[Di]

Hi all,

I thought I'd use this thread to document the process of restoration. I'm thinking it would be useful for others contemplating it. With that in mind, I'll get you caught up. We found our apartment in the centro storico of Santa Domenica Talao on a wirlwind trip with Tony in September 2007. We had a big decision between a larger place in Scalea centro storico with a lovely terrace and view of the sea and this one, smaller with a view of the sea and mountains set in a quiet town of friendly people.

Next came the purchase (I'll leave that for someone else's thread as it's all a blur to me now) and picking out the design elements with our architect, Antonello. There were a lot of funny stories there. We picked our kitchen from the Sarubbi showroom (465 Corso Med.) and our bath and tile from Crusco (near Grisolia). Because we come from far, far away, we had to pick everything out at once....which I don't recommend but we got through it somehow. There were some glitches like me picking out, after what seemed like hours, the most expensive tile in the place without knowing it and not having the energy to start all over (not to mention Tony and Antonello's energy).

You can change the outside, apparently, if it's in keeping with historic looks and passes muster at the comune. We are adding an arched entry,enlarging the door to the terrace, and retrieving some "lost" windows.

So, currently, work has just begun. The beginning is getting the electricity going which is facilitated by the property management folks at Mattoni Casa (and Tony and David who are managing us so Antonello doesn't have to).

That's it for now. Hope to find a way to add pictures here or links thereto.