SHANGHAI — It’s difficult to imagine a home that perfectly balances French antiques with traditional Tibetan artworks and a bold jewel-toned color scheme, but a renovated villa in Suzhou, a city of approximately six million people just a 30-minute train ride from Shanghai, manages to pull it off.
上海——很难想象,一所房子能把法国古董、藏族传统艺术品以及大胆的珠宝色调配色方案完美地搭配在一起,但苏州一栋经过翻修的别墅成功地做到了这一点。苏州是一座大约有600万人口的城市,从上海到那里只要乘坐30分钟的火车。
The 400-square-meter, or 4,300-square-foot, villa is the weekend home of a Shanghainese couple, Lily Wu, 42, and Su Jun, 45.
这栋面积为400平方米(约合4300平方英尺)的别墅属于42岁的莉莉•吴(Lily Wu,音)和45岁的苏君(Su Jun,音)这对上海夫妇,被他们用来当做周末度假屋。
Mr Su, an investor, was inspired to buy the property 15 years ago by fond childhood memories of family vacations spent in Suzhou, a 2,500-year-old city famous in China for its manicured gardens and canals crossed with stone bridges.
从事投资工作的苏君之所以在15年前买下这处房产,是因为对小时候跟家人在苏州度假的经历恋恋不忘。有2500年历史的苏州以精雕细琢的园林和石桥运河而闻名于世。
Four years ago we decided we could spend some time renovating this villa and enjoy our life there, Ms Wu said.
四年前,我们觉得可以花些时间翻修这栋别墅,在里面享受人生,莉莉•吴说。
Ms Wu said that right from the start of the process, she and her husband were in agreement about what they wanted to achieve and remained so through the 18 months it took for contractors to gut and renovate the place.
莉莉•吴表示,从一开始,她和丈夫便就翻修最终的目标达成了一致,在承包商大刀阔斧地改造、翻修房子的18个月里,他们从未动摇过。
Today, the villa’s grand entrance, complete with tiled floors and chandelier, branches off to the left through an archway to an open-plan living and entertaining space.
如今,别墅门厅处有着以地砖铺就的地板和枝形吊灯,通过一道拱廊可以向左拐进一个开放式的生活和娱乐空间。
A reading room dominated by a turquoise wall and a traditional Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting, a favorite among Mr Su’s pieces, leads to the main living room, which then flows out to a glass-encased sunroom, complete with an amethyst velvet-upholstered daybed and colorful leather armchairs.
书房最醒目的是一面绿松石色墙壁,上面挂着一幅藏传佛教传统唐卡画,苏君收藏了若干唐卡,这一幅是他最喜爱的,书房通往主起居室。再往前就是一个环绕着玻璃的日光室,里边摆着一张紫水晶色天鹅绒软垫沙发床和几把彩色皮面扶手椅。
Ms Wu said this is one of her favorite spaces in the villa.
莉莉•吴说,在这栋别墅里,日光室是她很喜欢的空间之一。
We wanted to make it a place where friends can come and get together, she said.
我们希望它可以成为一个跟朋友相聚的地方,她说。
It was important that people can sit anywhere and see each other and talk and relax.
很重要的一点是,人们可以坐在任何地方,注视彼此,闲谈、放松。
Ms Wu’s other favorite room is the master bathroom, complete with Art Deco-inspired black and white tiles and a raised bathtub framed by an ornate arch and welcoming natural light coming in through iron-gridded windows.
莉莉•吴还很喜欢主卫生间,那里铺着装饰派艺术(Art Deco)风格的黑白两色瓷砖,安了一个饰有华丽拱门的凸起式浴缸,宜人的自然光会透过铁格栅窗照进来。
Upstairs are two bedrooms.
楼上有两间卧室。
The master bedroom is 50 square meters, with an apex ceiling soaring up more than 4.5 meters, or 15 feet.
主卧面积为50平方米,高挑的天花板离地面足有4.5米(约合15英尺)。
The bleached wood flooring and neutral colors contribute to the feeling of spaciousness.
退了色的木地板以及中性色调让空间显得更为开阔。
Working in corporate communications in Shanghai for the luxury house Chanel has given Ms Wu a taste for all things French, and she and her husband hired a French interior designer based in Shanghai, Baptiste Bohu, to help them realize a vision that combined both French and Chinese traditions.
在上海从事公关工作的莉莉•吴服务于奢侈品企业香奈儿(Chanel),对所有法式的东西都很喜欢。她和丈夫聘用了常住上海的法国室内设计师小贝(Baptiste Bohu),来帮他们打造兼容法国和中国传统的视觉效果。
I work for a French company and I quite like the French style, Ms Wu said.
我在一家法国公司工作,非常喜欢法国范儿,莉莉•吴说。
The old Shanghai style is also something I like.
我也喜欢旧上海风格。
So when we met Baptiste, we briefed him about what kind of buildings and design we like.
因此和小贝见面时,我们向他简要介绍了我们喜欢什么样的建筑和设计。
We told him we wanted something elegant and comfortable.
我们告诉他,我们想要某种既优雅又舒适的东西。
We wanted this house after 20 or 30 years to still be beautiful.
我们想让这栋房子在二三十年以后依然美丽。