Positano daydreams

So since last Sunday's run through Ravello was such a boon, here are some shots I took of Positano. Positano is another little town along the Amalfi Coast and in a region of the world filled with so many one-of-a-kind places, Positano looms large despite its small size.

I'm not the first to have fallen for this slice of heaven's charms. The names of former frequenters of Positano reads like a who's who of the greatest minds of the last few centuries. My hero John Steinbeck wrote a short story about the place in 1953 and he captures its many charms perfectly. Positano by John Steinbeck

Positano is a town of about 4000 souls who cling to the cliffs that rise out of the Mediterranean. It's a town nearly devoid of roads, everything's connected by walkways and staircases instead. When it comes to photography, I'm usually the micro guy. I like to take photos of smaller details. When I look back at my shots from Positano however, nearly all of them are panoramics and nearly all of them are shot looking up at the impossibility of the town.

Here's Positano. Every one of those homes is connected to its neighbors and the town seems to creep up the cliffs. It's mind-bending.

This is Pippo, the town dog. He's sleeping on a bench covered in beach towels and t-shirts that are for sale. If you want to buy something from this shop keeper you have to wake Pippo up and get him to move. Warning: he's pretty cranky when he first gets up.

This region of Italy is renowned for its majolica tile and flourishes of it are everywhere. This shot is a detail of a garden wall and what a cool pattern this is.

Another view looking up from the waterfront.

One of Positano's few roads is in the foreground in this shot.

This narrow passageway is more typical means of getting around Positano. The sheer verticality of this town and the amount of stair climbing involved in getting from point A to point B keep the Positanans (and their visitors) in great shape.

This is the 11th century cupola of the church of S. Maria Assunta. The exterior of that church looks the same today as it did when it was built nearly a thousand years ago.

The iron work on this balcony impressed me and its state of near-decay makes it all the more interesting.

John Steinbeck wrote "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

This is what I call my money shot. Of the thousands of photos I've taken over the years, this one stands out as my hands-down favorite. This copper statue was in an antique store and I borrowed it for a second, sat it on a wall and took the shot. It was a complete seat of the pants thing and for me, it sums up the incredible town of Positano perfectly. As in this photo, the place is a perfect mixture of art, mythology and scenery. I still can't believe I was there sometimes yet at the same time, it haunts me still. John Steinbeck was right. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied until I go back again.

The Positanans have embraced the 20th century slowly and begrudgingly and I was surprised to see that they've set up a live webcam that looks down at their water front. Clicking on the link to that Positano webcam has become my new mini-vacation. Check it out.

Anybody heading to Rome sometime soon?

I bought a beautiful cashmere and silk men's pashmina in Rome last year and when I went to grab it the other morning I couldn't find it. I'm pretty sure that I left it somewhere the last time I had it on and I'm pretty sick about it.

Granted, it's just a thing so it shouldn't be a big deal. But sometimes, the loss of a thing can be a real kick to the gut. My beloved niece Sarah lived in Rome while she was in school and she gave me a great lead on a little shop that sold great scarves inexpensively.

I found the shop one day while I was walking around and it's run by an older woman and her daughter. It's a tiny storefront jammed to the rafters with nothing but scarves. The shop keepers were a delight. My Italian vocabulary increased tenfold that afternoon and between my survival Italian and their survival English we had a blast. In addition to all of that, they were selling men's pashminas for five euros a pop.

Now I love meeting new people but what I really like is meeting new people who sell one of the greatest bargains I've ever encountered. These scarves were an incredible cashmere and silk blend and I bought a bunch of them to give away as gifts. Five euros! No lie!

I saved but one for myself and now it's gone. So I'm throwing this out there: if anybody's heading to Rome let me know and I'll pay you for the trouble of buying me a replacement scarf. The store is on the Via Tomacelli, just a stone's throw from the River and the Tomb of Augustus. It's easy to miss but such a reward when you find it. Anybody?

Check out Kohler's Karbon faucet

I saw a Karbon faucet by Kohler in a plumbing showroom yesterday and I was impressed by it. It's a pretty modern design, with that no one can argue. But it has a level of utility I don't think I've ever seen in a kitchen faucet before. Check out this video from Kohler.

The Karbon is available as either a deck mount or a wall mount fixture. However it ends up being used, this thing is pretty cool and you can expect to see the functions of this cutting-edge faucet to work their way through the market and before too long, having an articulated kitchen faucet will be as common as a sprayer is now. Bravo Kohler!

Guardate questa bella nuova tabella!

That means "Look at this beautiful new table" in Italian, and being in the presence of Carrera marble makes me wish my Italian were better.

This is another beautiful, honed Carrera counter that went in this week. The room in question was an addition made to an existing bungalow in a historic district. The kitchen needed to serve as a gathering place for the homeowners and so we decided to put a large kitchen table in the middle of the room.

Originally, I wanted to find an old table base and just get a marble top on it to match the marble kitchen counters I'd already specified. But I couldn't find a decent old table base to save my life.

So I drew one and had it made instead. It was nothing remarkable, just a set of base columns in cherry to hold up a table that measured 42" x 72". Well, it arrived this week, it's beautiful and my clients are thrilled. In looking at it now that it's done I'm pretty proud of it too. Lesson learned? Honed Carrera is my favorite thing on the planet. I love it even more than I thought I did.

Got a plan? Need a plan?

I've been thinking of ways to increase the size and scope of my business (the brick and mortar kind) lately, and at the same time I've been reflecting on the growing presence of Kitchen and Residential Design on the Internet. So it's occurred to me that I ought to find a way to combine them.

I've done a fair number of jobs remotely --that is, kitchen and residential projects that took place in places as far ranging as Rural Arkansas to lovely Lancaster, PA. I did everything I'd normally do for a client (draw plans, talk to contractors, specify appliances and finishes, be an advisor/ shoulder to cry on) and they've worked out pretty well. So why not pursue more assignments like that? Well why indeed. So I'm going to throw this out there.

If you have  a set of plans and you'd like your home to have a Paul Anater kitchen, just contact me. It can be something as simple as my drawing you a floor plan with a set of elevations; or we can kick it up a notch and I can provide plans and all of the supplies you'd need to complete a kitchen as either a renovation or as part of a new home. My long distance clients get the same devoted attention I give my local ones, so give it some thought. This could be the start of something great.