On our way to the French Market in Georgetown this past weekend, my cool and actual love matchmaker friend Sybil and I stopped for a slice of antique's heaven at Cote Jardin Antiques. Beside one of the most photographed store fronts in DC ( you can understand why ) it has also absolutely the most beautiful collection of home decor and furniture. The store will soon undergo some renovations but even with unadorned walls and finishes you can't take a bad picture anywhere! Love

One of the healthy aspects of moving is definitely meeting new people and making new friends. Quite daunting at times but so beneficial to be exposed to new perspectives, feel challenged and inspired. Case in point, my new friend Ronni from Ronni Logan Interiors. She was born in England, moved a bit and lived a while in Africa. She is an interior designer with a background in fashion and stage design. I think you will be able to see all this elements in her home ...and of cou

Masseria Chic's name and logo was born long before my business was officially registered. I was still in design school and I indulged an inordinate amount of time in choosing a name and designing a logo...subject matters which carried little weight with my professors. The logo might not be graphic design greatness, but I like it. I drew the Masseria and the flowers myself. The name, although not easy to remember nor pronounce for some, still has a little mystery to it. Someti

'New Year' and 'Resolutions' they almost go hand in hand don't they? I happen to be not a big New Year Resolution kind of gal. I am more likely to start on any Monday..or every Monday and take a chillier approach by Wednesday to celebrate my accomplishments by the weekend. Ha! Seriously though! I somewhat manage to stay balanced about diet, family and lifestyle in general. It has been a helpful that since I can remember, I have always moved: to a new city, sometimes country o

Masseria Chic Black Friday 2018 Fvorites

The 'thrill of the hunt' is an indivisible component of moving often that has that perfect balance of love and hate. It extends not only to shopping but to everything else : doctors, hairdresser, gym, grocery store, favorite driving routes. As it might take ten tries until you find your favorite one the 'thrill' fades fast and the struggle is real. But there was one day this past week where I was exploring around and I stumbled upon the most beautiful place. Oh my! What a th

As one of the chicest spots in Jaipur and top instagrammed locations, I could not NOT visit Bar Palladio while in India. I also came across an AD article from March '18 and became even more intrigued by the inspiration and crossing paths of Palladio designer Marie-Anne Oudejans and owner Barbara Miolini. Both women left their birth countries, lived a creative life, called Europe home for a long lenght of time and eventually ended up in Jaipur. Oudejans is the successful fash

Back in July 2016 I posted a picture on my IG account. It was the summer we moved from the US to Bahrain, my household goods were on a container somewhere in the South Atlantic while the kids and I spent the summer with my family in Italy. I spotted this vintage Laura Biaggiotti leather suitcase at an antique market in Rome and although I am not stranger to impulse shopping, I just could not even wrap my head around the thought of bringing in yet another item I had to figure

It's no secret that I love antiques and that I find the most intriguing interiors to have a curated mix of old and new. As I am designing for a wonderful furniture store in Bahrain ( this new job deserves a little post of its own..) I am loving all the antique pieces leftover from an almost 30 years ago sourcing trip that my boss did in Asia. I can't resist the look of the intriguing wood paired with contemporary glass and metal. This is a piece from Tibet. I love how tall i

While in Italy this summer, I bought a pair of twin candelbra at the monthly antique market in Martina Franca . They have the ivory and ebony look and clean lines that remind me of the Art Deco era. I am not sure what their origin is. The base is made of wood and the candelabra itself kind of looks like ivory but it's quite too light and does not have those age lines..could be ivory 'paste'. Anyway, I loved them and took them home. I bought cream candles as the white one loo

I stumbled upon Space V&T Portofolio and loved this residential project. I like the easy color palette and the clean lines of the furniture pieces. Feels very 'easy living' and masculine but definetly cool enough for a girl. Plus there is that global influence in the patterns and fabric choices... looove! How cool is that sofa? And look at that view! Jeans and leather. Does not get any easier that that. You could carry that table outside and have an outdoor dinner party! This

I posted back in January about my living room and things already have started evolving in a more colorful and layered look. You can find pics of my living room then here. I added colorful pillows and accessories, like the plates on the wall. I also introduced small stools: the saturated yellow velvet picks up the gold leaf detail on the painting's frame and lamps and the light brown stripe in the pillow and the circle shape is repeated in the polkadot ikat pillow and in the

William McLure's home is absolutely fabulous. And the captivating thing is that as you look through the pictures online (on almost every platform) the background changes, the objects are rearranged, the chairs get reupholstered and the floor plan gets shifted around. The result of each evolution? Absolutely fabulous. And tons of inspiration. I think he has a great sense of style. Stained floors, hand painted chair rail and blue walls. Painted floors, red walls and the big tu

I am usually a neutral/tons of texture kind of girl but I who can resist these colorful interiors? Lately I am finding a lot of inspiration from vibrant and lively spaces. They feel young and fun. I love how the bright white walls and natural wood texture are accompanied by the vibrant colors, the starburst lights and fun artwork...and the cutest dog! Don't you feel like you want to hangout with these people? This is Brooklyn Decker's dining room! You can see more picture of

I took a few shots of my living room today. I am making some changes in the near future and wanted to remember how the room looked originally. We have been renting this home since August. I was able to choose the room paint colors and have the curtains replaced (not the hardware). I chose to create a very neutral background. All the pieces in the sitting area came from our home in Virginia Beach except the rug, some accessories like pillows and a few objects on the tables. An

I spent the last week of 2016 in Morocco with my family and it was one of our most wonderful trips ever. I‘ve always been fascinated with this country’s culture since I went to school to become a tour operator, many moons ago. I love the history and architecture, the old-world atmosphere and the vibrant souks, plus I love to speak French! We decided to sleep in Fez - the country’s cultural capital with its UNESCO protected Medina - and take day trips to visit the surrounding

Some dish towels are just too cute to be used as their original purpose! I buy them a lot because I rather not use paper towels and I like how they bring personality and decor to the kitchen but these two in the picture I knew I wanted to frame right away. My oldest daughter loves to ride horses and the equine markings pink towel was just too cute. The ostrich print towel is a vintage image form a 1889 book called "Cent récits d'histoire naturelle" by C.Delon that I've seen b

I always hunt for treasures at thrift shops, antique malls and discounts stores for both myself and my clients. It’s a great way to control the budget, be green, find something unique or DIY one of a kind. I found my feather wreath last spring at this thrift store in Virginia Beach for $2. Seriously. It smelled a little weird and some of the feathers needed to be pulled and re-glued but for $2 I can buy it and put it away (with a lavender sachet!) until I am ready. When I saw

What would you buy? I would buy a yard of expensive fabric or a designer coffee table book, possibly interior design magazines subscriptions and a bundle of bird feathers on Ebay to DIY a juju hat. See, I just love anything to do with interior design. 3 years ago I went back to college, graduated (surprisingly because I did it all without sleeping) and opened Masseria Chic shortly after. I was really hoping to work for a seasoned firm first but with 3 kids, a military husband