Trulli unique Italian houses

This is one of my very favourite posts that I wrote for DesignTies a couple of years ago. If you remember it from back then, I hope you’ll enjoy visiting it again. And if this is your first time, I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :-)

Have you ever heard of a trullo?? I hadn’t until a few days ago.

Trulli (the plural form) are structures with gray stone cone-shaped roofs. They’re found in Bari and Tarano in the Puglia region of Italy. There are over 400 trulli in the town of Alberobello, considered to be the “trulli capital”.

The origin of these oddly shaped houses is unknown. Traditionally, trulli were built without any cement or mortar. One of the more popular theories is that because of high taxation on property, the people of Puglia created trulli so that they could be dismantled and moved out of sight when the taxman was in the area. Then they would put them back together once the taxman was gone.

Today, trulli have solid foundations. No hiding from the taxman anymore!! The stone used to build a trullo helps to keep the house cool in the hot Italian summer. The outside of the cone is built from chiancarelle (stone slabs) of different sizes that serve as roofing tiles.

As you can see in the pictures, there’s typically a pinnacoli (pinnacle) at the top of each trullo’s cone. The significance of the pinnacoli is still unclear. Some people believe it gives magic powers. Others believe it represents the family that lives in the trullo.

Sketches of pinnacoli (from www.alberobello.blogspot.com):

Many cones have symbols painted on them. The symbols are painted with lime. Legend has it that they were painted for magical or propitiatory rites. The meaning of some common symbols are to protect the family living in the trullo from the evil eye, the worship of some deity, and the hope for a good harvest.

From left to right are Primitive, Christian, and Magic symbols (from www.alberobello.blogspot.com):

Now let’s take a peek inside and look up some trulli cones…

Some pretty trulli exteriors…

The interior of a restored trullo might surprise you…

The trullo in the following pictures is Villa Santoro (featured on www.villapuglia.com). Villa Santoro recently underwent a complete renovation and rebuild by an Austrian designer and a Milanese architect team. It combines and retains the Trullo and Masseria styles typical and unique to the area. Many of the original trullo features have been maintained, including the original stonework and vaulted ceilings. The interior is clean and minimal, but the stone gives it character and warmth.

The bright & light interior…

 

The backyard isn’t too shabby either!!

 

Beautiful blue skies…

       

The sun is setting on Villa Santoro…

 

I hope you enjoyed visiting these trulli unique Italian houses as much as I did :-)

Don’t forget to enter my Fifi Flowers giveaway here, and sign up for Bake-N-Blog: Holiday Edition here.

Read about a trullo restoration here:

www.mmenterprises.co.uk/blog/labels/trulli.htm

Sources:

www.wikipedia.com

www.geocities.com/trullihouses/

www.alberobello.blogspot.com

And the winner is ::: NOT Maureen! Plus Fifi Giveaway #3!

If you remember my giveaway post from last Friday, my friend Maureen at MoDecor won the fabulous Matt LeBlanc painting in my Giveaway #1. Within less than 24 hours, she also won prizes at TWO decorating events. If you lost a horseshoe recently, I think I know where it is… ;-)

This week’s Giveaway #2 winner is going to receive a personalized blog design from Katie Lane at DreamUp Studios. Katie will work with you to design your blog from one of twelve blog templates at Aqua Blue Sunrise. It’s a seriously good prize, and trust me when I say that you’ll love what Katie comes up with for you :-)

I know a lot of you are excited about the chance to give your blog a design makeover, so with no further ado, this week’s lucky giveaway winner is…

Barbara @ Hodge:Podge!

Congratulations Barbara! I’ll get you connected with Katie, and then you’ll be on your way to a whole new blog design :-)

{If you haven’t visited Barbara’s blog, you HAVE to check out her amazing tufted headboard project, complete with an in-depth tutorial.}

And now, on to…

Bribery Giveaway #3!

