The prodigal son goes public

I'm sorry I haven't posted for such a long time. In the meantime, Indulgence Divine has been launched and is fast gaining followers. The reason for making this public is in response to all those guests who's interest went beyond simply the enjoyment of staying in the house, those guests who asked me questions as to what went into the restoration of the building. I apologise ito those who would rather watch paint dry rather than read through this.

Sharing our shower

With it's mosaic curves, our twin shower is bound to be romantic and sensuous. We have tried it (purely for research purposes, of course) and it works wonders (don't ask). The rain showers, the hot water straight from our solar water heater, the light reflecting from the coloured glass mosaic, the seductively textured wall tiles, the toilet seat that slowly descends back - all add up to a lush experience.

Mejda*

Designed exclusively for Indulgence Divine, the dining table has curvy legs, each one individual and unique in shape, and a white Carrara marble top. Although the marble top is extremely heavy, visually it looks subtle and graceful because of its tapered edge. The marble with its beautiful textural variations has been through a process called brushing, giving its surface a lovely sheen and a subtly undulating finish. The figure of eight shape is suitable for 4 diners whilst also being intimate enough for two.



*Mejda is the Maltese word for table

Young is the night

The room's history itself is fascinating enough. The room was the private chapel of the house and includes marine graffiti possibly dating back to the 16th century.

The bed frame with its sensuous curves in a walnut finish, I am told is Art Deco. The Moroccan silk and the colourful linen set the scene but there's still a lot to come. A large antique tapestry featuring men riding horses will eventually take pride of place on the wall to the side of the bed while the appropriate bedside tables have not as yet been sourced.

Just yesterday I ordered the wall light which I shall have to carry with me on the plane, weight restrictions permitting.

A coloured glass door takes you to the bathroom whilst a low heavy door with a key-hole shaped window leads to an exquisite old stone spiral staircase. What lies beyond is for our guests to discover.

Warm welcome

Against all advice I decided to paint all apertures in white. I don't have reason to regret it as yet. As I mentioned earlier on in this blog, the door has been brought back to it's original grand hight by taking out the horizontal stone that had been added on at some stage. The two small peeping windows in the doors were inspired by some of the doors at the President's Palace in Attard. The black metal security gratings still need to be added.



The entrance hall, small but with a high ceiling leads to the courtyard via some stairs. The glass ceiling has increased the appeal of the small courtyard and I have started to introduce colour and fragrance through flowers and plants.

Kitchen

All that is left to do in the kitchen is the splashback. The glass has already arrived but I still have not decided between two options as far as what is behind the glass. We either go for a printed background (an old map of Vittoriosa perhaps) or use a traditional technique used for shop signs using paint and scrunched up silver foil (see picture below).

Lounge

I apologise for the lack of information in these last months. Work has been ongoing and now I'm back in the UK for a couple of weeks before going back for the finishing touches. But this is no time for rest - I shall be sourcing a few more things (yes, glorious shopping) to take back with me to Vittoriosa.



This is the lounge that leads to the roof garden. The devil lies in the detail, they say, but so does the pleasure of seeing my vision take shape. The L shaped white leather sofa has been wonderfully offset by the dark Moroccan square Zelig tiles. The sun streams through the Tord Boontje laser cut curtain to create a relaxing array of shapes on the walls.





The white walls still look a bit cold as I have not as yet hung the old prints and original works that are destined for this room. An HD ready flat screen will provide the entertainment when our guests aren't up on the roof garden enjoying the warm weather. It has honestly felt like summer these last few weeks - it's a marvel I have got any work done at all. All I wished to do was sit in the sun.

The Murano antique

No, I am not from Murano myself, thank you very much! It's now time for the fun things to start. We hung the aquamarine glass chandelier I purchased almost a couple of years ago for the house from a local antiques shop. The wiring is not yet in but it already looks fabulous.

Bathroom light

Have been on the lookout for the right light shade for the bathroom and think I might have found the one. It's Zara Home's January lantern. I wonder if the Sliema branch in Malta stock it. I'll have to call them tomorrow.

The kitchen pod

The kitchen had been lying in dad's garage for far too long. Now that the doors and windows were in, the kitchen could finally be fitted in. To start off with we insulated the kitchen from the stone wall using boards that can take humidity (Maltese stone tends to retain moisture within it). This had to be taken off again and re-applied as I had made some miscalculations with were electrical outputs ought to be. This time dad and I decided to do it ourselves as we would have been charged extra otherwise.



Kitchen was taken out of its flatpack packaging and assembled by two guys from Aplan and we found out there was one missing part. I phoned the company that has transported the kitchen from Germany and their guy came over to have a look. The part should be coming in with their next order.



Gennaro (yes, you guessed it, he IS from Naples) came over to build the gypsum structure for the pod I designed for the kitchen. It does make a substantial difference to the look and feel of the kitchen, even now in its unfinished state. It's looking good already.

The Hanex surface I have ordered is from a company called Seamless. They promised they'd install it for me before the end of the month

Metal spiral staircase

I set out to design a spiral staircase that could be equally contemporary and classic, above all one that was comfortable and free from any additional decoration. The white metal part is already in and the carpenter has come in to measure the chunky wooden parts that go on the surface of the steps and on the frame of the balcony that extends from the room upstairs. The white structure looks so light that I am tempted to not add the dark wood I designed in the first place but, on second thoughts, the wood will add contrast and warmth to the whole thing.



It was a bugger getting the extremely heavy thing into the house as no aperture was wide enough. The staircase had to be lifted by crane and slowly rotated through the aperture by several men all yelling out instructions. Some damage was done to the gipsum walls which will need to be fixed at a later stage, but on the whole, the thing went smoothly.

Sky on the big screen

The double glazed ceiling to cover the 3 x 3 meter courtyard has arrived. Getting the frame right took a couple of days to assemble and finally the heavy glass was taken out of its wooden packaging and carried carefully by 5 workmen, watched by one nervous owner. It's great to watch the clouds scuttle across the sky through the glass. What's even better is staying dry when stepping into the courtyard on a rainy day.

Apertures

This week, the carpenter promised the apertures will be fitted in and the house can finally start getting cleaned up. Kitchen and bathroom can then be safely installed. I cannot risk a similar incident happening as happened recently, so security is one issue I'm keen on.

We had the usual end of August torrential rain this week and thankfully I was there to keep the water from making its way into the hall downstairs. The glass ceiling for the courtyard is nowhere in sight and so I have asked the supplier to fit in a temporary plastic one until the real one arrives from Germany. That should take care of any other showers.

I also checked the roof after the downpour and noticed a small puddle had appeared by the door of the roof garden. The tiler has been asked to come again and take out two/four of the tiles and lay them again so that no water puddle remains.

Unfortunate incident

I was not sure I wanted to write about this as it was not exactly a highlight in the doing up of this wonderful house, but it is still part and parcel of my experience. I have decided to just provide the link to what has been reported today in the local newspaper. What I would like to add is that the number of hours dedicated to removing the damage has been rather cathartic and I feel much better for it.

Sona si Latine loqueris

The Pietra Santa marble with the latin inscription UBI DUBIUM IBI LIBERTAS has just been fitted above the doors to the garden roof yesterday. I wonder whether the inscription is visible from the Domenicans across the street. The Domenicans were the ones assigned to be inquisitors for the Vatican, the ones that policed the faith and who convicted heretics. Vescere bracis meis, Domenicans.