When I first saw the apartment, I liked everything about it, except the plain white arch separating the kitchen from the living area. To me, the kitchen is the most important room in the house. It’s where the food is. It’s where everyone hangs out while food is being prepared. It’s a focal point of any home. It needs room for people to gather around.
So, when I saw that plain arch and that bright blue kitchen, I immediately began thinking of ways to change it. If you are not familiar with Italian architecture, you should know that arches are everywhere. Everyone loves arches. But this one was really a poor excuse for an arch. Just plain. And it took up space that could have been useful. So, Mike and I agreed that we could live with the blue kitchen until we were able to redesign and rebuild the arch. There were so many other things that needed to be done. Plus, we needed to live in the apartment for a while to get a feel of how we would be living, what we would need or want in a kitchen. And we needed to find someone who could actually do the work.
But first, we needed to find a painter. All of the rooms needed to be painted. Especially the bedrooms. I posted a request on a local Facebook group and got several responses. The day after closing on the apartment, we spent a day interviewing eight painters. We thought we could work with a couple of them. But one, Leonardo, showed up with his geometra.
Leonardo, it turns out, has his hand in lots of projects in Abruzzo – travel, cooking, building, you name it. And he saw an opportunity with us. And we are thankful he did because the end result has been very good.
The geometra, without asking for any payment, gave us some solid advice regarding the arch, and also regarding the possibilities for building out our attic into another apartment (maybe some day). When we told Leonardo that we wanted to be able to set up the TV on the other side of the room, he came back a day or two later with an electrician and in about an hour the antenna wires were moved. No charge.
Leonardo had taken photos of the arch to show to his father, who he thought could do the work. Being a master brick person, his father, Giulio, recommended lining the arch with bricks. The geometra had recommended building a peninsula, which would maintain the wall while still opening the space, and Giulio agreed. Giulio and his long-time friend and co-worker Ernesto gave us an estimate for the cost, and we accepted.
The rooms in the sleeping area of the apartment had been painted by April 1, and work was ready to begin on the arch. We were warned about the noise and the dust, so Mike and I checked in to a B&B by the beach for a couple of days. By April 10 we were picking out the granite for the top of the peninsula and the living/dining area was being painted a lovely shade of light green.
You can see all of the photos here.
Mind you, all of this was going on at the same time we were shopping for a wardrobe for our bedroom and a bathroom vanity and mirror for the utility bathroom, Mike was gathering documents for our Italian taxes, and our handyman came to install extra electrical sockets in all of the rooms and to build the wardrobe (which had damage and we had to drive to Ikea to order a replacement). We’ve now ordered a new vanity and mirror for the main bathroom.
Today we went to the furniture store to find out why our new sofa and Mike’s new reclining chair hadn’t been delivered yet. It’s in the warehouse here, so hopefully it will arrive next week.
I did receive an update from the international shipping company that our things that were in storage in Chicago are scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam on May 7 or 8. It can take two to four weeks to arrive here in Citta’ Sant’Angelo, but at least we know it’s on its way.
My next project is to find draperies for all of the windows. Each room in the apartment has a double-door opening to the balcony. So that means a lot of drapes. I wish my sister Carol was here to help.
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