Yes, the fun & prizes just keep coming! I told you I’m going to use gifts to bribe you into reading my blog ;-) This week, the lovely & talented artist and blogger Fifi Flowers has generously created a beautiful painting especially for my giveaway. Fifi has a painting style that’s all her own – a big scoop of colour mixed with a good shake of Paris and a pinch of whimsy. She paints landscapes, houses, pets, rooms, people… all with her Fifi flourish :-) Here’s just a small sampling of her work…

I love this painting of Newman, from Fifi’s frameable note card collection. The note cards are helping to sponsor service and guide dogs in association with Beach Bum Biscuits of Tybee Island in Georgia. On top of being a fabulous artist, Fifi has a huge heart too :-)

Fifi also does commissioned paintings, and it just so happens that she created a set of three paintings for me :-) You’ll have to wait till my dining room makeover reveal to see them – although I’ve posted a picture somewhere on my blog that has a little sneak peek in it :-)

So are you anxious to see the painting that Fifi has created for my giveaway? It’s a 6.5” x 7.5” acrylic on archival paper with a value of $150.00. Yes, you read that right – I don’t do cheapo giveaways, oh no sirree! You’ll receive the painting unframed, so you can personalize it with the frame of your choice. And here it is…

“Bleu Bicyclette avec Yellow Porte” by Fifi Flowers

Oooh-la-la, c’est magnifique! Fifi, you’ve outdone yourself! I wish I could enter my own giveaway, but alas, that just wouldn’t be right. Unless I pay off Maureen and then… no, no, that would be wrong too!

Here’s what you need to do to enter: Go to Fifi’s Etsy shop, browse through her paintings, and then leave a comment on this post telling me which Fifi painting(s) you like best. Seriously, how often to you get the chance to win a fabulous original painting for just a minute or two of sitting in front of the computer?!

As always, feel free to tweet about my giveaway, mention it on Facebook, add a link to it on your blog, add JAX does design to your blog roll, or anything else you’d care to do to spread the word. Leave a separate comment for each thing you do, and you’ll increase your odds of winning :-) You have until Thursday, November 11th at 11:59PM to enter, and I’ll announce the winner in my post on Friday, November 12th. Giveaway is open to everyone, but if you don’t have a blog, make sure you include your e-mail address in your comment so I can contact you if you’re the winner.

Bonne chance, mes amis!

Wait! Don’t leave yet! You like to eat yummy baked goodies, yes? Well, then you need to participate in Bake-N-Blog: Holiday Edition! Click the button for all the details…

Bake-N-Blog: Holiday Edition!

This past summer, Staci at Staci Edwards Design came up with the fantastic idea for a Bake-N-Blog event. Each blogger who participated selected a cupcake from Ming Makes Cupcakes, whipped up a batch of the cupcakes, taste-tested them (isn’t that the whole point of baking?!), and then blogged about their cupcakes. I made Graham Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. May I just say YUM?

The event was a huge success – not only were the cupcakes yummy delights, it was also an opportunity to meet & make some new blog buddies. Maybe I should call this the Meet-N-Make Blog-N-Bake… no, nevermind :-)

This time, your Bake-N-Blog host is… me! And I’m counting on YOU to help me make it as successful as the first time around!

With holiday season coming up, this is the perfect opportunity to try out a new recipe for a cookie swap, to give as a gift, to bring to a party… or to just eat all by yourself :-) I found a blog called Food Blogga that has literally hundreds of Christmas cookie, bar, and square recipes from all around the world. Here are just a few of the yummy-looking treats:

    

Have I tempted you to participate?! Here’s how:

1. Get yourself a big cup of coffee or glass of milk to keep you going as you look through all 440 Food Blogg cookie recipes here, here, and here. A bit over-whelming? Then just check out one of the three links – you’re sure to find something that will catch your eye (and taste buds!)
2. Leave a comment on this post and let me know which cookie you’ve selected.
3. Sometime between now and the Official Bake-N-Blog Day of Wednesday, December 1st, whip up a batch of your selected cookies. Don’t forget to take pictures!
4. Write a blog post about your baking experience. Was the recipe easy or hard to follow? Did you like the results? Would you recommend the recipe to a friend?
5. On Wednesday, December 1st, upload your Bake-N-Blog post to your blog. And let the party begin! I’ll add Mr. Linky to the Bake-N-Blog party post on December 1st, and then you can make the rounds and see what all the participants have baked.

