topic DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE in Home

DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:56:28 GMT

It's in beautiful, green Umbria, and is occupied by Philadelphia interior designer Meg Rodgers, of Marguerite Rodgers Interiors, and her architect-husband.

It's 200 years old, and, like many European farmhouses, was once a barn/house combo. The livestock and poultry lived on the first floor, with the living space upstairs.

The mellow old stone, with the blue shutters against it, total charm.

Inside, the barn-like proportions give it the stately spaciousness of a villa, or a vast loft... The graceful, repeating stone arches, the majestic high ceilings and beams, oh!

This part of the sitting room has an antique chess table and pieces. When Meg found the chess pieces, two were missing, and the shop owner was able to get two replicas made to perfectly match the vintage ones. Ah, Italy! Love that the linen-covered chairs are eclectic and not matching.

Apologies for how dark many shots are-- I don't know why Homeworthy films some episodes without adequate light. Maybe you can tweak your computer to see these treasures better...

I don't think I'd ever seen Meg Rodgers' work before. She has exquisite taste. Abstract screen behind her helps showcase the small, traditional drum table, completely unadorned.

The turquoises and golds that show up in the color scheme, were derived from an abstract painting-- more on that later. Accents of rich terra cotta, seen in the bench window seat and pillows. The benches and window seats were old animal feeding troughs, left in the barn, which Meg has repurposed.

The radiator heating system in the room is unsightly, so she had lattice-like metal panels made, that were then framed in wood, to disguise the radiators-- there they are in the above picture, behind the bench and under the window.

Here's a closer in shot of one of them. Ingenious, period-appropriate disguise!

Vintage rugs, and sleek comfortable chairs, modern abstract painting.

It's the painting that she took color cues from, for the room. She got it, and some of the furniture and other paintings at the famous Arezzo antique fair, about a hour away.

Her husband has collected a few choice architectural miniatures or samples-- look at this wonderful marble ruin below! And in the picture above with the painting, there's a small plaster white building, next to the lamp.

Old candlesticks on coffee table. She says she lights them all the time, furthering the romantic feeling--

Interesting inlaid stone on the coffee table--

There's a guy in Arezzo who finds antique wing chairs with the wonderful caning, etc., and re-upholsters them in yummy linen. The savvy Italians have a way of 'relaxing' antiques with unexpected fabrics--

Meg and her husband clearly like a wide range of art, including campy vintage movie posters, like this "Bye Bye (or "Ciao, Ciao") Birdie" poster. Ha!

Below the poster, some of her fabulous old pottery. They look like they might be old olive pots. She puts bunches of lavender in them, but has to cut it at night, with a flashlight, since by day the lavender is full of bees!

Love the arty iron "raven" candlestick on table--

More stunning pottery--

She liked that the kitten painting has similar colors to the pottery, so put them together--

Upstairs hall is graced with Paul and La Liz--

Better view of the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" poster, in Italian!

This is their dressing room, just off the master, lucky ducks.

This pup is her favorite of all their paintings. What a sweetie.

She also favors Cubist art, as do I.

Many of the paintings are of Florence and Venice--

Right off of this bedroom is a staircase that goes down to the first floor. It forms a tiny terrace from which to view the lovely countryside--

Knowing a lot of you won't be as ga-ga as I am about the interior, here are a few extra shots of the outside:

Her husband sketches and paints out here.

While she gets to read and muse over the landscape--

Whenever she went outside in the video, there was a roaring, cacophonous concert of cicadas. Nice backdrop to the sleepy visual beauty of the place.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:41:18 GMT

Hmm, when I first posted this, some of the thread was left out when I hit post! I think I've reconstructed most of it now.

Wondering if this is happening because of the technical glitches here at the Q lately.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

jlkz — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:45:59 GMT

@Oznell

Very interesting. Caution: the keystone in the front archway needs to be secured as it may fall on someone.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:52:47 GMT

Ha, ha, keen-eyed @jlkz -- let's hope her architect-husband is keeping an eye on that....

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

jlkz — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:01:08 GMT

@Oznell

The house I grew up in had arches on the first floor because it originally had been two houses joined before it was floated up the Schuylkill River in Philly.

The first home DH and I have had for almost 55 years had major additions over those years. The huge dining room has a small arch doorway that we had a special door made to fit:

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:06:09 GMT

@jlkz , thanks for posting-- how darling, and full of character! Love your arch, door and room!

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

jlkz — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:14:46 GMT

The long and short walls were the outside walls of the garage and the front door entrance. The stucco for the entire house had been greyish white but we did it over in the happy yellow and recently had it redone same color. ( At this age, we had young fellows do the work ! They used a sprayer where we had used big fat brushes ! )

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:22:09 GMT

And a very nice, tidy job they did, @jlkz . Cheerful, and pretty with the tiles and planters.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

jlkz — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 01:09:45 GMT

@Oznell

I did the tiles with cement stain from Sherwin-Williams. They were quite old, ugly and top worn away from power washings ! The tiles after 2 years came through the winters almost as great as when just finished !

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

LTT1 — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:13:53 GMT

@Oznell

This is just so beautiful...to my eye.

Maybe not everybody would find it livable, but I sure do.

She has quite the eye, it seems all of the decorating and architecture is authentic. The grille disguising the heating system is beautiful and ingenious.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

stevieb — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:03:04 GMT

While I tend to appreciate most things Italian, in this case, I have to say that 'dreamy' is relative... Not really loving much about this one...

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

just bee — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 15:01:31 GMT

I like the house. It's the decor -- with the exception of a few pieces -- that I really don't care for.

The things that caught my eye...

Dog.

Cat.

Rocks.

Ruins.

Some interesting choices throughout.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Caaareful Shopper — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 16:18:04 GMT

I love the outdoor space and the pool. Nothing else really says dreamy to me. Far too many archways and clustered rooms/decor.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

shoptilyadropagain — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 22:12:24 GMT

I think the architecture details of the interior are beautiful. I'm also loving the outdoor spaces and views.

To me, the decor just reads "stuff jammed into every available space" and when my eye does land on something, it's usually something that doesn't appeal to me.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

coffee drinker — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:24:56 GMT

I like the outdoors more than the inside.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

Oznell — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 11:57:46 GMT

@LTT1 , agreed, you hit it! It's not for everyone, and not the accepted taste of the home forum generally, but I knew one or two would appreciate her style here. Love how it's true to its European barn origins, in all the right ways, but still comfortable, with an artistic and well-traveled aesthetic.

Ha, ha, @just bee --- Cat, dog, *ROCKS*, ruins . You liked only a few choice things, but you get points ( as always) for being funny....

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

shelbyshelbyshelby — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:20:15 GMT

If I could afford this . I would love this house and the surroundings .

I can dream .

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

DREAMON — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:21:11 GMT

I like the arches but to me there are too many of them...one large arch in the living room area would be enough for me.

I also like the outdoor pool area but this house does not appeal to me. It looks cold and too much going on inside.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

SactoSue — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:02:45 GMT

This was quite the project

No kitchen photos? I was scrolling to get an eyefull on what she did with the kitchen.

There are a lot of chairs in that place.

The interior layout confuses me a lot, but I like her style and adore that she used Italian versions of classic movie posters. Clever and fun.

It's the outside that wow's me. I almost don't care about the kitchen etc, as all I really want is the gravel yard and the POOL.

Re: DREAMY, RUSTIC ITALIAN HOUSE

LavernLuvsShoes — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:57:00 GMT

Absolutely loving the Exterior, the Arches and that amazing View!

(Too much clutter on the inside for me)