Adriatica - My Workspace

“Bloom where you are planted”. A known saying - one that I grew up hearing, mostly in my Mom’s voice, until eventually the voice in my head took to the happy habit of echoing hers.
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It is possibly one of the reasons why I have a natural inclination to make any space “mine” – to give it my touch, a smidgen of magic, so that it inspires me in return and so that I could bloom. 

The tiniest or darkest office space during my PhD years, the smallest Milanese studio where the cupboard for my clothes was actually larger than my kitchen, each room of each home I’ve had in Montreal – it has always been my mission for the space to reflect my mind, my loves, my mood and my story.
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When my first Montreal apartment began to burst at the seams, I set out on a long search for a new space to call home. It would have to be home for Veni Etiam as well – as she expanded, my first palazzo was no longer apt for her burgeoning dreams and growing wings. 

I dreamed of a room where I could write, create, daydream and be. A room where I could work on science and work on art, where I could leave a mess on my desk for a day or two, without it encumbering my dining space or being in the face of visitors. I dreamed of a space with wonderful light, with space for stock and bookshelves and mementos. After two years of searching for a new home I’d have a chance to love as much as my previous one, I found it… and with it, this space that had so much potential that it instantly won my heart.
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I call it “Adriatica”, after my favorite Sea.

I dreamed up a décor that would be partly industrial, to reflect my current taste, and partly nautical, to reflect my love of the Sea and all things maritime.

The influence of the Sea

​The color palette is maritime; I chose dark blue and light grey for the walls, and white for the brick. Many accents are turquoise and white. The shelves of the industrial bookcase look like rustic boats you would find in an Italian port town – boats whose colors have been lovingly eaten away by the saltwater and sun. ​Maritime accents picked up on travels fair well with memorabilia. My own favorite nautical photographs – Barcarolle, Malinconia, Pescatore, La Barca Blu, Adriatica and Plentzia – stare back at me and remind me to always follow the sea breeze and my dreams. 

​This room is actually an extension of the house and I refused to replace the original door. Instead, it was sanded (imperfectly) and painted (imperfectly) and I call it my old boat door. 

Two halves co-exist

​If you have read a little about me, you may know that my professional background is rooted in science. For many (long) years, I studied psychology, clinical linguistics and neuroscience. My research looks at how we acquire languages and how our brain changes as we learn and forget them. Fun fact: Veni Etiam was born while I was pursuing my PhD (and no, not necessarily out of procrastination!). I have always believed that both these halves – my scientific half and my creative half – co-exist in a way that one fuels the other. Both are needed to feel fully “me”. And so, my space needed to reflect just that, with a desk for each passion, and an inspiration wall across from an achievement wall. Of course, I don’t believe in lines and borders and mutual exclusivity, so one space spills into the other and I happily embrace that. The diplomas, for example, are interspersed with photography and maps of cities I lived in during my studies. My "thinking chair" is used for brainstorming and writing about both science and art. 

​The Inspiration Wall

​Almost a year after having moved in, I started to dream up my inspiration wall – a gallery wall whose purpose was to recenter and inspire me every time my eyes land on it from either one of my desks. The perfect remedy for nostalgia, melancholy, writer’s block or self-doubt – a wall that reminds you of your favorite places, people and mottos. An ode to you, past, present and future.

​Adriatica is a sense of self reflected in a space. It is also a work in progress – a collection that grows as I do. It is a true blessing to have this space, to spend time in it, to get to know its light, its seasons, its feel and its quirks.

​We design our spaces as we design our lives. We are blessed to have choices, tastes and a creative vision. I wish for all of us that we feel at peace wherever we go, that we bring peace to whatever space we find ourselves in, that we are always ourselves, and that we are always grateful.