The renovation project had to be based on two levels: box and content. The work on the former, the property, had to reflect a conservative spirit: in fact, the existing original elements-such as the framed doors and ornate turn-of-the-century cement tiles (a different one for each room)-were safeguarded, and salvage work was done on others, such as the original plasterwork submerged by time, and the original subdivision of spaces and passages. About the content, on the other hand, it was to be comparable to a cosmopolitan travelogue of the couple: eclectic, lover of contamination and raw beauty understood as the love of the imperfect. And so, the apartment’s 140sqm become a stylistic manifesto for the duo, which moves between Brazilian modernist rationalism-with Brutalist references to the great masters Lina Bo Bardi, Jorge Zalszupin, and Oscar Niemeyer-and Moroccan silhouettes and textures, the couple’s adopted place. Most of the furnishings were designed by them and are part of Collezione Caleido, a self-produced brand: the headboards of the beds in the iconic Caleido color, the dining tables in Brazilian Blue Sea marble with a natural iron base, the walnut bench, and the wispy sideboard with offset textured doors. All made in Italy by expert craftsmen, who used only carefully selected primitive and raw materials: dark walnut wood, marble, iron, concrete. These are matched by lighting fixtures, their great passion: in the living room the large candlestick by Gino Sarfatti for Flos, the Fontana grande designed by Max Ingrand in 1954 for FontanaArte, and the conical Teti wall sconces by Vico Magistretti for Artemide-which counterbalance the Dimore Milano bookcase; in the dining room the Nuvola by Mario Bellini for Nemo Lighting and the graphic feature of Dabliu, also Nemo Lighting; in the kitchen the Alphabet of light tube element by Artemide; in the second living room the Arrangements Round by Michael Anastassiades for Flos; in the bedroom the large Lumi designed by A. Saggia & V.Sommella for Fabbian, the iconic Oceanic lamp by Michele de Lucchi for Memphis Milano, and a light mask created by artist Marco Lodola for Dior.
The pivotal element of the house, separating the part dedicated to the private residence from the guest area, is the scenic floor-to-ceiling textile wall by Dooor, made of sound-absorbing velvet fabric, which allows the spaces to be joined as needed to allow the holding of a dinner with numerous guests, a party, a convivial breakfast or an exhibition. The two areas dialogue to perfection, in materials, finishes and color palette inspired by earth tones.
The heart of the house is the dining room, from which all the other rooms are accessed through the original doors and the Caleido arch, also used to shape the headboard of the master bed.