror and stool have elaborate carvings and the Swedish style’s calming foggy-gray finish.

Also in the living room, below a pickled-wood ceiling, are custom-made oversize sofas and chairs, each with an off-white cotton slipcover. All the furniture is low so that you can look out. Nothing clutters the view of the ocean.


The living room’s veranda, an area made for entertaining amid the site’s cooling Atlantic breezes, has sconces by Hasselqvist and an ensemble of wicker sofas and chairs.


Beautiful table setting in blues.


The master suite’s carved and turned canopy bed, stool and bedside tables, all with a foggy-gray finish and placed atop a handmade off-white cotton rug, occupy one corner of a high-ceilinged space that interconnects with an anteroom, two dressing rooms and a bath.

From the anteroom, with its custom-made demilune table, lamp and carved mirror, another corner of the master bedroom—where the secretary is situated—can be seen.


The children’s bedroom. The peach fabric on the lampshade and on the beds is from Manuel Canovas.

A short walk downhill from the main house is a balustraded terrace, an ideal setting from which to take in the beauty of the lagoon below. Because storms are not uncommon, its furnishings are portable—wicker armchairs and a table with a wicker base and a glass top.


From the living room’s veranda, there are uninterrupted views of the property’s infinity-edge swimming pool—sited and designed to blend into the seascape—and its unfilled-coral-stone terrace. As throughout, the plantings are by landscape architect Guy Walker.

Hope you enjoyed this tour. Come back tomorrow!

Photography by Luke White.

All images from Architectural Digest.

Renovated Farmhouse in Girona

Good morning dears. This renovated farmhouse is in Girona, a city northeast of Catalonia, in Spain. On a white background, details of tribal art, Chinese antiques or African rugs adorn every room.



Walls are made of stone. A rustic table, long wooden bench and wicker chairs make up a dining space in the porch.


Teak loungers by the pool.



White cotton upholstered sofas, antique Majorcan chairs, a Portuguese coffee table, an Indonesian chest, antique Chinese vases and a zebra skin rug make up the eclectic living room.


Concrete and pebble flooring in the library and kitchen for a rustic look. The table is antique French.


Austere dining room with simple lines. Metal chairs were slipcovered to add warmth.


Concrete and pebble flooring and a long stone countertop in the kitchen. Those simple light bulbs hanging above the table look nice but I wonder whether you have to shade your eyes while eating here.


Ethnic style in the master bedroom where the beams have been painted white. The rug is from Morocco.


Sitting area upstairs.


One end of the master bathroom


Claw foot bathtub and separate shower at the side.


On the terrace an antique iron table with simple folding chairs by an olive tree.

All images from Nuevo Estilo.