Lucia Nova meets The King’s Speech on Stage

Filed under: Luxury accommodation in Valletta, malta escape, Malta House, Valletta accommodation, Valletta Design & Trends, valletta hotel, Where to go in Malta | Tags: accommodation valletta, Charles Edwards, culture malta, Emma Fielding, island holiday, , king's speech, romantic escape, unique stay in Valletta, Valletta film set, West End | March 28th, 2012

The King's Speech at the West End and the bedroom at Lucia Nova

A year after The King’s Speech had its glorious moment at the Oscars, the stage version is now at the West End. This time around it is the turn of Charles Edwards to step into the role of King George VI and Emma Fielding playing Queen Elizabeth.
The therapy room skilfully reproduced on stage still reminds us of the multi-coloured walls at Lucia Nova. The combination of colours and materials work well on the set as they do at Lucia Nova. Harper’s Bazaar aptly describes Lucia as “stunning as a film set’. (see post here).
Enjoy the history of the house where simple materials, like distressed Maltese tiles, old wooden doors and layers of paint, have been preserved with love for their beauty and memory of the place.
Lucia Nova welcomes you to spend time in the old quarter of Valletta – a city full of history, amazing small restaurants and open air coffee shops.

More information about the King’s Speech: 
Wyndhams Theatre
The King’s Speech – The Play
London Theatre

Lucia Nova
www.lucianova.com

Since opening in 2006, Valletta Suites has quickly become one of Valletta’s most sought-after boutique accommodations. Maison La Vallette and Valletta Nobile have been featured in prominent magazines and publications. Our latest addition is Lucia Nova, coined by Harper’s Bazaar January 2012 issue, as ‘the city secret’ for the best boutique accommodation in town. Described as being ‘as stunning as a film set’ with walls artistically distressed and ‘its pretty furniture picked from design hotspots around the Med.’

A truly amazing place to spend time in a historic city - Harper’s Bazaar A-list Travel Guides.

 

 

The Magician - Mix Tapes

The Magician

We love all fourteen Mix Tapes by The Magician. And they are free to download. If you are in a rush packing for your vacation in Valletta, no worries! You can listen to some of the mix tapes in your room! We have added some of the tapes to our music collection – for you to enjoy.

Yellow – The happiest colour

Filed under: malta escape, Valletta accommodation, valletta boutique, Valletta Design & Trends | Tags: elle décor, fermob, , marc jacobs, valletta design hotel, valletta trends, yellow | July 28th, 2011

Lucia Nova & Elle Decor's Trend Alert

When decorating Lucia Nova, we wanted to radiate the warmth and happiness of the Maltese weather – the sun. We opted for yellow. This vivid colour brings happiness and life and reflects the philosophy of Lucia Nova. Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts. It also contrasts the bluish, textured walls in the bedroom at Lucia Nova.

The June issue of Elle Décor featured a full page on Yellow (Trend Alert). We love the Marc Jacobs dress and Fermob’s chair! More images here.

Valletta’s Saints & Sinners

Filed under: malta attractions, What to see in Valletta, What's on in Valletta | Tags: british sailors, feasts in Valletta, statues, strait street, valletta street decorations | July 28th, 2011

Valletta - Saints & Sinners (Statues and bras)

In 2011 it’s probably more of a saying. But the setting in the picture made us smile and think of the contrast in Valletta years ago. Holy Malta mixed with British sailors and Valletta prostitutes in Strait Street. Strait Street itself is ironically touching the nun’s convent. Today the once-famous-street is mostly offices, however the lower parts are still full of character including the original bar signs.

Lucia Was Here
More info coming soon!
Keep checking this space and follow us on Twitter

Brad Pitt movie in Valletta

Filed under: malta escape, What to see in Valletta, What's on in Valletta | Tags: angelina jolie, blockbuster movie, brad pitt, celebrities in malta, secret hideaway, valletta film | June 17th, 2011
Preparations for the Brad Pitt movie, filmed in St Domenic Street - Valletta

Preparations for the Brad Pitt movie, filmed in St Domenic Street - Valletta. Source: Valletta Suites

Brad Pitt is currently in Malta filming World War Z. Angelina Jolie together with her kids visited him, dined at Da Pippo and took the kids to Splash&Fun Park. We are looking forward to seeing the transformed Valletta streets in the movie.

