homes | Daydream Tourist

Oct 29

The Beautiful City of Padua

I came to Padua to see Giotto’s masterpiece, the Scrovegni Chapel, but I discovered a really amazing place. I found a charming city with lovely streets, elegant architecture, fun sights, and locals out enjoying a pleasant fall weekend in the numerous parks and piazzas. While Venice, its neighbor in the Veneto region, gets mobs of tourists, I realized that Padua definitely deserves a few days to explore and rewards its visitors with an unforgettable experience.

An impressive sight when walking around. Street view of the Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua

Gilded Age Decorative Arts: Chicago’s Driehaus Museum

Magnificant marble front entrance to the Driehaus Museum

Nothing captures the artistic spirit of an era like a historic home. Through a coherent assemblage of architectural elements, furniture, and decor, you can get an absolute understanding of a period’s design principles. I recently visited the Driehaus Museum in Chicago which presents within its luxurious rooms the evolving American decorative arts of the Gilded Age. This mansion is also a startlingly beautiful oasis in the modern business center of Chicago and definitely worth a visit!

Dutch Interiors Spaces

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about genre paintings of the Dutch masters, it’s the importance of the domestic interior. In some of these paintings you see individuals, families, and colleagues carrying on their daily business with a quiet diligence. I am always impressed by the clean and orderly world these characters occupy. Nothing is ostentatious, nor it is boring. Judging from the open windows throughout Amsterdam, the modern Dutch have maintained their historic skill at creating peaceful interior design.

Here are just some of the modern and recreated examples of Dutch interiors I found in Amsterdam along with their art historical counterparts.