I am living in Tuscany and exploring many villas for sale or just visiting good friends. one of my favourite pass times is heading to Umberto’s house. He has taught the real art of living in a Tuscan villa. Umberto has been redecorating villas, palazzo’s for over fifty years. Home design more than ever is why. You should take the time to explore each of your rooms. To understand that nature and Fengshui is all about taking the time to feel the energy you are seeking for a calm wellness way of living.
Umberto is all about feeling the energy of villas. Taking the time to study its lighting and its history. Umberto designs gardens too and is all about bringing nature into his villa. This is his garden and I adore having al fresco here with his chickens.
This is his view, where we talk about la dolce vita. The garden is low maintenance in comparison to other villas I have visited.
Umberto is all about mirrors and likes to capture nature as much as possible. What a fabulous idea for placing objects on your outdoor table.
This is the reflection of his tree into the glass table. What do you think? I would love to see a persimmon tree here too.
Your Office
Umberto is a collector of art, paintings, natural wood and objects from Italian designers. His villa is also a showroom for his clients. Uberto over the years collects items that he uses for his work, to show his international clients that living in Italy is all about lifestyle.
To educate those that villa living is a work of art, not just a home to sleep in.
Umberto has endless crystal balls as features around his villa. He is all about positive mindset energy.
Window Lighting
Villa’s can be very dark. Umberto likes to use nature reflecting from outside in. This is his gold curtains as he always wants sunlight peering into his office.
I adore how he uses mirrors inside as reflections of the sun peering into his villa. This is a dark room but due to this clever interior design it does not seem dark at all. The mood is one of nature.
How beautiful are the plant shapes reflecting on his gold curtains?
Garden & Nature
In Tuscany the view and gardens are stunning. So it is important to be able to look out and appreciate nature. It is so important to work with nature and not against it. To smell, see and feel nature, helps Umberto to be very creative.
I like how he uses statues to complete his garden ambience.
Also being able to see outdoor furniture is a reminder to him to sit outside no matter how cool or hot it is.
Bedroom Decor
Tuscany is the perfect lockdown setting. When we sleep nature is all around us. I can always hear so many different animal sounds throughout the night. I love this it is amazing to hear. Italian linen is the best in the world. It feels and looks amazing. So Umberto makes sure that his sleeping zone is right. It is a place to rest the body, soul and mind.
Colours are important to create a place of rest. Natural wood furniture and mirror reflections to make you relax. Endless amounts of pillows is brilliant to make your sleeping bed very cosey. This room is a place of rest.
Comfortable Seating
Comfortable seating in villas is very important. Villas are cold and for six months of the year, it can be very cold and wet. So sitting inside is long and important to be comfortable. With lounges it’s important to be able to sit and look out of the window. Been able to sit for a long time and not get a back ache is why Umberto has many different styles of chiars.
You want to be able to see many different views and connect to nature. Hence why Umberto has many seats around his villa
Umberto sources his clothes all over Tuscany, the high-end linen made in Italy. He upcycles chairs and reupholsters them. In his office and bedroom, these chairs are art pieces and features within themselves. Just high-quality sustainable fabrics that look and feel stunning.
Umberto uses many pillows as an added feature on the chair so when lying down it makes you feel relaxed.
Wall Pictures
One of the signatures items Umberto loves to do. is upcycle offcuts and turn them into items for use on the wall. Umberto uses so many frames on his walls and I am amazed how it looks.
Below are left overs wood items he recycles to create his own wall art.
Art pieces are on the wall, on the floor but this all works. Tiles in villas are harsh and cold. Umberto uses antiques to soften the look. He is a master of geometric items. Look how many lines are used in one small window frame.
Items are like museums pieces. So when I sit in Umberto’s villa it tells me a story. It is his expression for love of nature.
Office Ambience
This is Umberto’s office space. His place has a lot of lights and many interior design objects. It’s how Umberto works on his projects to be inspired by his existing items. Sustainability is what Umberto workplace is all about and he is always recycling items. Umberto has many artefacts, art pieces he buys at markets or existing villas that gift him. He reuses them as much as he can.
Books
Umberto uses books and collects them for features. It stimulates his creativity. These are books found in villas or markets.
Beach Walks
Umberto often goes to the beach for relaxing walks on the beach. He collects wood items that look like animals. He also collects shells and uses them within his villa as a feature.
Nature once again giving back to Umberto.
The wood item near the radiator was found on the beach. It looks like a carved wooden art piece. Mother earth gifts items, Umberto acknowledges that.
Sustainability
Umberto is all about nature and using it as much as he can. He is all about working with nature. Very rich colours are used throughout Umberto’s place. Villa’s are cold place so he balances that by using so rich paints, velvet furniture and accessories. His furniture makes you feel warm. Umberto uses many lamps and lights of different shapes and sizes to give a cosey feel. So many lights make the villa very bright and relaxing at night. They are art pieces too from recycled places.
Bathroom Art
Bathrooms in villas are very cold. Umberto chooses bright tiles and adds art pieces and warm pictures to create a wellness and relaxing bathing space.
This corridor is part of the bathroom. So whilst bathing peering out in this long, free-flowing space is the energy of tranquillity. It is an ingenious way to create a large bathroom when it is small.
Carpets
Umberto uses carpets as art. Villa brick tiles are damn cold and loud. So carpet art gives warmth and a welcoming ambience in any villa. I love coming here and being part of his world. It is the ideal Alfresco way of life.
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