Let’s warm things up a bit with a surprise home tour feature of this massive Italian inspired villa on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Talk about a dream home and a lifelong vacation – this beautiful estate has everything you need and so much more!

The home was designed by Denise Stringer who took inspiration from the Almalfi Coast, a sunny coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula.

Now this home (or should we rather say estate!) isn’t something ordinary, the relaxed exteriors bring you way back to Italy’s leisurely slow paced lifestyle of warm weather, great food, good company, and beautiful scenery!

Step inside and you’re guaranteed to be wowed. The entrance is downright impressive and so welcoming! The wrought iron railings are custom made to look like vines and to further mimic a traditional, Italian style home. Talk about clever details!

In the living room, the high ceilings and open-to-below feature make the space airy and full of light. Another great staple of good architecture in hot weather, the higher ceilings the better and the cooler your home will be. Etched granite floors and carved stone columns tie the whole look together making it look impressive and built-to-last.

Throughout the whole home, you will notice that most is designed using earthy, natural tones. No fuchsia eye-popping hues in this home! The designer did an amazing job mimicking a Italian country style home that looks like the perfect place to raise a big family. Almost all of the walls have a faux stucco finish, which makes the walls look a little rustic and rugged, a staple element in Tuscan homes.

The first floor bedroom calls for a magical design moment – romantic country chic furniture mixed in with rustic Mediterranean walls and flooring. This ingenious design gets the best of both worlds and really makes an artfully tailored guest room.

The culture and style of living in the Mediterranean calls for a lot of dining alfresco, and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. Designer Denise Stringer made sure to make this point by arranging a lot of outdoor spaces for lounging, relaxing, eating, get togethers, and simply enjoying the fabulous Southern Carolina surroundings!

This is without a doubt a hot property! What makes it even better is the little touches that bring it from bland to a stunner! Simple projects such as luxury landscaping which is super important to homeowners or buyers, a new front door, even adding intricate moldings to windows are some things that really improve your curb appeal.

When we say imagine your dream home, I think we’ve got it right on the bullet! Stay tuned for our next home tour on
Leyla Milani’s diva-like mansion in Newport Coast, California!

Ellen Pompeo just purchased a charming 1920’s Spanish-style home right in the Hollywood Hills and today we are here to tour it! This Mediterranean beauty was recently Ronald Reagan’s home, so it must be good!

Famous designer, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard designed the whole home from top to bottom to revamp it and bring it back to its former glory. For the interior décor Ellen really wanted to highlight her affection for the Mediterranean, so she took influences from Morocco, Spain, Tuscany and even the South of France! She not only wanted a relaxed, down-to-earth look but also a decorating style that fits her life of casual entertaining, hearty good eating, and sun-kissed relaxation.

What I love about this stunning home is that it doesn’t have any of that star-diva craziness, it’s totally functional and live-able making it perfect for her growing family. Ellen sure had a good real estate agent to snatch up this gorgeous beauty of a home!

The living room terrace was a new addition to the home and acts as a nice outdoor extension to the home. Perfect for enjoying the sunshine or having a glass of punch with guests.

Pompeo’s dream kitchen is really built to last – no need to worry about scuffing wood cabinets here! The La Cornue range oven, custom cabinetry and marble backsplash are really low-maintenance and hardwearing.

The breakfast nook boasts a rustic design, with scuffed brick flooring, a distressed dining table and vintage leather chairs. The lighting isn’t some fancy chandelier, it’s very industrial which keeps to this low-key, and low-maintenance styled home.

Despite the restrained, un-glamorous look in the rest of the home, Ellen definitely did not skimp out on luxury when it comes to the master bedroom! This room really looks and feels like a old Hollywood home! The canopy bed, leopard bench, mirrored wall tiles, and soft carpeting welcome the Los Angeles lifestyle with open arms!

The master bath is without doubt HUGE and has a lot of space to relax and wind-down after a long day at work. Take a look at the sofa, it’s made of a towel like fabric – ingenious for a humid, wet bathroom.

The library is dark, mysterious, and looks a little like a man-cave. The gold spiked chandelier is by Jean de Merry and the set of chairs are from Restoration Hardware. I’m a huge fan of hide rugs, and this one is cow-hide with a little twist – the pieces were sewn together in a chevron patchwork pattern.

You can’t beat the dining room – it has a lovely view of the Hollywood Hills. I’m seriously envious right now! Again, designer Martyn stuck with a chevron pattern for the flooring, this time with distressed hardwood.

The backyard is super spacious and feels like a mini retreat – there is really no need to go on vacation! The chevron gazebo is a smart choice for barbequing and lounging by the pool. And I also really love the lanterns that are from Restoration Hardware, I’m guessing Ellen really likes that store! I was surprised to see such a glamorous celeb have a really normal, muted home. What did you think about it? Drop a comment below!

Welcome to 2015! It’s time to start off the year with another gorgeous mansion find – this Palm Beach Florida home decorated in a Mediterranean style that makes you feel like you’re in Tuscany! Forget cold muted hues and warm up to this beauty with our quick sneak peak tour. Lets get started:

This Florida home was re-decorated by David Easton and given a complete makeover which restored it to its former glory. The home was looking to be in bad shape and needed some urgent TLC. The rolling green lawn is enough to draw us right up to it’s doors!

To keep things interesting, a chess set was designed in a patch of grass.

The entrance into the circa 1920’s mansion is super inviting and full of light. Tall windows, high ceilings and an open-to-below from the second floor provides lots of airflow especially in such a hot sticky climate. The moldings give off a medieval style vibe, making the 16th century Flemish tapestry the perfect centrepiece to this stunning foyer.

Near the entrance of the home, a game room, office, and library in one is conveniently located. The furniture was selectively chosen with some pieces being Italian Rococo to stick to the home’s decorating theme.

I LOVE this sunny room! A great trick to bring in loads of light into a room is to use a light buttercream yellow color on the walls – it works miracles! The soft yellow checkered curtains are also a nice touch as well as the Louis XVI bergeres chairs from the 1880’s.

The family room is nice and cozy with a country style color scheme – brown and green was the perfect choice.

Surprisingly, the kitchen is not THAT big as you would expect it to be in such a large home. It still, serves the purpose and features a convenient breakfast bar with woven caffe-style bar stools.

Walls wallpapered in green chinoisere print make the dining room look even more formal and classy. The rich cherry table makes a serious piece of furniture that looks not only rich, but super impressive. The dining room is usually a high-traffic area especially during the holidays or special events, so the designers opted for engineered oak flooring. This makes a great choice to ward off scratches and water damage.

The bedrooms are just as pretty as the rest of the home – focusing on light floral prints and delicate wall colors. The blue ceiling reminds me of my own bedroom only this one is a super light shade which makes it so much more airy and refreshing. The dark lacquered engineered flooring is a nice contrast to the light walls. Also, check out that killer gold gilded sunburst mirror!

A pretty stone fountain makes a nice focal point in the tennis pavilion’s terrace. The landscaper added a nice touch with grass tiles making it the perfect way to break up the surrounding cement.

This isn’t the back terrace, this is actually a private loggia for the library! It makes the perfect place for kicking back with a cold lemonade, and a good book. Cheers!