11/24/2025
The Loggia is one of my favourite spaces in the house and where our rose-tinted glasses truly kicked in — though also the most ‘hotly’ debated with our architect.
He very much wanted (and yes… I say wanted because thankfully he has given up trying to convince me 😆) to enclose the arch with full-height glass doors to create an all-season room. A fair point for practicality and resale — Italians do love functionality — but for me it would have taken away from the raw, authentic beauty of the original arch.
I envision this as an airy indoor–outdoor space with a connection to nature that stays true to the farmhouse’s integrity, framing the Chianti vineyards and eventually the pool and gardens.
What I did want was to open up the 2 foot-thick stone 300 year old wall between the family room and the Loggia to bring in more light, proportion and flow. When I casually said, ´Let’s just knock this through’ I had no idea it would unleash structural chaos.
We needed major reinforcement: 6 steel beams on both sides of the load-bearing wall, then another beam upstairs when cracks appeared as the foundations shifted. This became a project within the project — delicate, complex, and at times a little overwhelming when I let myself think about it for more than half a second.. Our Geometra (the ever patient engineer/surveyor) has been here so often he may as well move in (and we could genuinely start charging tourist tax). 😂
Even the two small steps between the rooms became a saga: the French door style, the door-within-a-door opening, the new floor levels with underfloor heating, threshold depths, and the automated mosquito screen that apparently requires NASA-level engineering. Every detail has consequences.
But this week, on a sunny afternoon that drifted into twilight, we finally made the last ‘tweaks’ and signed everything off… well, almost. The vision: a grounded, natural, soul-soothing space for long summer dinners, cosy corners with books and chilled wine, overlooking vineyards and listening to the countryside. A space born from complexity — but destined to become the heart of the house. italy🇮🇹 italy