As an added bonus, I have a little gift that will go to one randomly selected Bake-N-Blog participant :-)

I’ll post occasional reminders between now and December 1st. And if you could post about the Bake-N-Blog on your blog, tweet about it, or mention it on your Facebook page, that would be great. The more people who participate, the more cookies we can all virtually taste test :-)

And to make it all official and everything, here’s a button that you can add to your sidebar and link it to this post. I’m trying to get the code for the button to work too, but for now you can use this code: http://jaxdoesdesign.blogspot.com/2010/11/bake-n-blog-holiday-edition.html

 Time to get your bake on!

Lovingetc: {October & November 2010}

It’s back! My Lovingetc feature that I debuted over at DesignTies was a hit, so it’s going to be a regular monthly feature here on my new blog. (Click here to check out the first instalment.) This feature showcases some of my favourite items from each issue of Livingetc magazine.

Seeing as I started with the September issue in October, I’m catching up with the October & November issues now. So this is a jam-packed edition! I think you’ll find a lot of inspiration here… let’s go!

1.  How cool are these PUNK mugs from Make International? Love the fun take on words and the safety pin. If a coffee mug with a safety pin isn’t your thing, they carry a wide range of white ceramic dishes stamped with simple & colourful words in the same newspaper-esque font.

2.  I love, love, LOVE this idea – transforming a black & white photograph into wallpaper. Also love how the paper wraps around the corner of the wall and onto the adjacent wall. The photograph is by Nic Miller and the paper is available from Surface View. Wouldn’t this be a fantastic way to display one of your favourite photographs?

3.  These Totem tables from Niki Jones could be used as an end table in a living room or a night table in a bedroom. The distinctive shapes are created using a traditional technique with a foot-pedalled lathe. I can’t decide which table I like best – the bright fuchsia pink or the natural wood. (I will NEVER spell fuchsia right!)

 

4.  Looking for an upholstered headboard that stands out from the crowd? Then check out the Alexander headboard from House Couturier. If you’re ambitious, you could probably make one yourself. If you do, you have to let me know how it turns out!

5.  Doesn’t this just look just like a water droplet hitting a puddle of water? It’s called the Fruit Bowl, but it could be used to hold all sorts of goodies, like cookies or squares or cupcakes. From Royal VKB.

6.  This is the most fun carpet runner I’ve ever seen – the Crossword runner from BoConcept. I love letters and words as art, and this crossword carpet really is a piece of art for your floor.

7.  The big, bold, graphic design on this Sombrero bedding set is really modern and fun. And so are the fuchsia pink headboard and night table :-) Did you notice the Maskros chandelier in the top left corner? Bedding designed by Zandra Rhodes and available at Graham Sanderson Interiors.

8.  I wrote a post about Annette Burgansky’s work a while back over at DesignTies. She creates the coziest porcelain pieces you’ve ever seen – they look just like a warm & comfy cable knit sweater. Available at Loop, and also check out Design Nation.

9.  I’m not a big fan of polished brass, but there’s something about this brass cabinetry that’s really sexy! The cabinets are stock, and are covered with customized sheets of brass.

10.  I recently started a glass float collection, so the article in the November issue about how to display collections is right up my alley. Whatever you collect, keep in mind that the items will have a bigger impact if they’re grouped together. Displaying your collection in an unusual place or unexpected way will have even more impact. Glass & ceramic collections look best when they’re flooded with light.

11. And finally, a picture of blue hydrangeas just because I love blue hydrangeas and I love this picture :-)

I could go on, but I have to stop somewhere! If you don’t already read Livingetc, I highly recommend that you check it out. You can subscribe to the online version for a fraction of the newsstand price at zinio.com.

What’s your favourite find from this month’s Lovingetc?

Need a blog makeover? Then be sure to enter my giveaway to win a FREE blog design from the super-talented Katie Lane of DreamUp Studios. To enter, click here.