When I started Decorator’s Notebook, I didn’t anticipate finding one Croatian home worthy of a post, let alone two within the first two months! But despite the unexpected geographical bias, I couldn’t resist sharing this beautiful house the moment I laid eyes on it.
The house was built 50 years ago by the Grandfather of super-talented stylist Sania Pell and is now used as a shared holiday home by her family. Sania’s signature theme of upcycling and make-it-yourself are evident throughout and she’s mixed found objects and things she’s made with vintage, high-street and DIY store buys to give the space a clean, simple look. Could anyone fail to relax in a home like this?
I was tickled to see that Sania had picked this lamp as I have two of them myself. As much as I’d like to claim I could afford a pair of lovely Original BTC lights, this one is actually from the infinitely less glamourous B&Q!
I love the natural details and personal touches scattered through the house. The pebbles were found on the beach and shaped into hearts by Sania’s husband and children. All together now, awwwww.
Have you picked up that I have a bit of a thing about enamelware? The battered milk churn on the top shelf belonged to Sania’s Grandmother. In fact, lots of the objects in the house have a charming story to tell (read more about them here)
{all Sania Pell}
This house is just so blissful it actually makes my heart ache a little bit! Croatia’s been on my list for a while, but seeing this home, combined with these lovely Croatian holiday photos I think someone’s trying to tell me something…
Decorator's Notebook blog 
Really love this house – a year ago it would have summed up just how I’d like my house to look. I’m in ‘love colour’ mode at the moment instead…
Love! The details especially! The earthly tones – wood and stone.