Welcome to my Italian home

Love lounging in my own little garden.

Laundry hanging from the windows, sweet scent of star jasmine in the air. A home in Rome, Italy, was my long-time dream that I made a reality. Rome is full of beauty, art and history in every corner. Still, for me the most beautiful thing in Rome is everyday life; when I wake up and realise I am in Rome, and I can go for a morning walk and have a proper cappuccino in an Italian café. Or when I go to the beach with friends after work or take a weekend trip to Napoli, Firenze or Umbria. Getting a second home in Italy was something I planned and worked on for years, and it was absolutely worth it.

As I am living in a big city, I want to create my home a calming and relaxing sanctuary. I like to keep the decoration simple and modern, Scandinavian style mixed with Italian vibes. And as I have my first own garden, I want to have lots of plants and flowers! I grew up in Southern Finland looking at my mom gardening at our home, but now in my Italian home the climate is completely different than in Finland – in Rome, the heat can rise up to +40 in the shade during summertime – so I need to learn how to treat these exotic plants like olive tree, palm tree and big aloe vera -plants that I have in my garden. For my dream garden, I am planning to have at least lemon trees, wisterias and more palm trees for a start. I can´t wait for those warm Italian evenings when I can open a bottle of prosecco and invite my friends in for a little Roman garden party.

I love slow mornings. I usually wake up around 8 or 9 and start the day with a gentle yoga or a long walk – and of course with a coffee or two at home or in the local café. I am lucky to have a market nearby where I buy fresh local fruits and vegetables almost every day. I have been vegetarian since I was 16, so Italy is a paradise for me since all the fruits ripened under the Italian sun taste the best. I make sure that I always have at least sweet datterino tomatoes, basil and lemons at home as the colours and scents bring Italian feel to the kitchen.

Italy has made me more excited about cooking at home. I like to make simple but delicious everyday foods like salads and soups, but when I want to charm someone, I do it with a vegetarian lasagna made by my own secret recipe.

Colourful houses, idyllic gardens and cute cats – the ambiance in my neighborhood is charming! I don´t say it´s the best for the cats to live in the streets, but still, I adore all cats and I have made many good friends with the ones living in my neighborhood. In my first Roman apartment, I named my neighborhood´s cats after Finnish names of wild cats: Tiikeri, Pantteri, Leijona and Musta pantteri (Tiger, Panther, Lion and Black Panther in English) were my besties. Now in my new neighborhood, I have decided to name the cats after Roman gods and goddesses (yes, cats do deserve these names!). Two of the cats have already got their names: the black and white cat hanging out in my garden is named Vesta, the goddess of home and family, and one very graceful cat is called Victoria, the goddess of victory.

Victoria.

Pantteri.

Tiikeri & Musta pantteri.

When the day turns into night, I love to light candles, listen to music and indulce myself by meditating, stretching and by doing beauty and spa treatmets. I also tend to work, plan new adventures or learn my lines (I am studying acting), since I feel the most creative in the evening.

These are some of my favourite albums for a relaxing night in. All made by Italian artists:

Pietro Roffi: 1999

Erik Satie, Pietro Roffi, Alessandro Stella: La vie en blanc

Ludovico Einaudi: Underwater

Fabrizio Paterlini: The Studio Sessions

Fabrizio Paterlini: Transitions (I-II-III)

You can listen to the playlist inspired by my life and adventures in Italy here.

<3

The loungewear in this blog post is a PR gift from Change Lingerie.

Text and pictures by Hertta Hiltunen. Portraits by Rosario Curia.