A loft apartment by the sea

An apartment in a period building on the Salerno seafront, southern Italy, has been remodeled in a contemporary style to be used as a summer home for a family who lives in town throughout the rest of the year. A couple and their grownup children take turns to come down here to enjoy the sea breeze and the breathtaking view over the bay. 

 

In the open-plan living room, the Lowland sofa takes centre stage. In the foreground, the staircase to the mezzanine floor is constructed with an iron frame and a glass floor.

What our owners had clear in their mind was that their new seaside home had to be “different”. So, they turned to young architecture practice Ghelostudio Architettura, which was already known to them for past projects, and the iconic interior design store Linee Contemporanee, set up in Salerno seventy years ago. They specified they wanted a home as far from the bourgeois period town house style as possible; this gave life to a fresh young loft apartment in industrial style.

Photo: copyright Luca Giordano

Splashes of yellow break-up the grey and black, letting the sun in. The Filigree table by Molteni extends when the family has guests. Above the kitchen island, Bell lamp by Flos.

Il carattere industriale prende spunto dal muro in mattoni scoperto in fase di demolizione. Era in perfetto stato e realizzato con una tale accuratezza che gli architetti hanno deciso di lasciarlo a vista. A questo si aggiungono elementi e materiali tipici dell’industrial style: un soppalco in ferro e vetro che sfrutta l’altezza preesistente, il telaio della cappa sospesa e il pavimento in listoni di rovere trattato a olio.

Next to the sofa, Mark Table by Moroso picks up the yellow from dining table. In the background, the suspended kitchen hood (left-hand side image). To the right, the mezzanine floor with an iron structure and floor and parapet in glass. The desk top rests on the parapet and appears to be floating in mid air.
A view from under the mezzanine floor. Entertainment unit in yellow, here the architects customized Pass-word modular storage by Molteni. Reinforced concrete formwork in its natural shade replaces its original top. Music speaker by Bang & Olufsen (left-hand side image). Right-hand side, the streamlined bent iron staircase with staggered steps to the mezzanine floor. Under the staircase, the Serie Haikus bowl by Marcel Wanders for B&B Italia, 

For a couple who decided it was high time to adopt a new style, this apartment represents a leap into contemporary design, at least during their summer holidays. Here, their innate elegance was updated in a modern key. This resulted in an industrial-style loft apartment, which cleverly brings together cold materials like glass and iron with warm materials like wood and exposed bricks. The colour palette is also refined, bright splashes of sunny yellow break up the white, black and grey, filling this seaside apartment with cheer. 

Design project

Renovation of a seaside apartment

Location: Salerno, Italy

Interior design project and furniture sourcing 
>> Store Channel
Linee Contemporanee
Via Parmenide 39, Salerno, Italy
Tel: 0039 089 33 93 28
Web: www.lineecontemporanee.it

Architectural project:
Ghelostudio Architettura,
architects Domenico Maria Manzione,
Gabriele Sorrentino, Francesco Rizzo
www.ghelostudio.com  

Photos:
Courtesy Linee Contemporanee and 
Ghelostudio Architettura
Credits Raffaele Inglese Photography

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