Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Loggia

We have a space that is next to our terrace at the back of the house; it is covered by a large arched structure built in 1923, we call this the loggia. For a long time this was where we had the ping pong table, which was heavily used by us 5 children. But those days are past us now, and the ping pong table is long gone. I used to want a nice outdoor lounge set here, but now we use it as a true multi-purpose space, for dinners, lunches and parties of various sizes. Good thing we have a large family and there is always something going on. This is where we had the Puppy Party as seen in Romantic Homes April 2010. I recently used the loggia again for my nephew Corino's high school graduation dinner:

Here is the scene at night; when it's your family, no one cares if they are sitting on mismatched chairs, though I would like to find a reasonable set of gold salon chairs:

A month earlier, I had a two dinner for two of my nieces, back to back on subsequent nights, with paper lanterns strung from above; I hid that dangling electrical cord before the dinner; here is the wide view:
I'd love to have a party sometime with all of the guests receiving a small party favor basket, in a mix of the same colors as the lanterns; you can see just one little mango Cap Ferrat there on the right. The view from the opposite end, as I was setting the 18 ft table & chairs:
And in the evening light; it was perfect, and the girls were so happy:
the lanterns made the space glow....
This weekend, I wanted to re-do the space for a smaller group. I had the extreme luxury of preparing a dinner for 4, versus my usual large gatherings. I brought two rocker/swivel chairs down from the bedroom and covered them in linen sheets; I moved a bunch of ferns and potted jasmine and herbs around to fill in the area:
then added the tiger stripe silk velvet cushions taken from the living room; and made a trip to Ikea, where I got the coffee table for $19:
the hurricanes came from Yvette's garage sale down the street, as did the paper lanterns I showed you from the girls' parties; it was one of the best "garage" sales ever; she only has fab stuff and her home will also be in Romantic Homes soon; I can't wait to see what Jacqueline the Editor will do with the layout!
I got the armless chaise from Ikea, and it will go up in the bedroom when summer is over. I have Joni from Cote de Texas to thank for the chaise idea; Joni informed us that they had finally produced an armless chaise (don't we all follow Joni...but if you missed it see her post HERE); I've loved the chaise for a long time, hated the arm; here it is without arm and without a slip cover; $250; I covered it in the vintage linen sheets a dear friend sent me, with my AD mono (I am thrilled to have them!); the whisper light mohair throw is from Paris via Cargo & Company; it's very soft and I love to use it:
I filled the hurricanes with French lavender, and set out sweet peas from the Saturday market; a lovely mix of scents....
We had a great dinner, one new dear friend and one old dear friend. They know who they are and I love you both.

I stayed home from the market today to make breakfast for Pop and the puppies; bacon, eggs, and homemade hash browns. Dad was so happy. We had a family reprise later of a BBQ dinner; hope everyone had a fabulous Fathers Day....

3 comments:

  1. I truly adore the idea of the lanterns being filled with lavender.

    I am sending pictures to you today.

    Be blessed, you're treasured.

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  2. Beautiful loggia!! Love the parties you shared, the lanterns and flowers were amazing!
    I may have to borrow the lavender idea!
    Londen

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  3. Londen, I bring lavender back from France by the kilo; if you ever need any let me know; It's a mix of the common lavender and the lavendin (highest oil content lavender often used for culinary purposes), and is extra blue as you see in the pics. I'll be selling burlap sachets of it shortly too, with or without a French religious medal.

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