We had a couple of friends over for a terribly informal dinner last night. As the dining room is still not done we put a table in the grey salon. It actually worked very well. I think in future if we’re hosting a small group, that’s the way to go. Once the candles and fire were lit everything looked quite nice.
The menu was ultra-simple. We started with what in Argentina they call provoleta. Grilled provolone with diced tomatoes and oregano. The main course was low-temp roast beef which had been marinated in red wine and tarragon, and dessert was a raspberry tart. Then chocolate truffles with coffee. I know it sounds incredibly lazy of me, but I just don’t know people well enough to thrust unusual food at them yet. I’m still not sure about how locals might react to tuna tataki or ajoblanco. Most of the restaurants around here are still serving dishes that were popular circa 1974. Everything seems to come with double cream or bacon- or both.
Anyway, it went well. I tend to judge success on how long people choose to stay, and they left after 3am. That means they probably enjoyed themselves.
Now we have no social encounters for three weeks. Work on the apartments begins on the 2nd of October. I’ve planned most of it in my head, but now I have to put it all on paper in the next few days so workers can understand what I want.
In essence I’m putting aside financial advice and considerations. I don’t want to create budget apartments. I want to create homes people actually want to be in. I’ve always gotten a kick out of that. A glamorous atmosphere, good colours, pleasant textures- they elevate the human animal. Care, effort and the resulting beauty make people feel better. It certainly works for me.
The beauty you show here does indeed make me feel better. 🙂 I’ve gotten myself a Restoration Hardware catalog. Ah, I can fantasize…..
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Try houseofantiquehardware.com
I’ve been using them for ages and their price/quality ratio is very good 🙂
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Thank you. Just starting to get my ducks in a row for a major kitchen renovation.
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When we renovated places we could have accepted the large grants offered by local housing initiatives…but one look at the havoc wreaked by their specifications on beautiful old properties was enough to decide us to go it alone to produce something that respected the property and the lives of those likely to live in it.
As for what to serve….the initial attitude was astonishment that they weren’t presented with mint sauce and warm beer.
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I make it a rule to try to ignore governments 🙂
At this point I’ve stopped believing in grants- at least those for the average citizen. There’s always a price to pay.
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In this case the price to pay would have been substandard finishings….ones which I bet that those administering the grants would not have chosen for their own places.
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Those administering the grants are too busy buying shares in the companies that sell the substandard finishing materials 🙂
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That may account for the finishings they can afford to buy for themselves….
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Your intimate dinner looks more than ‘quite nice’. :p The Grey Salon is lovely, elegant and restful. And the menu sounds delicious, with or without cream and bacon. 😀
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I’ve never had a room that worked so well. The proportions perfectly balance old-world grand with homely. And at night we get the glittering of the lights of the houses across the street coming through the camellias, it’s magical.
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So important that feast for the senses. Who said beauty had to be cold and distant? I think your Grey Salon is turning into my favourite room in the house. Except perhaps for the kitchen. Any new pics from there?
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The setting looks very intimate and comfortable. The menu though simple sounds excellent. No wonder they were reluctant to leave.
Hugs
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“Then chocolate truffles with coffee”
Coffee. Probably not decaf, huh?
“Anyway, it went well. I tend to judge success on how long people choose to stay, and they left after 3am.”
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We do buy decaf, but no one opted for it 🙂
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cf the bit in Dorian Gray, about how we heal the soul through the senses. It always works for me — beauty makes me less of a beast.
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