Tuesday's Design: A Little of the Old....

{A}

So let's be honest, when I thought about this idea of focusing on one country for an entire week, the mere idea of what I would do for Tuesday's Design for some countries caused me to break out in hives. Sad but true, not every country in Africa has the chic boutique hotels of South Africa, designer style lodges of Kenya, beach hideaways of Zanzibar, or desert getaways of Morocco. In my search for luxury Angola, I found myself seeking what man (or Google) have not yet created (or if they have, it's so exclusive, mere mortals don't know about it yet). So while the moneyed of Africa (or China) go about building the hotels and lodges of my dreams, I have decided to focus on what Angola seems to have around every bend: beautiful architecture!

The idea of a fixer-upper has been around for quite a while now. Brits have made an art out of this in France and Spain, while every design magazine or newspaper Home and Garden section are quick to feature a "before & after" where a house that once looked like it was a lost cause is transformed with a little elbow grease, patience, and deep pockets into the next garden of Eden. It's all about seeing the diamond in the rough and well, we all know that Angola is all about the diamonds!

So come along with me as I do a little restoration dreaming. In {A}, I absolutely love this balcony! You may have a little tree action coming from the inside out, but nothing a good contractor can't tackle.

{B}

The owner of the jeep in {B} already seems to see the potential in this beauty. Between the half-doom window and this garage door, it literally took me less than a hot minute to fall in love with this home. I envision putting the blues and oranges back on the walls and the orange back on the panes of a newer door. Needless to say there is a BIG blue ocean on the other side of this beauty in my imagination! Can you see it too?!

{C}

What I love about the next two are just how much the beautiful of the original structure still shines through. In {C} the ceiling and the effect it has on the whole interior of the building is just incredible! I can imagine the whole thing changes as the sun does it's daily tour.

{D}

Yeah...I know that {D} is a wreck, but seriously look at the floor!!! I can't imagine what this building must have looked like in all it's pre-bombed out glory, but if the builder put this much effort into the floor, imagine what the rest of the structure must have looked like...

Thanks so much for doing a little renovation dreaming with me. The next three images show buildings that are either new or next got damaged so your imagination can take a next break. They all keep the colonial style and as usual, I'm all about the colorful facades.

{Photos from Flickr}