More information about World War Z movie here.

Rusting toys at the Flea Market in Birgu

Filed under: malta attractions, Where to go in Malta | Tags: birgu, decadent, flea market, open market, rust, the three cities, tin toys, vintage toys | March 29th, 2011

Occasionally, on Sundays, we get the chance to visit the flea market in Birgu. The mix of vintage items, furniture pieces and odd-and-ends are truly inspiring. These rusting tin toys caught our eye – and brought to us nostalgic memories of childhood. The flea market is open on Sunday mornings early till around 12:00.

Lucia Nova – bedroom II in the works

Filed under: Uncategorized, Valletta accommodation, valletta hotel | Tags: bedroom in valletta, design accommodation, , malta boutique, malta house, project, , valletta project, | March 24th, 2011
Lucia Nova in Valletta - bedroom 2
Lucia Nova in Valletta - bedroom 2 (stucco veneziano)
Above: Lucia, with the Maltese Cross in mind, eagerly plastering the walls.

A sneak preview into the Bedroom II at Lucia Nova. We would not like to give out our secret recipe for the walls of the new bedroom, however dark brown tones of stucco veneziano were chosen to render part of these walls.  A colour that was picked up from one of the layers of paint discovered when scraping the walls. For the rest of the room, exposed Maltese limestone walls, rich dark marble trims, patterned tiles and textured fabrics. Our main ingredients – lots of fun and passion for our work.

The King’s Speech and Lucia Nova

Filed under: valletta apartment, valletta boutique, valletta hotel | Tags: colin firth, film of the year, Francis Hodge, , set design, The King's Speech, unique accommodation | February 13th, 2011

(top) The 'Therapy Room' from The King's Speech and (below) the scraped walls in the bedroom at Lucia Nova in Valletta

At Valletta Suites we are all excited about the new film The King’s Speech. It is probably my favourite movie of the year and for more than one reason.
It could have been filmed at Lucia Nova, or at Maison La Vallette, mixed with the sofa at Valletta Nobile. All the set elements are present at Valletta Suites – and that is why we are so excited.

The walls in the office are exactly what we have managed to achieve after two years of extensive renovation at Lucia Nova - our latest addition to Valletta Suites. We were stunned by the effect of semi-scraped walls as work was progressing at Lucia Nova. Layers of peeling paint were revealed and the history of the place merge together under our eyes like a tapestry with a thousand hues.  What also struck a note about the film set, was the gilt settee in Lionel’s office. This creates a dramatic contrast between the raw walls and the elegant lines of the carved settee. At Lucia Nova we sourced a Venetian headboard upholstered in white silk. This was particularly chosen because of the connection between the two seafaring nations and the history that links them together. The visual effect is stunning just as in Lionel’s office – without the stammering.

Malta’s connection with George VI goes further than our fascination with the similarity between The King’s Speech‘s set and the bedroom walls at Lucia Nova. George VI awarded the Maltese Islands with the George Cross in April of 1942. This is the highest civil decoration. At Maison La Vallette a picture of King George VI holds a prominent place above the headboard. It is a signed limited-edition print by portrait painter Francis E. Hodge dated 1939.
The film is about King George VI played by Colin Firth, and his struggle to overcome his debilitating stammer through unconventional methods by the speech therapist (role played by Geoffrey Rush). The King’s Speech is in fact more than that, but what fascinated us most was the set design (production designer: Eve Stewart); particularly the scene in Lionel’s office where the King goes for therapy.
We invite anyone wishing to experience an authentic accommodation in the heart of the World heritage site to stay at Lucia Nova. (And we will make sure to get a copy of the film at Lucia Nova later this year!)